While the Denver Nuggets’ home opener was an exciting affair, Damian Lillard’s overtime floater sent Nuggets fans out of the Pepsi Center with a strong feeling of disappointment.
Damian Lillard with the dagger as he gives #Trailblazers the 115-113 win. He then points to his imaginary watch and says "it's time". pic.twitter.com/WAv5rQoxfH
— Duvalier Johnson (@DuvalierJohnson) October 30, 2016
One of the biggest questions heading into the game was how the “Twin Tower” lineup would fare, as it looked shaky at times in the season-opening win over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Despite starting both the first and third quarters on the court, the Jokic-Nurkic combo only totaled 14.6 minutes together all night, according to NBA.com. It was almost as if head coach Michael Malone shied away from using the two-big lineup most of the night, notably in overtime.
Why? Possibly, and most simply, because it’s been hard to balance the minutes.
“It’s tough because we have a player like Nurkic, but there were so many pick and rolls, and I felt like Kenneth Faried’s athleticism fit that,” Malone said. “Then Jokic got it going, so it was a challenge to juggle those minutes.“
Nurkic was the one to get off to a hot start, finishing the first quarter with eight points, two rebounds, a block and an assist in just eight minutes, while Jokic continued to look a little out of sync, only totaling two points and two rebounds in the first frame.
Once implemented as the lone big, though, with a second unit of Jameer Nelson, Jamal Murray, Wilson Chandler and Kenneth Faried, Jokic found his groove. He took control of the floor, running the offense from the high post and making plays on the defensive end, and Malone ran with it.
Despite the strong start, Nurkic didn’t see the court again all fourth quarter or overtime, finishing with just 22 minutes on the night, compared to Jokic’s 34.
Conversely, Jokic finished with 23 points, 17 rebounds, two assists, four steals and one block, an all-around performance.
Does this mean the Twin Tower lineup is dying? Malone wouldn’t say, but it’s clearly not the Nuggets’ most-effective lineup; we’ve yet to see it when the games have mattered most, in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Maybe we’ll learn more when the Nuggets take on the Raptors in Toronto on Monday.