How a lineup change helped Will Barton start playing "stress free" basketball again

DENVER — Nuggets coach Michael Malone made an important decision on Jan. 21. A day after his team fell to the Phoenix Suns, Malone declared he would call fewer players and encourage his team to play at a faster pace in an effort to recapture the offensive identity it’d lost.

Those tweaks worked wonders for Denver. The Nuggets are averaging 113.9 points per 100 possessions in their last eight games, the second-best mark in basketball. They’ve gone 6-2 in that stretch, with their only losses coming by a combined three points to the Celtics and Spurs.

Malone’s decision to loosen his grip on the offense has played a big role in Denver getting back on track after a rocky first three weeks of January. So has another choice Malone made following that ugly loss to Phoenix: Deciding to pull the plug on the Will-Barton-backup-point-guard experiment and inserting him into the starting lineup.

Barton became Denver’s backup point guard in mid-December after Emmanuel Mudiay went down with a sprained ankle and remained in that role even when Mudiay returned. His efficiency numbers declined sharply when he was asked to point guard the second unit. In 15 games as the backup one, Barton shot 40.4 percent from the floor and 31.0 percent from three. He did an admirable job in an unfamiliar spot, but he wasn’t as effective as he’d been at the start of the year.

Since Barton moved into the starting lineup and returned to small forward, his natural position, his numbers have crept back up. He’s averaging 14.8 points on 44.1 percent shooting from the field and 36.6 percent from three. The Nuggets are outscoring opponents by 9.6 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor and getting outscored by 19.2 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the bench in their last eight games.

“I wanted him to get back to playing the game and not worrying about, ‘I have to run my team. I’m a point guard now,’ Malone said. “So I think that’s allowed Will to get back to playing his game. He doesn’t have to worry about running his team. That’s Jamal Murray, that’s Emmanuel Mudiay. … And it’s kind of freed Will Barton up.”

The Nuggets have cycled through different players in the front court next to Nikola Jokic during their recent hot stretch. Mason Plumlee started until he strained his calf. Darrell Arthur earned a spot start against the Spurs. Wilson Chandler has gotten the nod at power forward the last three games.

The other four starting spots — Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Barton and Jokic — haven’t changed, though. Denver is crushing opponents when that quartet is on the floor, outscoring them by 18.2 points per 100 possessions.

“We just make plays for each other,” Barton said. “Gary might have it, Jamal might have it, I might have it. It makes it easy for me when I have a lot of guys who can make plays, who can also shoot the ball. So it opens up lanes for myself, passes, shots.”

It’s unclear what the Nuggets’ rotation will look like after Thursday’s 1 p.m. MT trade deadline. Mudiay has reclaimed his spot at backup point guard, but Denver is reportedly in the market for a veteran to play the position. It’s possible the Nuggets could look for help on the wing as well. How would those moves affect Barton, who’s thriving in the starting lineup? It’s hard to know.

Barton has repeatedly emphasized he’s willing to take on any role thrown his way. But the first two months of the season and the chunk of games after Jan. 21 are proof of where’s he’s best.

“You see kind of a stress-free Will Barton, who’s just out there balling right now,” Malone said. “That’s when he’s at his best.”