Bruce Brown’s primal scream would’ve rung throughout downtown Denver were it not drowned out by the sounds of raucous Bulls fans Wednesday night.
Denver’s previous four home losses came via a total of eight points. The final margin vs. Chicago, in just the Nuggets’ fifth home loss of the season, was by 21 points. The Bulls smacked the Nuggets in a way the No. 1 team in the West wasn’t accustomed to getting bullied.
“We can’t come out soft,” Brown said.
But back to that scream, which came after Brown knifed through the lane and jackhammered a dunk late in the third quarter of the rout. If there was pent-up frustration, from his team’s execution, their lack of toughness, or, most pressing, the ongoing puzzle that is Denver’s second unit, no one could blame him.
After Friday night’s tilt at San Antonio, there were only 15 regular-season games left on the schedule. Already with a six-game lead in the West, that represented precious few opportunities for Brown, Reggie Jackson, Jeff Green, Thomas Bryant and Jamal Murray, the lone starter, to gel on Denver’s bench unit.
(Not to mention, the sooner the Nuggets claim the No. 1 seed, the earlier they’ll have to consider easing Murray’s workload in anticipation of a long and taxing playoff run).
But within that second unit, which is trying to galvanize on the fly, little has been settled.
“We’re still trying to figure stuff out,” Brown said.
It begins with Jackson, the Nuggets’ buyout acquisition, who’s struggled fairly significantly since arriving in Denver. Throughout his first eight games, the veteran’s averaged just 6.9 points on 29% from the field. He was brought in to replace Bones Hyland’s minutes, and though there’s an element of maturity in his presence alone, his value has yet to manifest on the court. Teammates and coaches have been harping on Jackson to put less pressure on himself. But Jackson admitted he’s his harshest critic.
“I think I’ve been pressing, I’ve been thinking too much,” he said.
There are new plays to incorporate, new teammates and tendencies to learn, not to mention the implicit pressure of joining a team with championship expectations. That’s all on Jackson’s mind. When Bryant, Denver’s other deadline acquisition, played just 11:47 in Denver’s win over Toronto earlier this week, Jackson, perhaps unfairly, took responsibility for it.
“That’s on me,” said Jackson, who wanted to ensure the other newest Nugget had the smoothest transition possible to his new environment. Jackson took it upon himself to put Bryant in a position to thrive.
As hard as it’s been for Jackson to catch a rhythm, imagine what it’s been like for Bryant, who doesn’t have the ball in his hands anywhere near as much. The burly center’s averaged just 4.9 points in barely 12 minutes per game throughout his first 11 games in Denver. His shooting percentage is at 50%, down from his 65% conversion rate with the Lakers. Most of the time, he’s mired in traffic with seemingly little space to operate. It’s a small sample size, yes, but it’s also indicative of what his role will be in the playoffs, backing up Nikola Jokic. Though he hasn’t admitted it, Bryant has appeared to be playing tight, too.
The rest of the unit is as fluid as a waterfall. Green has had moments where he’s looked like he’s a decade younger than his 36-year-old self. Skyscraper jams and chase-down blocks can have an outsized influence on one’s perspective. As impactful as some of his plays have been, he’s still not creating much offense, shooting proficiently from the arc, or locking down opponents defensively. Vlatko Cancar’s recent wrist injury has jeopardized his role at a crucial time as well. When healthy, Cancar is a glue guy, but his injury came at an extremely inopportune time for him as that unit tries to establish an identity.
On Friday night, when the bench unit got outscored 58-25, Christian Braun played well in the first half but didn’t get on the court in the second half. It was the latest example of a unit in flux and one that needs serious auditing ahead of the postseason.
This late into the season, there’s no time for hurt feelings. If a veteran needs to be benched, so be it. If a different set of starters needs to stagger with the second unit, now’s the time to experiment. If Braun needs to be a fixture in the rotation, it’s a lot safer to establish that before the playoffs begin.
The Nuggets’ best chance to bring a title to Denver might be on the horizon. There’s still one major puzzle they need to solve.
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