If David Adelman and the Nuggets are thinking big next month, they’ll probably have to keep going small.

The Grading The Week crew loves it when a plan starts coming together. Especially when that plan is the Nuggets’ injury-riddled rotation. The return of breakout wing Peyton Watson on top of the return of Mr. Nugget, Aaron Gordon, gave Adelman the jolt an inconsistent campaign needed with the playoffs looming: a 4-0 record from March 20-26, a stretch that featured a home rout of Portland in which the defense actually flashed in the second half; and a 125-123 win at Phoenix this past Tuesday night that Adelman might’ve found a way to lose a few weeks earlier.

More importantly? With a healthy AG, Watson and Spencer Jones back in the rotation, the coaching staff just might have found a salve for the franchise’s eternal “non-Jokic-minutes” quandary. And it’s an old, familiar friend, too — the small, center-less lineup.

Nuggets’ small-ball lineup — A-minus

According to NBA.com tracking data, the Nuggets featured two five-man lineups that played at least seven minutes together from March 19-26 and managed to put up a Net Rating (basically, a points differential per 100 possessions) of plus-7.0 points or better:

• Nikola Jokic-Jamal Murray-Cam Johnson-Christian Braun-Tim Hardaway Jr.: One game, 7 minutes, plus-65.0 Net Rating (158.8-93.8).

• Murray-Bruce Brown-Cam Johnson-Spencer Jones-Tim Hardaway Jr: Three games, 19 minutes, plus-56.0 Net Rating (141.7-85.7).

Now that first grouping, while fun, might be too small a sample size to take to the bank at this point.

But that second one? That looks an awful lot like a “stagger” look that can start the second and/or fourth quarters of playoff games while Jokic rests.

Because it’s been working, time and again. Of the four games spanning March 20-26, the Nuggets “won” every second period. In fact, they outscored the opposition by an average of margin of 34-25.

And the fourth quarter differential wasn’t all that far behind. Denver “won” three of those four fourth stanzas and outscored opponents 29-26, on average, over the final 12 minutes of regulation.

Throw in the fact that the Nuggets put up a plus-9 point differential during their “non-Jokic” minutes on the road against the Suns, and the verdict is clear: Adelman’s not just onto something by going small with his bench. He’s probably already found it.

Jonas Valanciunas’ minutes — C-minus

Of course, one of the problems with the grind of an NBA season is that sometimes, a workable solution leaves a small problem in its wake. Or in the case of center Jonas Valanciunas, a 6-foot-11 problem.

Because that four-game, 4-0 stretch for the Nuggets featured something else that stood out: Big Val didn’t play. At all.

In fact, the backup big, as of Friday afternoon, hadn’t seen the floor for Denver since scoring four points and grabbing three boards over six minutes in a loss at Memphis back on March 18.

Valanciunas has more than proved his worth this season, especially during that month while the Joker was out. It’s clear that some matchups for the 33-year-old veteran are better than others. And two of the worst matchups that the GTW scouts have seen for Big Val this season have come against Oklahoma City and San Antonio. Just saying.

Jordan Seaton, London Merritt join CU dig parade — D

If once (see Staub, Ryan) is a lone-wolf malcontent, then twice and thrice is a pattern of unhappy dawgs. At any rate, add Jordan Seaton and London Merritt to the list for former CU Buffs offering subtle jabs at Deion Sanders’ old coaching staff over the last few days.

“Being here, it just means more,” Seaton, the Buffs’ former star left tackle who’s now at LSU, told reporters. “Being here (in Baton Rouge) is different, from how we train to how we work. When it comes to work, that’s what this place is about.

“(This program) was just a lot better than where I was, facility-wise, coaching-wise,” Merritt, the young edge rusher who’s now at Clemson, told TigerNet.com. “(I) feel like it was just a better option for me.”

Yes, the money to transfer out of Boulder was a big thing. But it clearly wasn’t the only thing.

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