Is the bench going to be the STRENGTH of this team ?

skywalker33 · Post #1 » by **skywalker33** » Wed Oct 10, 2018 3:49 am

So far this preseason the bench has provided the spark this team has needed in EVERY game. Plumlee looks rejuvenated, looks like his injury last year affected his play. Lyles is a man on a mission, Morris is looking to alleviate any fears while IT2 is recovering and Malik Frickin' Beasley has worked his way into the rotation this year IMO. They seem to be playing better defense than the starters, have better cohesion as well as a high energy that seems lacking from the starters.

Thoughts ?

Post #2 » by **The Rebel** » Wed Oct 10, 2018 11:51 am

Going from a bottom 5 bench to a top 10 bench last year would have resulted in the 3rd seed last year, I hope they are better this year and so far appear to be, but I have little faith in Malone using them correctly once the season starts.

Post #3 » by **NuggetsWY** » Wed Oct 10, 2018 12:10 pm

Hernangomez had a magnificent 1st preseason game and has done nothing since and isn't even receiving much PT. I suspect Malone will play Craig instead of Hernangomez at SF just because Malone plays his favorites. I suspect Malone will play Craig instead of Beasley at SG. Regardless of how well Morris plays, when Thomas comes back, Malone will play him. I also expect Malone to play Barton at PG before Thomas returns.

It seems likely that Malone plays Plumlee, Lyles, Craig, Thomas as his bench and since he has proven that he doesn't give players a game off unless they are injured, he'll probably go with his nine-man rotation.

I'll even go so far as to say Malone will play Jokic & Plumlee together - limiting Lyles minutes. In effect, he'll have eight players that receive 20+ mpg.

We've also seen that Malone will play one of his favorites, even if ineffective due to lingering injuries - or bring him back too early to be ineffective.

Could our bench be the strength of this team? Certainly and that would be nice. Let ten or eleven players rotate in-and-out - playing high energy, fast-paced basketball which can wear out an opponent, leaving the Nuggets able to win a game in the 4th quarter. But since that isn't what Malone looks for, I actually don't expect our bench to be our strength. I actually expect Thomas to be the only bench player that scores significant points.

skywalker33 · Post #4 » by **skywalker33** » Wed Oct 10, 2018 6:15 pm

Well, I was just thinking that the Nuggets had a lot of talent off the bench, even without IT or MPJ. Regardless, seems Malone will find a way to screw that up too.

Post #5 » by **NuggetsWY** » Wed Oct 10, 2018 8:07 pm

skywalker33 wrote:Well, I was just thinking that the Nuggets had a lot of talent off the bench, even without IT or MPJ. Regardless, seems Malone will find a way to screw that up too.

I've thought that for the last couple of years, but talent off the bench has no value if it isn't used and/or developed.

skywalker33 · Post #6 » by **skywalker33** » Wed Oct 10, 2018 8:59 pm

NuggetsWY wrote:
skywalker33 wrote:Well, I was just thinking that the Nuggets had a lot of talent off the bench, even without IT or MPJ. Regardless, seems Malone will find a way to screw that up too.

I've thought that for the last couple of years, but talent off the bench has no value if it isn't used and/or developed.

Well, take Beasley for example, did he show he was ready prior to this year ??? Not in my opinion. Because of that he didn't get a lot of minutes, but he did get a few. He also played in G-league, SL, etc which did help him develop into the now-ready player he appears before you. I agree his value has been low prior to this season but as of now I'd say he has some value.

Post #7 » by **THE J0KER** » Wed Oct 17, 2018 10:06 am

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/ranking-all-30-nba-bench-units-celtics-raptors-clippers-boast-top-reserves-for-2018-19-season/

CBS ranked our bench #16 in the league, which is unfair. But even that would be an improvement compared what we have last season.

Talking about CBS, they also have an interview with Will Barton today. https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/will-barton-explains-how-nikola-jokic-raises-nuggets-basketball-iq-says-jamal-murray-will-be-dangerous-and-scary/

Post #8 » by **The Rebel** » Mon Oct 22, 2018 5:25 pm

Through 3 games of the season and the preseason I must say that I think our bench is going to be about average. I am really high on Morris and many of the other guys, but our best bench guys are all young so they are going to be inconsistent but their good nights will be really good.

Post #9 » by **The Rebel** » Mon Oct 22, 2018 5:28 pm

THE J0KER wrote:https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/ranking-all-30-nba-bench-units-celtics-raptors-clippers-boast-top-reserves-for-2018-19-season/

CBS ranked our bench #16 in the league, which is unfair. But even that would be an improvement compared what we have last season.

