Denver Nuggets: Which bench players should play postseason minutes?

The Denver Nuggets have clinched their first playoff appearance since 2013. Which bench players give them the best shot at a long postseason run?

With 10 games remaining in the regular season, the Denver Nuggets have surpassed expectations more than any other team in the NBA (though an equal argument can be made for the Los Angeles Clippers). But as most NBA fans know, the playoffs are a whole different monster. For the Nuggets, it’s fair to assume they’ll approach more bumps in the road than their Western Conference counterparts.

With a roster full of youth that hasn’t experienced a playoff atmosphere, and the challenge of inserting Isaiah Thomas back into the rotation, head coach Michael Malone is going to have some tough decisions to make. Nevertheless, it’s a good problem to have. With these tough decisions to be made, there is a positive: Denver has nothing to lose and everything to gain.

This will be the first opportunity for leaders Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Gary Harris to make some noise in the playoffs. As long as they don’t lose in four or five games in the first round, it’s going to be viewed as a great season to build upon for Denver.

Though the team is structured to contend for years to come, Mile High fans aren’t going to be content just getting to the playoffs either.

It’s no secret the depth of the Nuggets is one of the main reasons this team has been so successful. Breakout role players like Monte Morris, Torrey Craig and Malik Beasley have all been able to step in and play bigger roles when need be. However, rotations shorten significantly in the playoffs. Starters usually surpass 30-35 minutes played, and only 2-3 bench players are utilized at a significant amount (over 10 minutes per game).

Denver’s starting lineup is intact. Murray, Harris, Will Barton, Paul Milsap and Jokic have proven lethal in the short time this starting group has been together. In the 15 games they’ve all played together, they’ve posted an effective +4.1 plus-minus.

But what other players are deserving of playoff minutes? Barring injury, the best bench players for Michael Malone to utilize in the playoffs are Beasley, Morris and Mason Plumlee. Deploying these three off the bench in a brutal Western Conference gives the Nuggets shooting, ball security and quality passing at all times on the floor.

Shooting

Shooting will be much-needed in a Western Conference playoff race with a number of elite shooters and scorers such as James Harden, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Paul George, Damian Lillard and more. Insert Beasley and Morris.

Beasley leads Denver in true shooting percentage (61.1 percent) and is second in 3-point percentage (42.4 percent), with Morris leading the team in 3-point efficiency at 42.4 percent. Utilizing this tandem when the starters exit gives Mike Malone the best chance at executing offense proficiently.

Plumlee’s post presence has even been beneficial for the Nuggets’ outside shooting. In Denver’s best 3-point shooting two-man lineups, Plumlee is a part of two of the best three combinations (Jokic and Plumlee are No. 1 at 41.1 percent), per NBA.com.

Playmakers

For the Nuggets to execute offensively, it will require not only their best scorers off the bench, but their best playmakers. Morris and Plumlee fit the mold here as well. Plumlee is having his best passing season thus far, averaging a career-high 5.0 assists per game per 36 minutes.

As for Morris, he’s been excellent here, posting 5.5 assists per 36 minutes and the best assist-to-turnover ratio of any Nugget at 5.5.

Missing the cut

Torrey Craig, Isaiah Thomas and Juan Hernangomez are the odd men out here.

In Craig’s case, he has had a great step forward this season with career highs in minutes and points per game, as well as true shooting percentage, but Denver is just too loaded at the guard position.

As for Hernangomez, he’s barely been a part of the rotation for weeks now.

For Thomas, since return from injury he just hasn’t looked like his old self. The MVP candidate we once saw has clearly had trouble trying to duplicate that success. Thomas has been dealt some bad luck with not only injuries, but teams he’s been on too, being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Lakers, where he just didn’t fit.

Let’s take a second just to remind ourselves just how great he was during the 2016-17 season where he was fully healthy and in a situation that fit his style.

It even got to the point where we were talking about IT as one of the most dependable players in the clutch.

Now with the Nuggets, in just 10 games played this season Thomas has a higher usage rate (26.2 percent) than any other player aside from Jokic (26.8 percent). With that all that usage, it hasn’t been pretty. Thomas has shot just 36.4 percent from the field and a lackluster 26.5 percent from 3.

When Thomas is on the court, the Nuggets have seen their pace increase to 108.05 possessions per game with the next-highest being Will Barton at just 101.66. Thomas clearly isn’t accustomed to the slow pace Denver plays at (seventh-lowest in the NBA) and may be the reason he has a net rating of -7.6 this season.

Throwing Thomas into a playoff game is not a risk Malone can afford to take when he has other contributors like Beasley and Morris playing so well.