Blessing in disguise

I’ll admit, I was a bit of a doomer (in my head at least) when Jokic went down. Seeing us have to field a team minus all five starters and our backup at Center, I wasn’t sure how we would survive January, and we just seemed too plagued by injuries to make it work.

But if all our starters can, indeed, get healthy and to full strength by the playoffs I think this may be a blessing in disguise. I know this isn’t a totally original comment. But think about the pieces that are falling into place.

1. Bench depth: our bench guys are looking like true NBA starters now, and in fact, playing absolutely out of their minds. THJ who was already having a great year is looking like a star, and PWAT is following suit having the best season of his career. Zeke is proving he can be a quality option off the bench at least. Count me among those who previously thought his contract was a burden, but he is playing free and confident and proving on defense and offense he deserves a place in the rotation. Jones, Tyson, and Pickett are playing awesome minutes. And the intangible is all these guys are playing confident and loose and getting real reps that will make them 2x more effective during playoff time.

2. Intensity and hunger: I feel like the team has gelled like never before. Our bench guys are firing up each other and the starters and I’ve never seen this team more dialed in and fired up. The starters want this for the bench guys and everyone playing right now is fighting tooth and nail for every possession. They are learning to trust each other and it feels like one of those moments when a team really rallies in crisis.

3. Rotation option: Adelman is a smart coach. He’s been watching basketball at the highest level since he was a kid. And this stretch is giving him (and assistant coach Nikola Jokic) a look at the true value of every player on the team in a way that would never happen if the starters were healthy. Down the stretch this is going to give him options for offensive and defensive line-ups beyond what we’ve used in recent years. They now have trusted groups that can play fast or slow, defense or offense, and against different opposing line-ups. We are genuinely 12 quality guys deep now when everyone is healthy and can throw a variety of line-ups at opposing teams that will be hard to adjust to.

4. Starter rest: again, assuming our starters can overcome their injuries they may be the freshest they’ve ever been for the playoffs—both because of the rest they are getting now and because we now have a deeper line-up that can reduce their minutes. There’s still a question mark around health, and you’d really like guys to be able to play six weeks or more before the playoffs to get in NBA shape and get loose, but if that comes together these guys will have some of the freshest legs in the NBA.

5. Jokic intensity: we’re all seeing Jokic on the bench. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a regular Jokic this dialed in to the team. He loves these guys. He’s showing emotion. He’s fired up. Jokic’s humility means he genuinely gets exhausted by his own press and constantly downplays his own achievements. But he loves basketball. He loves these guys. Look at him celebrating and coaching PWAT and others on the sideline. He was already the team’s leader but it feels like he’s really finding his voice more than ever and loves seeing the other guys shine.

6. Trade value and options: I wish we could hang on to every guy on this roster. But I know the reality is that with the playing so well that’s likely neither possible for us (given cap space) nor the best thing for some of them. Some of these guys truly deserve starting slots and contracts or bigger bench roles than they can get here. Them showing that now creates options for them and the team in the off-season to give the nuggets flexibility on some trades and can maybe get the guys who’ve shown their worth in spots where they can shine. This is a bummer if we have to move some do these guys but at least sets them and us up for success in the off season.

We are in an easier stretch of games now which helps with our guys getting quality minutes and pulling out gutsy wins. February through April is much tougher with games against the best teams in the league. So we’ve been fortunate with the schedule (other than how crowded it is) and we will need the team at full strength come February. We need Jamal, Nikola, and AG at least playing their best basketball to win a title (and Jamal and Jokic have been having career years). Who knows what happens from here with injuries and our ability to pull it all together. But this team is showing depth, grit, and resilience I’m not sure I’ve seen outside the playoffs and it’s been inspiring to watch as a fan and may end up a blessing in disguise if the guys can hold their ground in January and we can get back to full strength.