The Nuggets ripped off their second straight improbable win, pulling away from the Celtics down the stretch to win in Boston, 114-110. One of the most impressive things about these recent wins is that the guys getting it done have been recent Nuggets’ draft picks made by Calvin Booth that were largely written off.
Booth took over as GM of the Nuggets in 2020 and helped build the team that won the 2023 championship. But he infamously feuded with head coach Michael Malone, with Booth insisting on a youth movement, drafting and developing young players to build out a roster around Jokic, while Malone stubbornly clung to veterans and had no patience for growing pains.
The right answer was probably somewhere in the middle, but it’s certainly interesting to see many of Booth’s pet projects thriving recently under new coach, David Adelman. Peyton Watson was a draft pick who is breaking out this year and led the way with 30 points and 6 rebounds on Wednesday night.
But they got contributions up and down the board from Christian Braun, Zeke Nnaji, Jalen Pickett, and DaRon Holmes. Those are guys that Booth drafted and believed in wholeheartedly, but other than Braun, they never really got a chance under Malone (Holmes was injured all of last season).
Nuggets' young players showing promise in opportunities
When the Nuggets are at full strength, Pickett, Holmes, and Nnaji are generally on the outside of the rotation, looking in. The same goes for Hunter Tyson and Julian Strawther, who made big contributions on Monday night.
Spencer Jones wasn’t drafted, but Booth signed him to a two-way contract last year, and he has become a critical starter for Denver this season. The more time passes, the more Booth is becoming vindicated, as a lot of these young players have taken a leap this season.
To make matters worse for Malone, he was in the studio for ESPN, broadcasting the game to a national audience on Wednesday night, and let’s just say he seemed less than thrilled to watch the Jokic-less Nuggets take it to one of the top teams in the East.
This stretch of games doesn’t settle anything. It doesn’t mean Booth was right and Malone was wrong. A lot of these guys still have a ways to go to even prove they belong in the league, but a few months removed from the situation, it certainly seems like Calvin Booth wasn’t nearly as bad at the job as it may have seemed.