Nuggets visit Celtics as Malone vows to change starting lineup

 

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Regular Season Game No. 6 | Denver Nuggets (2-3) at Boston Celtics (3-2)

TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts| 5:30 PM MST | TV: Altitude

The Denver Nuggets were embarrassed Saturday night in Detroit and fell to the Pistons 103-86. Now in Boston, on their first back-to-back of the young season, the Nuggets have to recover in a hurry.

Here’s what to watch for:

Who starts?

Coach Michael Malone claimed he would change up Denver’s starting five after Saturday night’s loss in Detroit when the Nuggets were outscored 29-13 in the first quarter. Malone blamed that that early deficit on effort and energy.

“We were flat everywhere, it wasn’t just on offense. Our defense was horrendous,” Malone said. “We’re not going to have the same starting lineup tomorrow night.”

How Malone adjusts his lineup is anyone’s guess. Does he bench struggling point guard Emmanuel Mudiay who went 0-7 from the field Saturday and is shooting just 27 percent on the year? Relegating the 20-year-old to the bench might kill Mudiay’s confidence but realistically speaking, Malone is desperate for wins and veteran Jameer Nelson gives the Nuggets a better chance to get a victory right now.

Does Malone break up the Nikola Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic frontcourt? “Jurkic” has a -10.7 NetRtg through five games, has looked capable offensively at times, even though the numbers don’t back that up and has been awful on defense. The most logical name that may get added to the starting lineup would be Wilson Chandler.

The most logical name that may get added to the starting lineup is Wilson Chandler. After missing all of last season, Chandler has started the year with vengeance. Through five games, Chandler is averaging 14.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and shooting 46.0 percent from the field. He’s coming off a 21-point, nine-rebound effort in Detroit and looks every bit the player he was before getting injured last preseason.

Banged up Boston

The Nuggets seem to be close to full health after suffering through a rash of injuries this preseason, as Gary Harris saw his first action of the regular season Saturday and Darrell Arthur has played in two straight games. The Celtics, however, are a bit beat up.

Al Horford missed Boston’s win against Chicago Wednesday after getting diagnosed with a concussion, was also sidelined against Cleveland, and is not cleared for tonight’s matchup. Kelly Olynyk is closer to making his season debut after offseason shoulder surgery and is questionable against the Nuggets while Jae Crowder is sidelined with a sprained ankle he suffered against the Bulls as well.

That puts rookie and No. 3 overall pick Jaylen Brown in the spotlight. Brown got the first start of his career in Boston’s loss in Cleveland Thursday and scored 19 points on 8-16 shooting in 35 minutes. His role is expanded once again tonight against the Nuggets with Crowder still out of the lineup.

How does Jokic get going

After a third-place finish in last year’s Rookie of the Year voting, Jokic has not seemed himself this year. Off the court, Jokic is the same fun-loving, goofy personality he was last season, but on the court, he’s looked uncomfortable and frustrated.

Jokic said at practice leading up to this road trip that he has to get more aggressive on the offensive end of the floor, but that doesn’t mean just scoring the ball. Jokic wants to be more aggressive as a passer, playmaker, facilitator, and get back to how he was playing last year.

It has been tough for Jokic playing alongside Nurkic and while Nurkic has won all the early-season superlatives, Malone and the Nuggets can’t forget about Jokic and how he was able to excel last year.

Jokic is best when playing with other high IQ players that can cut to the hoop when the time is right, get their teammates open and take full advantage of his passing and playmaking abilities. He’s also best used in lineups that feature both Chandler and Danilo Gallinari. It seemed like Malone was about to unlock that lineup’s full potential last game when that trio, which also included Jamal Murray and Mudiay outscored the Pistons 12-8 over a 3.5-minute stretch. Unfortunately, that’s all we saw of that group Saturday.

On the season, the combination of Chandler, Gallinari, and Jokic has only played 12 minutes. They’ve outscored their opponent 37-14. Hopefully that combination gets substantial run against Boston and can unlock Jokic from his shackles.