It hasn’t been a pretty start to the season for the Denver Nuggets, but now they hit the road. They face the Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets, and Minnesota Timberwolves on their first road trip of the season. Perhaps the Nuggets just need to get out of Denver for a bit and have some bonding time on the road.
Let’s delve into the first matchup against the Raptors.
Denver Nuggets @ Toronto Raptors
Projected Starting Lineups
Denver: Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic
Toronto: Davion Mitchell, Gradey Dick, Ochai Agbaji, Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poltl
Key Bench Players
Denver: Russell Westbrook, Julian Strawther, Peyton Watson, Dario Saric
Toronto: Jamal Shead, Jamison Battle, Jonathan Mogbo, Chris Boucher, Bruno Fernando
Notable Injuries
Denver: DaRon Holmes II – OUT
Toronto: RJ Barrett – QUESTIONABLE, Immanuel Quickley – DOUBTFUL, Bruce Brown – OUT, Kelly Olynyk – OUT
Key for the Nuggets – Will the bench please stand up?
After scoring 16 points on 25 shots in Game 1 and 11 points on 18 shots in Game 2, the Nuggets bench is officially on notice. It’s been a tough time figuring out exactly what the goals are. Russell Westbrook is shooting 2-of-18 from the field and 1-of-9 from three to start his Nuggets tenure, and while not all of the scoring issues are on him, he has attempted the most shots off the bench by far.
Peyton Watson will eventually get back on track, but expecting him to undergo an adjustment period was always fair. The Nuggets have to get Julian Strawther going, and they have to keep Dario Saric involved as both a playmaker and pick-and-pop jump shooter.
Important Matchup – Aaron Gordon vs Scottie Barnes
There are a few injuries to the Raptors rotation that make this a simple answer. Scottie Barnes is really good. He was Rookie of the Year in 2022 and made his first All-Star appearance last season (his third year). Barnes is on track to be great for a long time, but he doesn’t have a ton of help right now. RJ Barrett might play, but it’s likely that Immanuel Quickley, Bruce Brown, and Kelly Olynyk won’t.
That leaves Gordon with the primary assignment on a young player with a lot of pressure on himself. Can Gordon slow down Barnes as a scorer and playmaker? Can Gordon put pressure on Barnes as a scorer himself? The Nuggets need more offensive output from Gordon to start the year, and this would be a nice game to kick things off.
Number of the Day – 24.2
That’s the number of minutes the Nuggets new starting lineup has averaged together through the first two games. It’s by far the most minutes per game of any lineup in the NBA, next highest being 18.3 minutes per game for the Rockets starting unit.
So far this year, the Nuggets have tried similar rotations in two games. The first and last six minutes of each half are played by the starters. In the middle, one of Murray or Michael Porter Jr. exits, followed by the rest of the starters. Then, one of Murray/Porter return to play the “stagger” minutes with four bench players.
It’s a standard rotation that some teams use, but the Nuggets are the extreme example. They want all four of Westbrook, Strawther, Watson, and Saric to play, and the easiest way to get them chemistry with each other is to play together.
Keep an eye on that 24.2 number throughout the season. If it never goes down, that’s probably a bad sign for the bench.
Nugget who should have a good game: Jamal Murray
The last two games, I’ve picked Aaron Gordon and Dario Saric, which makes me 0-for-2 on choices.
Let’s go with Murray then, who’s the hometown hero returning to Canada. Kitchener, Ontario is Murray’s hometown, just an hour away from Toronto.
The Nuggets need Murray to take over as a scorer and playmaker in this game. He will have two tough defensive assignments in guards Davion Mitchell and Jamal Shead, but both are smaller. Murray will have to shake free and take some risks. The Nuggets could use a scoring outburst from Murray in the worst way.