At 17-6, the Denver Nuggets have exceeded expectations so far in the 2025-26 NBA season.
There are still questions regarding the defense, the backup point guard position, and overall health, but those haven’t stopped Denver from playing at a 60-win pace to begin the year. A historically great offense, the heroics of Nikola Jokic (and Jamal Murray), and rotating contributions from role players has contributed to a great season to this point.
But which lineups are driving success for Denver so far? The Nuggets have had to get creative with Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun missing extended time. They’re counting on some unique groups to carry the day, starting with their new starting lineup. All numbers are courtesy of Cleaning the Glass’ lineup data that filters out “garbage time” minutes.
3 Lineups Better Than Expected
Jamal Murray, Peyton Watson, Cam Johnson, Spencer Jones, Nikola Jokic
251 possessions, 137.5 Offensive Rating, 119.5 Defensive Rating, +17.9 Net Rating
This has been Denver’s default starting unit since Aaron Gordon’s injury on November 21st. It features absurd shotmaking (67.8 eFG% as a lineup) to go with below average defense. Given the presence of Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones, this is a bit of a surprising wrinkle. Of course, maybe it shouldn’t be surprising because Jones is shooting an absurd 45.2% from three-point range on the season. Watson is *only* shooting 37.5% from three, but they’ve both held up their end of the bargain offensively in this group.
Of course, it helps that Jokic and Murray have played out of their minds lately, generating easier looks for Watson and Jones as a result. Cam Johnson has also fit in nicely as a complementary shooter, ball handler, and off-ball maestro. He’s learning in real time how to impact the game around Jokic and Murray, and it’s generated great results.
Jamal Murray, Tim Hardaway Jr., Peyton Watson, Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic
56 possessions, 141.1 Offensive Rating, 94.6 Defensive Rating, +46.4 Net Rating
While Aaron Gordon hasn’t played in a while, this should serve as a reminder to Nuggets fans how great they were with him in the lineup. The Nuggets have a bunch of talent, and a bunch of dynamic groups they can explore. This is one of them, and it dominated early in the season.
Assuming Braun and Gordon return to starting spots, this is a group that will play a lot in the middle of first and third quarters. Hardaway’s spacing, Watson’s defense and athleticism, and Denver’s three best players on the floor together. There’s a lot of excitement about what Denver can do when healthy because of what they’ve already done with Braun and Gordon sidelined.
Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr., Cam Johnson, Zeke Nnaji, Jonas Valanciunas
67 possessions, 123.9 Offensive Rating, 126.2 Defensive Rating, -2.3 Net Rating
This is more surprise on my part that a lineup hasn’t been as bad as expected. A -2.3 Net Rating isn’t great for any group, but given that it’s a group without either of Denver’s best players, one might expect it to have performed worse than it did.
Au contraire, the offensive rating is impressively high. Hardaway can take some major credit for that. He’s shooting 48.2% from three with Jokic off the floor, and any time Hardaway generates space, the shot is going up. Combine that with Valanciunas averaging an absurd 34 points per 100 possessions in Jokic’s place, and the Nuggets have enough firepower to survive the non-Jokic and non-Murray minutes. Even without a traditional backup point guard.
2 Lineups Worse Than Expected
Christian Braun, Tim Hardaway Jr., Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic
54 possessions, 103.7 Offensive Rating, 113.0 Defensive Rating, -9.3 Net Rating
This is the “point guard-less” look the Nuggets experimented with early in the season. It didn’t really work out, which is both surprising and not. Denver’s offense suffered without Murray initiating, and most of those minutes occurred early in the season with Hardaway and Johnson (mostly Johnson) still learning how to adjust to the new offense. Denver simply shot poorly in these minutes, which might mean something or might mean absolutely nothing later in the year.
When everyone gets back healthy, I want to see this group again. There will come a time when Murray absolutely has to stagger in playoff situations. Bruce Brown might be the answer in those non-Murray minutes, but this lineup still has my attention.
Jamal Murray, Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr., Peyton Watson, Jonas Valanciunas
147 possessions, 110.2 Offensive Rating, 123.3 Defensive Rating, -13.1 Net Rating
This was Denver’s default bench lineup early in the season, and it was surprisingly poor. The defensive rating makes sense with three guards and Watson playing at power forward next to a paint bound center defensively. The offense needed to be great as a result, and it wasn’t. Offensive rebounding was solid, but little else stood out positively.
When Denver gets healthy, it will be interesting to see if Murray or Cam Johnson staggers. Maybe Denver decides not to stagger at all and plays a full bench with Spencer Jones. Either way, this bench unit was very reminiscent of seasons past. Murray’s played elite basketball of late and might be able to prop up this group, but having to do so might tank his efficiency numbers. Whatever the case, Denver’s primary bench solution still has question marks.
