Nikola Jokic on Nuggets potentially mixing up lineups: “I like it, just to play with somebody else”

If the Nuggets have nine “real guys” good enough to play in any team’s rotation in the NBA, as general manager Calvin Booth claimed this preseason, then is the 10th guy a starter or a reserve?

That’s the puzzle for Michael Malone to solve on a nightly basis. Regardless of who starts, the Nuggets enter the 2024-25 season on Thursday with five starters and four bench players likely to stick in their everyday rotation. Naturally, that leaves one open spot in Malone’s second unit.

Rotations could take on any number of appearances throughout the year, accounting for injuries, matchups or performance-based adjustments. This is life in the NBA. Nothing can be too permanent. But Malone generally likes settling into a groove with his substitution patterns. In absolute simplest terms, he’ll need 10 bodies to complete two five-man units — whether that’s 10 different players or some of the same operating in dual roles.

“For years, we’ve usually gotten Jamal (Murray) and/or Nikola (Jokic) out to have one of them in the game at all times,” Malone said this week when asked about that balance. “And I’m not saying we’re gonna do that again this year or not. But in the past, when you take one of your starters out to get them back in (with the second unit), now it makes it really hard to play five guys off the bench, if you’re bringing that one guy back. But we’ll see what’s best to start this season, and how we’re playing and what we need. Obviously we’ll determine all those rotations based upon that.”

First, here are the nine rotation players in Sharpie, health abiding: Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, Julian Strawther, Russell Westbrook, Peyton Watson and Dario Saric. The second unit? Westbrook at point guard, Strawther (or Braun) at shooting guard, Watson at small forward and Saric at power forward or center.

The most natural fit to complete that lineup, then, would be a power forward or center. Malone could pull from deeper in his bench if he wants to reduce starters’ minutes with a 10-man rotation. DeAndre Jordan, Zeke Nnaji or Vlatko Cancar could slot in, each serving varying purposes. (When the Nuggets retooled their roster this offseason, they had DaRon Holmes II in mind until he tore his Achilles tendon.)

Or Malone can stagger at least one starter, as he has done in the past. In terms of position and fit, Porter might make the most sense this year. He technically plays small forward in the starting unit, but Denver has worked him at the four a bit during training camp. He’s 6-foot-10. He averaged a career-high seven rebounds last season. And he would add a shooting threat to a unit that otherwise lacks floor spacing, which would create more breathing room for Westbrook’s dribble-penetration game.

Interestingly, though, during the portion of Denver’s scrimmage that was open to reporters on Monday, Jokic played on a team with Westbrook, Strawther, Watson and Saric.

“I think we should do that in a game, just to give teams (a) different look,” Jokic said afterward when asked about mixing up lineups. “I like it, just to play with somebody else. And why not?”

So could the three-time MVP stagger with the second unit more than he has in the past?

“Nikola’s gotta be able to play with a lot of guys,” Malone said. “We always laugh when everybody says, ‘Well, this guy plays better with Nikola.’ Of course he does. But unfortunately, not everybody can play with Nikola because Nikola can’t play 48 minutes. At least, not to start the season. So getting him out there with Jamal, Christian or Julian, Michael and Aaron is great. Getting him out there with Dario and Vlatko and Hunter (Tyson) and Zeke and other guys (is good) as well. Because obviously, when he’s out there, he’s just a great guy to play through and play off of. And what you love most about Nikola is his ability to make all of those guys better.”

As Malone said, his general rule of thumb over the years has been to keep Jokic or Murray on the court at all times. Usually, that means Murray is the one who staggers with bench-heavy lineups.

Don’t rule that out either as this season develops. Malone isn’t afraid to play Murray alongside other point guards. He paired Murray and Reggie Jackson often last year, and he used lineups this preseason featuring both Murray and Westbrook.

Still, the 10th-year Nuggets coach wants to be conscientious of the rhythm he risks losing from Murray if he’s too frequent with his substitutions.

That might be the single most important element of this season, after all. Malone emphasized throughout training camp that Denver needs Murray healthy for him to reach an elite level.

“I have a pretty good idea of how we’re gonna go about it early in the season,” the coach said. “… With Jamal, I put myself in his shoes at times. Playing the first six (minutes) and coming out, playing the next three to close the quarter. Start the first three in the second, coming out and closing (the half). That’s a little bit choppy. And obviously, Nikola usually plays the first nine (minutes), sits, and comes back and runs the last nine of the second (quarter). So I also want to do what’s gonna allow our players individually and collectively to have their best chance of having success.”

Want more Nuggets news? Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis.