For the first time this season the Nuggets had a full roster when they hosted the Portland Trailbalzers. They also looked the best they’ve all season.
Coincidence? I think not.
Injuries happen. They’re a part of sports, and every team and player has to deal with that. Denver has dealt with them all throughout the season, a season that is now 26 games in, but now that this team is finally healthy, we get to see how Michael Malone really wants to use his players.
This does create a problem, though. The Nuggets have a ton of talent, and they’re all deserving of minutes, which makes Malone’s job all the more difficult. If this team is going to succeed, his players need to do one thing: embrace their role.
If you are a basketball fan and have not been watching Nikola Jokic, then you’re missing out. It’s a thing of beauty! He has the ability to pass the ball like a point guard, play underneath the basket with the big fellas and his biggest asset might just be is basketball IQ. He is a second-year player that has the savvy of a seasoned vet.
There are guys on this team that know their role and play it, guys like Will Barton, Jameer Nelson and Wilson Chandler. One could argue that Chandler needs to be a starter (as he was Thursday night), and I would tend to agree, but he knows what he has to do in either role: score the basketball.
However, there are others on this team that don’t know their role, and they need to not only acknowledge it but embrace it.
Kenneth Faried comes to mind, a guy that plays well when things are going good — and by good I mean getting the minutes he feels he deserves. Faried is a great fit for an NBA team, especially one that is as deep as the Nuggets are. If he would embrace the role of seventh or even eighth man on the team, he would be a force to deal with.
I believe it is only a matter of time until Jamal Murray cracks the starting lineup, and when that happens, a guy like Emmanuel Mudiay will have to find the role that best fits him. Mudiay is a big part of this team and will continue to be so, but with a healthy Gary Harris, it is going to be tough to keep him in the starting lineup.
Harris is also a perfect example of a guy knowing his role and embracing it. He knows he will be guarding a scorer and that he will have to shut them down as well as make them work on the other side of the floor.
Gallo is sort of in between, because he knows his role is to score, but he should also be more of a leader on this team. Someone needs to take those reins, and I believe Gallo is best suited to do so. Why he hasn’t is beyond me? Perhaps Coach Malone needs to challenge him to do so?
Eventually it will be Jokic that provides that leadership, but as a second year player, that’s a tall task to ask.
The Denver Nuggets are still in a good spot, getting healthy while the season is still young, and if you can take a step back to look at the big picture, the core is young and showing flashes of how good they can be!