Surprising young Nuggets bench player earning much-needed trust of Michael Malone

To say that the Nuggets’ bench has been bad this season would be a drastic understatement. It was a major question mark all offseason and coming into the regular season, but through six games it has been worse than even the harshest skeptics could have imagined.

The signings of Russell Westbrook and Dario Saric already look atrocious. Westbrook has brought some good energy and hustle; he has made some plays and at least looks to be leaving it all on the court. But he still makes some horrendous decisions and is a terrible shooter who refuses to cede any volume.

Somehow, Saric has been even worse. He looks slow and unathletic out there and hasn’t made any positive impact on either end of the court. After brutal first-half stints, he never saw the court in the second half of multiple games and in the team’s most recent game, he wasn’t even in Michael Malone’s rotation at all.

The young players stepping into bench roles have also been disappointing. Julian Strawther has been okay but needs to be more aggressive to score and find his shots. But Peyton Watson has been one of the bigger disappointments on the team, looking like a total zero on the offensive end.

Nuggets bench has been an unmitigated disaster

The Nuggets are desperate for any kind of spark off the bench; anything that can be relied on. Perhaps they have found that in the second-year forward out of Clemson, Hunter Tyson. Tyson was drafted in the second round of the 2023 NBA draft and has played the bulk of his minutes in the G-League thus far. 

But he had some nice moments in Summer League and preseason, and thanks to the woeful play ahead of him, he’s heard his number called a few times early in this season. With Jamal Murray out of the lineup with a concussion, and some dreadful minutes from the likes of Saric, Watson, and others, Malone has needed to look elsewhere for minutes.

In Friday’s battle with the Timberwolves, Malone gave Tyson a shot for 5 minutes in the second half and the 6’8” 24-year-old held his own out there. The team won his minutes and he made his only shot. He brought high energy and competed on the defensive end as well. That may not sound like much, but right now the bar is extremely low for the Nuggets’ second unit.

Hunter Tyson earning Malone's trust

Apparently, Malone liked what he saw because Saturday night against the Jazz, Tyson played 25 minutes off the Denver bench, scoring 7 points, with 4 rebounds, and 4 assists. The Nuggets also won those minutes by 5 points.

After the big home win, Malone told the media that Tyson “is earning my trust”. It’s a shame that it’s already come to this, but the Nuggets need help anywhere they can get it. If Tyson is playing hard and giving the team good minutes, that’s a huge win for the organization right now. 

Theoretically, he can provide this team with a lot of what they need off the bench. We’ll have to see how much Malone actually trusts him and allows him to play through mistakes and carve out a role. I’ll believe it when I see it, but it’s still very refreshing to see some solid minutes from any Nuggets bench player.