I like Michael Malone, I really do. I believe in him, too. I think he can be the right coach for this Denver Nuggets team.

I also think he’s been placed in an impossible situation, where he’s having to balance the growth of his young players and the need to win from his veterans. Throw in the fact that there are upwards of 12 players on the roster deserving of quality minutes (many at the same position), and that balancing act is as tricky as possible.

But my patience is wearing thin.

Malone cares too much. He wants to be the good guy, the guy these young kids can look up to and rely on, but it’s not working. He’s attempted to balance his rotations so that everyone’s happy, and he’s done that by by placing the nicest players, the ones least likely to cause trouble, on the bench.

Unfortunately, his nicest players just so happen to be his best.

There’s only one reason Nikola Jokic and Wilson Chandler aren’t in the starting lineup, and it’s because Malone knows that if he benches Jusuf Nurkic or Kenneth Faried, they’ll throw a fit.

Too freaking bad.

Of all of the Denver Nuggets’ five-men lineups that have played at least 20 minutes together this season, the one with the worst net rating (-34.9) is their starting lineup — Mudiay, Barton, Gallinari, Faried, Nurkic. And there couldn’t have been a more effective example of the starting lineup’s futility than last night, when Denver’s starters were boat-raced by Brooklyn’s.

The Nuggets gave up 11 straight points to the Nets to begin both halves last night before Denver scored a single basket. That’s a 22–point cushion the Nuggets simply gifted the Nets and a big reason why the team was down 29 points with six minutes to go in the third quarter.

The only reason Denver was able to make a game out of it is because Wes Unseld Jr., who took over for Malone after he was ejected, benched Kenneth Faried coming out of halftime and decided to ride his bench for essentially the entire second half.

And guess what? It worked.

Why? Because when it comes to which lineups work best for the Nuggets (in terms of net rating), there are a few very distinct similarities:

  • Of the Nuggets’ top six lineups, all six include Wilson Chandler, and five of the six include the Gallo-Chandler combo.
  • Of the Nuggets’ top five lineups, Nikola Jokic is featured in three, while Jusuf Nurkic appears in none.
  • Of the Nuggets’ top four lineups, Jameer Nelson is featured in all three, while Emmanuel Mudiay appears in none.

Of course, there are many factors that go into a lineup’s success that aren’t accounted for — like, who they’re playing against — but the bottom line is that the Denver Nuggets are a better team when their bench is on the court.

So, why aren’t they starting?

Simply, Malone knows he can bring Jokic and Chandler and Murray and Nelson off the bench, and they’re not going to complain; they’re going to work their butts off like they always do, and they’re going to help this team win when given the opportunity. Conversely, he knows that if he benches Mudiay or Gallo or Faried or Nurkic, there will be hell to play (mainly in the form of sulking 20-year-olds) both on and off the court.

That … is what I call coaching scared.

Malone needs to take back the reins of this team, shake things up and run out a new starting lineup — today.

If Chandler isn’t starting tonight against the Wizards, I’m going to be disappointed. If Jokic isn’t starting, there’s a problem.

And while we’re at it, I’d be fully in favor of putting Nelson and Murray at the guard spots going forward. As I wrote earlier, Mudiay, for better or worse, needs to take a seat; Murray has earned the right to get a shot at the starting lineup.

I’m not sure if the Nuggets have already thrown away their shot at the playoffs, but there’s still an opportunity to save their long-term future. It starts by creating a culture of success, and right now Denver doesn’t have that.

Unless something changes soon, the blame falls on Malone.