Michael Malone has an unorthodox plan to keep Denver's offense afloat when Nikola Jokic sits

While Nikola Jokic has always sat at the center of the Denver Nuggets’ offensive attack, Paul Millsap‘s presence took a little bit of pressure off the Serbian’s shoulders through Denver’s first 16 regular-season games. The Nuggets always wanted to run most of their offense through Jokic but couldn’t waste Millsap’s skill-set either.

But with Millsap sidelined after left wrist surgery, Jokic is again featured on offense like he was for much of last season.

Jokic spent 325 of the 479 minutes he played through Nov. 19 (the date Millsap was injured) on the court alongside Denver’s marquee free agent acquisition. With Millsap healthy, Jokic posted a 21.2 percent usage rate (an estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while he was on the floor), but over the past three games — all of which Millsap has missed — Jokic’s usage rate has climbed to 25.2 percent.

It’s not an eye-popping spike, but it represents how Denver’s offense has shifted with Millsap out of the lineup. Jokic’s touches per game are also up from 79.4 to 84.7 over the Nuggets’ last three games. And he’s averaging 20.3 points — up from the 15.6 per game he scored through Denver’s first 16 games of the season.

Jokic is in a steady groove on offense, and so are the Nuggets…when he plays. Denver is scoring 108.7 points per 100 possessions when Jokic is on the floor, meaning the Nuggets’ offense is operating like one of the best scoring units in the league with their starting center. But when he sits, Denver’s attack slows to a halt. The Nuggets’ offense slips by 4.3 points per 100 possessions when Jokic is on the bench. Over their last three games, Denver’s managing to score just 85.6 points per 100 possessions with Jokic off the court.

“I’m going to try and play him 46 minutes a night,” Malone joked with the media at Monday’s practice.

“When he is out, what happens right now, is I think you guys can probably see it. Our first group, we have great pace and energy and ball movement, and sometimes we go to our bench and it’s not nearly as great of a pace and a lot more ball holding and dribbling and less passing,” Malone continued. “So we have to understand no matter who’s in the game, we are at our best when that ball is moving, bodies are moving and we’re not holding the ball. I think that’s where it really starts.”

Denver’s bench mob featuring Emmanuel Mudiay, Will Barton, Juancho Hernangomez and sometimes Malik Beasley, Mason Plumlee and now Trey Lyles has been hit or miss this season. At times, they’ve struggled to score.

The ball can stick when Denver’s bench is in the game, and some of their plays die after one or two passes.

“We don’t have another Nikola Jokic on our bench per se, but Trey Lyles is a really good ball mover, Mason Plumlee is a very good facilitator,” Malone said. “So I think other guys have to commit to running, cutting, finishing your cut and just being really hard to guard at times.”

Denver’s Tuesday night matchup in Utah will be another test for the Nuggets’ bench. On opening night, Denver let a 15-point third quarter lead evaporate in a matter of minutes while some of their second unit was on the floor. Barton — the leader of the Nuggets’ second unit — couldn’t get loose, and turnovers started to pile up as the Jazz overcame the deficit and rolled to a double-digit win.

The bench unit could take another hit in Utah as Barton could be thrust into the starting lineup again with Wilson Chandler, who’s been limited at practice over the past few days with low back pain, questionable for the game.

“I think right now you see two different teams in one game,” Malone said.

Millsap returns home following surgery

Paul Millsap is home and resting following left wrist surgery, Nuggets coach Michael Malone said Monday.

“I sent him a bunch of messages letting him know that we’re all thinking about him keeping him in our thoughts and prayers,” Malone said.

The surgery, which was performed by UCHealth surgeon Dr. Frank Scott, went “really well,” per Malone. Millsap’s return date will be dependent upon his rehab process. The Nuggets did note that Millsap will miss “several months.”

The Nuggets hope Millsap is back at the facility and around the team as soon as possible.

“I think it’s really important for him, when he’s able to, to be around as much as possible, to travel with us as much as possible,” Malone said. “Because I think what happens sometimes is if you’re isolated, you start to feel like you’re on an island by yourself and that’s a lonely feeling. We don’t want Paul ever feeling that way.”

“He can still have a profound impact on all of our guys if he’s wearing a suit or if he’s just on the practice court encouraging guys. Whenever he’s able to get back into the gym we want him around as much as possible. When he’s cleared to travel we want him traveling with us as much as possible because I think it’s going to be healthy for him and beneficial for us as well.”