How Michael Malone jump-started his struggling bench unit

DENVER — Nikola Jokic was rolling at the start of the second quarter Sunday against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Nuggets’ star center blocked a shot, hit a deep three-pointer and got to the free throw line in a four-minute stretch. The temptation to ride him for the entire quarter was understandable. Instead, Nuggets coach Michael Malone subbed Paul Millsap in for Jokic at the 7:15 mark.

Beginning in Denver’s March 15 win over the Detroit Pistons, Malone has tweaked his rotation so that either Jokic or Millsap is on the floor at all times. One of Denver’s biggest problems over the last two seasons is that it falls apart anytime Jokic goes to the bench. Ensuring Millsap, a proven tough bucket getter, is on the floor when Jokic is not is an effort to mitigate that effect.

“What I’m trying to do lately is get Nikola out at the six (minute mark) because I want either Nikola or Paul Millsap — one of those two guys — in the game at all times,” Malone said. “They’re my safety blankets. If one of those two are in the game at all times, we have somebody to play through, who can kind of calm things down if things aren’t going our way.”

Millsap was rusty after missing 44 games with a left wrist injury. He scored in single digits in three of his first nine games back. But on Denver’s seven-game road trip, Millsap looked like the player who earned four All-Star selections. He needed only 12 shots to score 20 points against Toronto. He poured in a season-high 36 in the overtime win over Oklahoma City. On Sunday, which was another overtime win for Denver, Millsap tallied 26 points and 13 rebounds.

“I think I’m finding my spots,” Millsap said. “He (Jokic) is being more aggressive. I’m being more aggressive. My hand’s feeling better. We’re just getting after it. Our team is playing really good basketball even though we lost some games on the road. I still feel like we’re playing pretty good basketball.”

The Nuggets are 5-4 since Malone altered his substitution pattern. Over that stretch of games, they’ve outscored their opponent by 59 points with Jokic on the floor and gotten outscored by 45 points with him off. The raw numbers don’t suggest that leaving Millsap out there when Jokic goes to the bench is making much of an impact. But there have been bright patches such as the first quarter March 21 in Chicago or the second quarter Sunday when the approach pays off.

“I got him (Jokic) out around the seven-minute mark in the second quarter,” Malone said. “He was playing well. I knew I couldn’t run him the whole quarter. So the group that was in there when he was out played so well. I was like, ‘I’ve got to get Nikola back. He’s our best player. He’s playing well.’ But Trey was playing well. And that group that was in there built that lead.”

Denver outscored Milwaukee by five points in Jokic’s 44 minutes of floor time. In the nine minutes Jokic sat, the Nuggets only got outscored by two points, nearly playing the Bucks even. That’s a winning formula for the Nuggets if they can replicate it moving forward.

Jokic has been dominant after he was benched in the fourth quarter of a March 6 game against the Dallas Mavericks. In the last 13 games, Jokic is averaging 24.1 points on 55.7 percent shooting, 11.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks.

“He’s our team,” Millsap said after a March 7 loss to the Cavaliers. “He makes a lot of things go for us, so he’s got to continue to stay aggressive. I’m here to help him and back him in any way possible.”

Jokic has taken over as the Nuggets’ No. 1 option in the last few weeks. Denver’s problem is its inability to hold serve when Jokic sits. Leaving Millsap — Denver’s other “safety blanket” — out there when Jokic goes to the bench could be a solution.