Though there is less than a week left in the season, there are questions left to be answered, and the Nuggets got down to business on getting more information on a pressing one Friday night.
Can the two young bigs, Jusuf Nurkic and Nikola Jokic, be played at the same time?
It’s not a simple answer.
Going into Denver’s 102-98 win over San Antonio, they had played virtually no time together. The duo had played only 14 minutes spread over four games this season. So with Kenneth Faried in need of rest, coach Michael Malone took the chance to start Nurkic and Jokic together.
“If we start a game with it and let them play through their mistakes, and maybe the bad stretches and just see what we have,” Malone said. “I think it’s important to evaluate who we are and answer any questions we might have in these last three games, and that’s one of them. Can these guys play together and be productive?”
Malone’s concern with the alignment centers on one thing: Can Jokic, who has been the Nuggets’ starting center, defend opposing power forwards?
“Obviously, in the NBA there’s a lot of different types of fours,” Malone said. “You have your stretch four, you have the power forward, you have the athletic forward.”
Friday’s game was a good breaking-in point. The Spurs rested many of their regulars and went with veteran David West at power forward. West has been a productive player in the NBA for many years, but the speed and athleticism have eroded. He’s almost solely a power player now, and Jokic has struggled with those types. But the 20-year-old held his own against West.
Jokic’s biggest issue was fighting against the natural instinct to stay in and around the paint, as he would at center. Because, while West isn’t stepping out to the 3-point line to threaten defenses, he also wasn’t rooted to the block. Jokic’s test was to keep in contact with him while keeping the ball in sight as well. He’s not a finished product there. But not a lost cause, either.
Malone said it remains to be seen if Nurkic and Jokic will start together in the final two games, but Utah would give him a good matchup. With Rudy Gobert at center and Derrick Favors at power forward, guarding them demands size anyway.
Faried’s rest is making much of this possible. The high-energy forward has too many nagging injuries to count, and Malone came to him with the idea to rest.
Faried was fine with it.
“For me, I’m just trying to get my body healed back right for USA Basketball,” Faried said.
If it’s up to Malone, Faried might not have to play another minute this season. A shortage of bigs, however, might press him into action.
“Kenneth being the pro that he is, told me no problem, he gets it,” Malone said. “But let’s see if Nurkic and Jokic can play together. What’s the good? What’s the bad? And do we think it’s something we can use in the future?”
Christopher Dempsey: cdempsey@ or @dempseypost
