"He’s a rebounding machine": Jarred Vanderbilt's debut has the Nuggets giddy

Three golden nuggets for the number of rebounds Jarred Vanderbilt collected in his NBA debut, a 132-95 Nuggets’ blowout win over the Suns.

1. Denver cruised to a win over a bad, banged-up team, so it feels appropriate to start this installation off in a weird place: garbage time. With 3:53 to go and the Nuggets sitting on a 31-point cushion, Jarred Vanderbilt, the 41st overall pick in last summer’s draft, subbed into the game and made his NBA debut. Nuggets president of basketball operations Tim Connelly was giddy on draft night after nabbing Vanderbilt in the second round.

“One of the greatest rebounders we’ve ever seen,” Connelly said.

Vanderbilt logged just 238 minutes in his lone season at Kentucky due to injuries and a wealth of other talent in the frontcourt, but when he did get on the court, Vanderbilt made the most of it, averaging 7.9 rebounds in just 17 minutes. Connelly knew his team landed a gifted rebounder. He knew Vanderbilt could defend and handle the ball, too.

All of those traits were on display in the 3 minutes, 53 seconds Vanderbilt played Friday against the Phoenix Suns. He grabbed three rebounds, scored his first NBA point on a free throw and a made a sweet 50-foot bounce pass to Malik Beasley.

The stakes were $5-blackjack-table low, but Vanderbilt made an impression.

“I couldn’t be happier for Jarred Vanderbilt,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “Jarred was really nervous about playing. He hadn’t played since last February. For him to get over that fear, to get out there and have three, four impactful minutes. That pass he made was an incredible pass. I think he shows you in 3 minutes, 53 seconds, he gets you three rebounds. He’s a rebounding machine.”

Vanderbilt is uncommonly smooth for a power forward. One day, he might become a fixture in Malone’s rotation. For now, though, the plan is to send Vanderbilt to the G League’s Delaware Blue Coats on Saturday so he can play consistent minutes and build his endurance back up. Vanderbilt had surgery on his right foot in June. Friday was the first time he played in a game since Kentucky went to Florida on March 3.

“I had a couple jitters,” Vanderbilt said. “It was amazing to get back out there and play again.”

2. The Nuggets had already gone through shootaround when news broke that the NBA was suspending Jokic for one game for leaving the bench during the Mason Plumlee-Derrick Favors dustup in Utah. Malone’s team was familiar with the Suns; Friday marked their fourth meeting. Phoenix was also down three rotation players. Still, Malone felt like he needed to call a second shootaround that afternoon once he knew he was giving Mason Plumlee a spot start in Jokic’s place.

“They were just busting my chops in there about having two shootarounds today because we brought them back in the afternoon to walk through the plays once we knew who was in and who was out,” Malone said.

Excessive? Maybe. But Denver took care of business. Eight Nuggets scored in double figures. Paul Millsap reached 20 points on only eight shots. Malik Beasley scored 19 on 6-of-11 shooting. Monte Morris connected on three 3s on his way to 17 points. Plumlee alley-ooped his way to 16 points.

“People forget Mason Plumlee was a starter on a playoff team,” Malone said. 

Plumlee is one of the game’s best rim-running centers. He’s an athletic 7-footer whose motor never seems to stop. He chipped in seven rebounds and six assists to go along with all those flushes. Plumlee would start full-time on many other NBA teams.

3. We’re almost there. Almost. Knock on wood while you’re reading this. Barring the unforeseen, the Nuggets will finally roll out their starting lineup from opening night Saturday against the Philadelphia 76ers. Denver hasn’t gone to the Murray-Harris-Barton-Millsap-Jokic quintet since Oct. 20, when Barton went down with a hip/core injury that cost him 38 games. The Nuggets are third in offensive efficiency even though Barton, Harris and Millsap have combined to miss 65 games. There’s a real chance they challenge the Warriors for top offense in the NBA down the stretch.