I would say that is more than fair from national reporters, our bench is full of unproven young players and 1 veteran who is out for an unkown time dealing with a major hip injury. I think we end up right around there, but I would have expected most national guys to put them in the bottom 5 after last year.

skywalker33 · Post #10 » by **skywalker33** » Tue Oct 23, 2018 2:24 am

The Rebel wrote:Through 3 games of the season and the preseason I must say that I think our bench is going to be about average. I am really high on Morris and many of the other guys, but our best bench guys are all young so they are going to be inconsistent but their good nights will be really good.

,
Hey, Plumlee has been playing real well too, I'd almost say he was playing up to his contract (not quite but close). He could start for a lot of teams, even GSW IMO.

Post #11 » by **NuggetsWY** » Tue Oct 23, 2018 12:03 pm

skywalker33 wrote:
The Rebel wrote:Through 3 games of the season and the preseason I must say that I think our bench is going to be about average. I am really high on Morris and many of the other guys, but our best bench guys are all young so they are going to be inconsistent but their good nights will be really good.

Hey, Plumlee has been playing real well too, I'd almost say he was playing up to his contract (not quite but close). He could start for a lot of teams, even GSW IMO.

From three games, I'd say we definitely have some nice talent on our bench but clearly the strength of our team is the starters.

Post #12 » by **The Rebel** » Tue Oct 30, 2018 8:15 pm

Read on Twitter

So far nothing on Lydon

skywalker33 · Post #13 » by **skywalker33** » Tue Oct 30, 2018 8:57 pm

The Rebel wrote:

Read on Twitter

So far nothing on Lydon

No-brainer on these three, glad to hear it. I'd expect to see Lydon's picked up, not sure if there's an impending deadline but they do need to find out what they have there.

Post #14 » by **NuggetsWY** » Tue Oct 30, 2018 9:49 pm

Jamal Murray, Malik Beasley and Juancho Hernangomez make sense. Lydon hasn't really played enough to prove much. So does the team believe in him? I have no idea if he's any good or not.

Post #15 » by **The Rebel** » Wed Oct 31, 2018 1:09 am

skywalker33 wrote:
The Rebel wrote:

Read on Twitter

So far nothing on Lydon

No-brainer on these three, glad to hear it. I'd expect to see Lydon's picked up, not sure if there's an impending deadline but they do need to find out what they have there.

The deadline is tomorrow, but if they don't pick it up that can only mean they don't think much of his future.

skywalker33 · Post #16 » by **skywalker33** » Thu Nov 1, 2018 2:37 am

Lydon's option declined .... makes that Mitchell trade look even worse.

Post #17 » by **THE J0KER** » Thu Nov 1, 2018 3:02 pm

skywalker33 wrote:Lydon's option declined .... makes that Mitchell trade look even worse.

No, this shows our FO becoming more mature. Management should never deny own mistakes, otherwise, it is the road to making these mistakes even bigger. See Plumlee case after Nurkic deal. He will maybe prove everyone this season that he is worth that money as a player, but not in a team where his minutes are limited to about 15 mpg. Once we take this summer two forwards MPJ and Vanderbilt, and decided to trust in Lyles and Juancho future, Lydon becomes clearly outnumbered. If Phoenix FO can face the truth and give up lately from two TOP5 picks (Len and Bender), or Sixers with Okafor and Noel, it is not the end of the world if we gave up from our #24 pick.

Post #18 » by **NuggetsWY** » Thu Nov 1, 2018 4:30 pm

THE J0KER wrote:
skywalker33 wrote:Lydon's option declined .... makes that Mitchell trade look even worse.

No, this shows our FO becoming more mature. Management should never deny own mistakes, otherwise, it is the road to making these mistakes even bigger. See Plumlee case after Nurkic deal. He will maybe prove everyone this season that he is worth that money as a player, but not in a team where his minutes are limited to about 15 mpg. Once we take this summer two forwards MPJ and Vanderbilt, and decided to trust in Lyles and Juancho future, Lydon becomes clearly outnumbered. If Phoenix FO can face the truth and give up lately from two TOP5 picks (Len and Bender), or Sixers with Okafor and Noel, it is not the end of the world if we gave up from our #24 pick.

In the past, this front office has appeared to over-value their current players and/or show loyalty. This is a business. Agree with Joker that drafting Porter & Vanderbilt (which I love), makes Lydon expendable (and maybe some other players - but we'll have to wait on their evaluations).

U hova · Post #19 » by **U hova** » Thu Nov 1, 2018 6:58 pm

skywalker33 wrote:Lydon's option declined .... makes that Mitchell trade look even worse.

We gotta move on from that. Can't hold onto players just to make a poor decision look better.

skywalker33 · Post #20 » by **skywalker33** » Mon Nov 5, 2018 3:58 am

Our bench is averaging 37+ ppg, that's the sign of a top 10 team.