Is Michael Porter Jr. the boost that the Nuggets' bench needs?

Will Barton is still a believer in the Nuggets’ bench.

Even after Denver’s second unit gave up 61 points to the Dallas Mavericks’ reserves in Tuesday’s 109-106 loss, Barton, the Nuggets’ former sixth man said he’d still put his team’s bench up against any other backup unit in the NBA.

“I feel like we’ve got the best bench in the league when we’re clicking on all cylinders,” Barton said. “It’s a long season. Nights like this happen. Give a lot of credit to their bench. They really balled out, all of them. (Jalen) Brunson had a stretch where he went crazy. Their whole bench played well tonight. They kind of won them the game.”

The Nuggets’ lack of defense was the leading cause behind their first loss of the season. Denver’s starters didn’t defend up to the level they needed to particularly in the closing minutes of regulation, but it was the Nuggets’ poor bench play that stuck out on the stat sheet.

The Mavericks’ five-man bench unit — Maxi Kleber, Tim Hardaway Jr., Delon Wright, Jalen Brunson and Justin Jackson — shot a collective 24-41 (58.5%) from the field and 7-15 (46.7%) from 3. Hardaway Jr. was a plus-23 in his 23 minutes. Brunson was a plus-20 in just 15:30 of playing time.

At the tail end of the third quarter, Denver’s starters handed its second unit a double-digit lead that turned into a three-point Mavericks advantage by the time Michael Malone went back to his first five with 8:49 left in the fourth.

“Their bench dominated the game,” Malone said.

The Nuggets have been rolling with what many expected to be their opening night 10-man rotation which features a second unit of Monte Morris, Malik Beasley, Torrey Craig, Jerami Grant, and Mason Plumlee. It’s a lineup that’s given Denver good results in spurts this season but overall hasn’t popped like some thought it might.

It’s early, but through four games, the Morris-Beasley-Craig-Grant-Plumlee lineup has been outscored by 68-74 in 41 minutes. That group has been dismal on offense (96.1 Offensive Rating) but better on defense (103.9 Defensive Rating).

The Nuggets’ bench should be a strength every night. Last season it was, and with the addition of Grant it should be once again especially when playing at home.

On Tuesday, it was Denver’s weakness.

“Our inability to guard 1-on-1 I thought was a big part of it,” Malone elaborated on his bench’s defensive struggles. “And then towards the end of that third quarter we were playing pretty good defense, we gave up three straight threes. Will Barton gets knocked down, five-on-four break, and we give up the three. We’re supposed to be switching pick-and-rolls. We’re not switching correctly, we give up two more threes.”

Could the second unit benefit from new blood? Perhaps in the form of a 6-foot-10 sweet shooting forward who would undoubtedly help Denver’s bench’s stagnant offense?

It’s a legitimate question.

Michael Porter Jr. impressed with his scoring prowess throughout the preseason. Granted some of his minutes didn’t come against opposing first or even second units, but Porter tallied 12 points on 6 of 7 shooting one night against the Clippers and then put in 11 points in 21 minutes a few days later versus the Suns. His much-hyped jump shot looks legitimate and at his height with his length and skill-set he’s a potential mismatch at both forward spots.

He’d surely aid the Nuggets’ offense if given an opportunity but just four games into the 2019-20 campaign, it appears that he’ll have to wait. Malone hasn’t given any indication that he’s ready to alter his rotation no matter how inconsistent his second unit has looked so far. Denver’s coach could be right too. The season is just a week old and this unit as currently constructed could still find a rhythm.

But Porter will likely have to wait mainly because his defense, as expected, still lags. It’s the weakest part of the rookie’s game based off his preseason minutes, and with how much Denver’s second unit struggled on that end of the floor against Dallas it’s hard imagining Porter would have done much to help the Nuggets’ in that department tonight.

So when will his chance come?

You can tell he’s getting antsy. Porter was frustrated that he didn’t get on the floor until the late-third quarter in Denver’s preseason finale and while he understands that on a 54-win team he’ll have to earn his minutes and exercise a bit of patience along the way, it’s not hard to read between the lines and tell that he thinks he should be playing.

During a late fourth-quarter timeout, Porter stood on the outside of the Nuggets’ huddle and went through his go-to offensive move — a quick hesitation dribble into a pull-up jumper — with an imaginary ball in his hands.

The kid can’t wait to play.

The reality is that on this team, with this much talent and players ahead of him at his position like Craig that Malone trusts, Porter may have to wait for an injury to crack into the rotation. But should the Nuggets be that cautious?

Denver is playing the long game this season. Malone said at Media Day that the Nuggets are focusing on a 110-game regular season with a deep playoff run in mind, not an 82-game slate. With how talented Denver’s roster is the Nuggets could afford to experiment a bit early on in the season — especially on back-to-backs when teams normally expand their bench — and see if Porter will be able to help them later in the year.

Until that time comes, Porter will have to stay ready. He’ll have to continue to push those ahead of him on the depth chart in practice and whenever given the opportunity. He’ll have to stay in the gym and work harder than ever.

Around 45 minutes after the Nuggets’ loss, Porter emerged from the set of stairs that leads from Denver’s second-floor practice court to its locker room drenched in sweat following a postgame workout. He quickly dressed in a gray sweatsuit with a black backpack and promptly exited Pepsi Center surely thinking the same thing many watching the Nuggets’ loss were.

What would the Nuggets’ second unit look like if he was a part of it?