In a back-to-back affair for the Denver Nuggets, it really wasn’t much of a contest.

The Nuggets, minus Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves 128-98. Michael Malone expressed some disdain for the timing of this game being just 22 hours after the Nuggets tipoff in Denver versus the Atlanta Hawks, but I sense that all four of Denver’s starters would have sat anyway, This was a clear rest spot for the Nuggets, and they took advantage of it.

Michael Porter Jr. led the way for the Nuggets with 22 points. Christian Braun set a new career high with 19 points himself. Bruce Brown also had 16 and looked better when he was attacking the rim rather than settling for jumpers and floaters. Unfortunately, the Nuggets just didn’t have enough scoring around those guys, and they certainly didn’t have enough defense. The Timberwolves scored at least 30 points in every single quarter, a thorough beatdown on the defensive end.

Here are my takeaways from the Nuggets matchup with the Timberwolves on Sunday:

The Nuggets punted on this game because they had to

Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope were all deemed “doubtful” on the injury report on Sunday afternoon prior to the back-to-back game. As it turns out, none of them made the trip to Minnesota, and the Nuggets started a unit that featured Michael Porter Jr. and four bench guys that sometimes play and sometimes don’t. The Timberwolves had all of their starters except Karl-Anthony Towns, somebody they’ve had to live without for awhile this season with a bad calf strain.

Clearly, things didn’t go well, though the Nuggets fought back in the third quarter to keep themselves in striking distance…and then the deep bench came in that doesn’t play often, and the T’Wolves pushed the lead back to 23 in the blink of an eye. Denver’s offense just wasn’t functional enough, and the turnovers led to a several easy points for the T’Wolves.

But the Nuggets had to do this. They’re facing several nagging injury issues for the team. Jokić’s hamstring is a soft tissue injury that they don’t want to mess with. Aaron Gordon picked up an ankle sprain and has missed two of the last three because of it. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope rolled his ankle last night. Jamal Murray is coming off a torn ACL. This was always going to be a thing for Denver, and they can rest because of the hard work they’ve put in at home.

Michael Porter Jr. and Christian Braun showed some things

Though the Nuggets were severely depleted, it gave Michael Porter Jr. and Christian Braun opportunities for extended playing time with the ball in their hands and making decisions offensively. The results were certainly hit-or-miss, but it was nice to see reps for both guys tonight.

Michael Porter Jr. scored 22 points on 7-of-16 from the field. He shot 5-of-6 from two-point range but just 2-of-10 from three. His only missed two was a block by Rudy Gobert. Porter struggled to shake free from Jaden McDaniels for much of the evening, but on the opportunities he did, he navigated his way to the paint and to the free throw line. Porter also had a steal and a block, trying hard on defense despite Denver’s obvious disadvantages.

Christian Braun also navigated the situation well. he set a new career high of 19 points in his 34 minutes, shooting 7-of-10 from the field and 2-of-2 from the three-point line. He was aggressive at times and passive at others, finding the right opportunity to force the issue during his minutes either in transition or in the halfcourt. His defense was also pretty good, though he didn’t have as many impact plays as the last few games.

Denver’s scoring depth remains final concern

The Nuggets offensive rating from tonight’s game without the majority of their starting lineup was a paltry 97.0 according to Cleaning the Glass. That is appalling, and though the team understandably struggled in this circumstance, there was very rarely a coherent offensive plan executed for an extended period of time. There were moments when the Nuggets were able to get some stops and run in transition, but the halfcourt offense was missing for most of the night.

It’s of course notable that Bones Hyland did not play. He was available and received another DNP-CD, and it was on a night when four starters missed the flight to the game and the team on the floor clearly needed another creator. At this stage, it seems like the Nuggets aren’t going to go back to Bones until he’s either traded or the trade deadline passes and he’s still on the roster.

If Bones is gone, that still leaves the bench in a situation without a lot of scoring creation. Bruce Brown did his best tonight (16 points and 7 assists on 4-of-9 shooting and 7-of-8 at the free throw line) but he’s just one player. Christian Braun showed some promise, but he’s still raw as a creator. If the Nuggets are going to go into the playoffs with Brown and Braun as their most reliable bench creators, that may not be enough. Jeff Green isn’t filling that role anymore.

Final Rotations