Is the Nuggest Bench worse than last year?

[Ryoga Hibiki]

This seems to be the narrative, but I don't see it.
It's all based on Brown leaving, but the reality is that during the RS the non Jokic minutes were bad last year and have been bad this year.
But once you look at the playoff rotation last year they had 28 min of brown and then like 15 min each from Green and rookie Braun.
This year the can will got wirh Reggie, And soph Watson and soph Braun. With maybe some sprinkles of Holiday here and there.
The non Jokic minutes will likely have a switching unit with Gordon/Watson and then MPj/Brown/KCP/Jackson with Murray. I think this can actually be a nasty group.

I think the bench is better. Not by much, but better.

[BelgradeNugget]

Better

[Triple M]

They contribute defensively. If you play them with enough competent offensive players they tend to be fine. They seem good at getting stops and getting out on the break especially @ home. Those energy plays can ignite runs which is an element that makes Den so tough to beat.

For the opposition they should try to force them into half court situations and force them to shoot. Last year's bench seem to hit timely shots which i dont necessarily think this group can.

Overall i think they are slightly better.

[SlimShady83]

Nah worse, I'm saying Lakers In 6 hahah

[PlatinumState]

Id say a bit better. They drafted really well the past two years with Braun, Watson and Strawther and didnt lose anyone important other than Jeff Green

[SweaterBae]

Way worse.

[nomansland]

About the same, with a big dose of "we'll see".

Bruce Brown is the best player of the playoff rotations from both years, but the bench now is actually deeper and more versatile. They can go 8-9 deep and Malone has a little more to work with.

The wild cards are how much production they get from Watson and Jackson.

[durden_tyler]

No. It’s about the same. It’s the other teams that have improved (Lakers, Pelicans, Clippers) and that have improved a lot (Mavs, Thunder, Wolves) so they won’t have a dominating run like last year if they are winning the title.

[Lockdown504090]

About the same, with a big dose of "we'll see".

Bruce Brown is the best player of the playoff rotations from both years, but the bench now is actually deeper and more versatile. They can go 8-9 deep and Malone has a little more to work with.

The wild cards are how much production they get from Watson and Jackson.

Bruce was arguably the best bench player last year. Can Braun and Watson make up for that? Iunno. Can energy make up for Jeff greens basketball iq? Nuggets have question marks as the rotations get thinner

[nomansland]

About the same, with a big dose of "we'll see".

Bruce Brown is the best player of the playoff rotations from both years, but the bench now is actually deeper and more versatile. They can go 8-9 deep and Malone has a little more to work with.

The wild cards are how much production they get from Watson and Jackson.

Bruce was arguably the best bench player last year. Can Braun and Watson make up for that? Iunno. Can energy make up for Jeff greens basketball iq? Nuggets have question marks as the rotations get thinner

Braun gets them at least 70% of the way to make up for Brown. He's been bringing the ball up lately and defensively is just as good. Watson has been erratic and this will be his first year playing in the playoffs, so we'll have to see.

I am a big Jeff Green fan but he's not the difference-maker in this equation by any stretch. The 4 guys that will be in the rotation can easily replace his production on both ends of the floor. In fact they're an upgrade.

The guy that worries me is Reggie Jackson. He shoots well sometimes but his defense is suspect and he tends to get tunnel vision even when he's on the floor with Jokic. Actually the bigger worry is that Murray stays healthy so Jackson doesn't need too many minutes.

[tmorgan]

Reggie is indeed the problem. That guy has always thought he’s better than he actually is. He’ll have a good game per series, I’m sure, but in the others he needs to be under control, which is difficult if he’s bringing the ball up.

[cupcakesnake]

Well Bruce Brown is is a better all-around player than anyone on their bench this year. His versatility fit perfect in Denver because he could come in as a ball handler, spot up shooter, wing defender, or cutting finisher. The Nuggets don't have someone like that anymore.

But Peyton Watson is a bigger, better defender than Bruce Brown, while Reggie Jackson is a better ball handler and shooter. Christian Braun has made slight improvements across the board.

I voted "same" but I might lean more towards "a bit better" than "a bit worse". I think we'll have to see what Watson looks like in the playoffs.

[LeBronSpaghetti]

I voted clearly worse because I don’t think any of their bench guys can be relied upon to play almost 30 mins per game throughout the playoffs like BB did. I like Braun and Watson and think that their impact might actually be increased in the playoffs because they’ll always be on the court with at least one of Murray/Jokic, which really alleviates their biggest weakness which is the inability to create their own shot in the half court offense. But Jackson is a huge problem, he can ruin momentum and shoot you out of a game so fast. I’d much prefer if Holiday got his minutes but I don’t see that happening.

[Hatrick Ewing]

They used to have Wilson Chandler. Like many years ago.

[Saints14]

I voted a bit worse because Brown was really a 6th starter for them in the playoffs last year, but the big issue they still haven't solved is a half decent backup center for when Jokic sits. Nnaji has been a huge disappointment

[EmpireFalls]

I think the bench overall is better than last year but the individual impact of players is lesser due to losing Bruce Brown.

[dhsilv2]

IF there are no injuries. If they tighten the rotation. And if some of the younger guys keep up their play...about the same or maybe even a hair better. But those are pretty big ifs. I'd say slightly worse, but we might get a nice playoff surprise if the younger guys keep up their play.

[G R E Y]

Less experienced maybe, if that counts as a type of worse. But it's still a balanced threat of a team and there's only one way to get experience. At some point you have to expand the minutes/roles of younger guys/ lean on them more as they show growth.

[ohmuri]

It's a terrible bench anyway. Last year they wasted resources to improve it and for the moment it's been a failure. I liked the idea of grooming a home-made unspectacular but reliable bench with low-celing older rookies, as the starting 5 it's almost perfect and Jokic can make anything work as long as you're serviceable. But the rookies have not contributed even in that weak a bench, Braun hasn't really jumped a lot in his sophomore year, Nnaji regressed and only Watson's development feels encouraging.

Calvin Booth had one job this year and he has failed. Bench it's clearly the biggest weakness of the team and it may very easily doom their chances. Last year they were lucky not to sustain injuries during the POs and so dominant that they won every series pretty shortly and therefore enjoying more rest, but you can't gamble on it happening every year. They needed to make their bench more averageish to improve their chances and they haven't.

[TheShow2021]

Denver had the 2nd worst regular season bench last year. This year they were the 9th worst. Yes obviously their playoff rotation will be shortened a bit.

I feel Bruce Brown is one of the most overrated players in the league but he fit perfectly with Jokic. Not quite yet, but within the next 2 years, Peyton should be better than 2023 Brown.

I think their bench is about the same.