Why the Nuggets' best basketball is ahead of them

It was all set up for the Denver Nuggets’ starters to make sweet music in 2018-19. With the way Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Will Barton, Paul Millsap and Nikola Jokic riffed off each other a season ago, it looked like we might get an epic live album. That group outscored the Clippers by 16 points on opening night and was a plus-13 against the Suns in the home opener. Then in the third quarter versus Phoenix, Barton felt a pop in his midsection. The injury required surgery, and Barton missed the next 38 games.

The Nuggets played well without their drummer (Barton), and they survived without their guitarist (Harris) and bassist (Millsap) for extended stretches, too. Denver was second in the West going into the All-Star break even though those three combined to miss 75 games. Now that all of them are healthy, the Nuggets can finally figure out what they sound like at the peak of their powers.

Denver’s first possession Wednesday in L.A., which included eight passes, two dribble handoffs and a straightaway 3-point make, gave the national audience watching on ESPN a taste of why, collectively, the Murray-Harris-Barton-Millsap-Jokic fivesome is so dangerous.

Surrounding Jokic with three guards who can pass, shoot and dribble is a death sentence for a defense. Murray, Harris and Barton orbit around Jokic in a never-ending series of dribble handoffs and pick and rolls. All that whirling action eventually creates driving lanes and forces the defense to make difficult decisions.

If opponents are worried about Jokic rolling, Denver’s guards can either get all the way to the basket or kick the ball out to a teammate spotting. And if opponents try to cut off Murray’s, Harris’ and Barton’s forays inside, that means Jokic is open on the roll.

The Nuggets cruised to a 12-point lead less than eight minutes into the game. Barton hit four 3s and scored 14 points in the first quarter alone. He finished with 23 points, five assists and one turnover. Barton is often criticized as a gunner, a misguided label. Anyone who’s watched him next to Murray, Harris, Millsap and Jokic understands that’s not the case. Over the last two seasons when he’s played alongside those guys, Barton is shooting 50.9 percent from the field and 44.8 percent from 3, and has handed out 22 assists compared to six turnovers. He’s an underrated playmaker.

The Nuggets hammered the Lakers with their starters on the floor, outscoring them by 26 points in 30 minutes. Overall, the numbers the Murray-Harris-Barton-Millsap-Jokic unit have posted are eye opening. That group is a +91 in 122 minutes across seven games this season. It has the best Net Rating of any lineup that’s logged at least 100 minutes. Here are its splits in the three games since Harris was reinserted at starting shooting guard over the weekend:

• Saturday vs. New Orleans: +9 in 15 minutes
• Monday at San Antonio: +10 in 24 minutes
• Wednesday at Los Angeles: +26 in 30 minutes

The Nuggets are 1-2 in that stretch because their bench is going through an identity crisis, not because their starters have struggled. Wednesday’s win over the Lakers was more white-knuckled than it needed to be. The Nuggets were up 17 at halftime and 23 early in the third quarter. By the 10:26 mark in the fourth quarter, the Lakers had cut their advantage to four. Michael Malone countered by subbing his starters back into the game earlier than usual. They put the game out of reach, outscoring the Lakers 28-12 in nine minutes together in the fourth quarter.

Harris’ personal 11-point spurt in the fourth quarter was key. When Jokic emerged as the unlikely focal point on Denver’s offense three years ago, Harris showed everyone else how to play off of him. The way Harris and Jokic navigate dribble handoffs looks more like a dance than an exchange of the basketball in close quarters. Harris has also learned to always expect a pass when spotting up. It doesn’t matter where Jokic’s eyes are trained or how many defenders are blanketing him; he’ll still slingshot it into your bread basket.

Harris and Murray scored 19 points. Millsap contributed 16 points and eight rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive end. Millsap averages the fewest shots (9.4 FGA) out of anyone in the starting group. Someone has to sacrifice with so much firepower. Millsap does an excellent job filling in the gaps.

Unselfishness is one of the main ingredients that makes the starters so effective. They assisted on 22 of their 30 made field goals in L.A. As a team, Denver finished with 33 assists and eight turnovers as it snapped a three-game losing streak and maintained a 3 1/2-game cushion over Oklahoma City for the 2 seed.

As well as the Nuggets have played this year, their best basketball could be ahead of them. Malone has his work cut out for him figuring out how to integrate Isaiah Thomas, but the good news is his starting group, together again after injuries derailed them for nearly four months, is one of the most dangerous lineups in basketball. Finally, it looks like they’ll get to riff.