Power Forward
STARTER: Kenneth Faried (32 minutes)
I just said that Danilo Gallinari was the Nuggets best player, but that may be selling Kenneth Faried short. He’s been fantastic, maybe even better than we’ve ever seen, and yet Malone still seems to be having a hard time getting him on the court for 30 minutes a game.
Sure, he still has the tendency to fall asleep on defense, and bigger guys can take him to task on the block, but the Nuggets need him; they need his energy.
Denver needs to revolve around Mudiay, Gallo and Faried; in order to do that, they actually need to be out on the court.
BENCH: Darrell Arthur (9 minutes)
Darrell Arthur needs to be a situational player and nothing more. As an on-ball defender, he’s fine, possibly even pretty good. But he’s a mess everywhere else.
We’ve been hearing about Arthur developing a three-point shot for years now, but it’s not coming. He’s shooting 28 percent from three and an even more dismal 27 percent from the field.
If Denver needs to get a stop, put him out there. Aside from that, the Nuggets would be better off going small with Gallo at the four.
