Denver Nuggets: 4 Notable trends in Denver’s Game 1 win

Small lineup:

While Denver’s recent storylines have featured gigantic lineups and big men playing out of position, Monday’s game included a much smaller group that proved highly-successful down the stretch.

From the 1:32 mark of the fourth quarter until the end of the game, Denver utilized its smallest lineup in weeks, featuring Morris, Murray, Craig/Dozier, Grant, and Jokic. This group (Dozier filled in after Craig fouled out) was a plus-13 +/- in six and a half minutes down the stretch and served as Malone’s crunch-time lineup throughout the game’s most crucial moments.

Contrarily, the Denver Nuggets played a big lineup (Murray, Porter, Grant, Millsap, Jokic) in the third quarter, and this bunch finished a minus-10 +/- in four and a half minutes, a stretch that allowed the Utah Jazz back into the game.

After Monday’s contest, Denver will likely curb the big-man lineups, as these groups simply haven’t produced. Denver played with size for much of the game, yet was outrebounded 52-41 by Utah, which isn’t a good omen for the jumbo lineups.