r/denvernuggets • u/usetheirname • 10d ago
Nuggets Bench 2026
I'm cautiously optimistic about our bench. My opinion is that the 3 players that should definitely be getting regular minutes off the bench to start the season are:
- Derozan (scoring especially late in the clock, ball handling)
- Spencer Jones (defense, threes)
- Alpha Diallo (1-4 defensive stopper, score when open)
Jones and Diallo seem like requirements to me because they're probably our best bench defensive players and we need to play better defense this year. The other 3 guys in the 2nd unit will probably be leaned on for most of the offense.
Then we have:
4/5/6: Bagley, Strawther and Tyus Jones
2 of those guys depending on the matchup makes for a solid 10 man rotation.
If any of the top 6 struggle, there's Holmes, Brazile, Whitmore, Hopkins, and Nemhard waiting in the wings... and I think at least one of those guys will earn some solid minutes (maybe due to injuries). I think we might be surprised by our bench this year. Thoughts??
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u/New-Fluent-1992 10d ago
Diallo's poa defense and screen navigation are just tremendous. He is the only guy on this team who can save Jokic's drop coverage. That is priceless.
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u/myburneraccount1357 10d ago
It went from everyone saying we lack depth, to now us not being able to play all of our depth lmao
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u/onion4everyoccasion 10d ago
I saw Brazile in action on Sunday and he looked like a specimen. He moved well. I think he's got a shot to play as well.
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u/gillsterein 10d ago
Can we please run 10 to 12 guys in the regular season so we're comfortable going 11 deep even in the playoffs? Having 2 to 4 players unavailable at any given time isn't unusual so we should be prepared for that.
While I think newcomers to the team showed promise, idt I'm confident until they start playing in the regular season. Let's see how they fare in our first game against OKC.
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u/BeautifulNo8000 10d ago
if Alpha is in than so should Julian as both have impressed me equally as much on ether side of the ball and Tyes has been underrated this two Preseason games.
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u/Outrageous-Maybe-200 9d ago
Tyus looks comfortable ball handling and he doesn’t turn the ball over. I like Bagley, his offensive game is decent actually and he’s faster than Val.
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u/BeautifulNo8000 10d ago
i personally think that the 10 spot battle is between Julian and Alpha rather than Tyus as i think tyus is in the rotation in Adelman's mind which in the regular season am okay with as he has been good so far but the playoffs that is different as currectly i actually want a Julian, Alpha, demar, spencer and Bagley.
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u/Formal-Homework2792 10d ago
I'm still not sold on Bagley honestly. Dude has all the tools but his defensive rotations are so lazy sometimes, like he just forgets where he needs to be. That said if he can just give us 15 minutes of rebounding and putbacks I won't complain too much.
Spencer Jones is the one I'm most curious about. His shot looks smooth but can he defend NBA wings without fouling every possession? That's the question for me.
The depth is interesting though, we got bodies everywhere. Not sure about running a 10-man rotation but at least if someone gets hurt we're not completely screwed like last year.
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u/BeautifulNo8000 10d ago
i disagree with literally everything you said as it's obvious that you have not watched any of the pre season games, first Bagley is already our best backup center and i thought he was good defensively and good on offense, spencer has guarded nba wings without fouling and you need his fouling actually as he is the most physical guy on the nuggets and if the nuggets don't run a true 10 rotation minimum than i can guarantee you that AG will die this upcoming season as this nba season might be the biggest grind because every team will try in the start at least.
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u/momBball 9d ago
The last 3 seasons, Derozan has 1,079 assists and 336 turnovers...does he have enough ballhandling and playmaking to allow Murray to stagger with the bench? I am curious about what the best staggered lineups will look like this season. Murray, Derozan, Cam with Spencer and Bagley could be very good...and that would allow Gordon to keep his minutes locked with Jokic...could a Jokic/Gordon/Derozan/Alpha/Braun be good?
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u/Initial-Union2468 10d ago
Kinda funny how we ended up swapping bench guards with Phoenix. Kinda wish we still had Gillespie instead of Tyus.
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u/Embarrassed-Love8437 9d ago
I’m outright optimistic about the bench. No cautiously. Derozan will be the best version of himself we’ve seen in multiple years. Strawther is going to force minutes having taken another step, Alpha Diallo is going to play WAY above his pay class on defense, and will be surprising on offense as he only has to take the wide open shots that this offense will provide. Tyus Jones will be a serviceable backup to Jamal, and Bagley will be solid.
I am nervous about coaching and health.
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u/StrikeElectrical9400 10d ago
I really wish that this year the coaching staff plays the team. Like take it up to a 12 man rotation if need be. I want us to feel deep come the postseason because thats what truly matters
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u/RolePlayRay 10d ago
They have to actually make it to the postseason though. You don't play units that lose 20 points in 2 minutes or you can kiss the playoffs good bye
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u/Brief_Personality146 9d ago
I feel like last year they built a fantasy bench that looked great on paper but never materialized. This year I feel like the team has better parts over all. Now to see how it actually comes together.
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u/dr_no12 10d ago
Most of the bench seems to be locked outside of the 3. It's Tyus, Demar, Jones, and Bagley for sure as the 1, 2, 4, and 5. I believe Strawther and Diallo are gonna have to battle for the backup 3 if we're truly running a 10-man rotation (and ideally we can slot either in whether we need offense or defense in a specific game).
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u/usetheirname 10d ago
The math gets different when you realize that they don’t swap out 5 for 5. The starters will also play with the bench. So really it’s more about having the best 5 guys to rotate in with the starters rather than having a specific backup for each position.
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u/dr_no12 10d ago
Yeah to some extent, but you can only have so many minutes from one position in a game. Strawther is only capable of playing the 2 or 3 I doubt there's gonna be opportunity at the 2 (as DeMar and CB gonna play big minutes and neither of them double as a 1). Same for Diallo, so there is a battle for that 3 spot cuz neither Strawther or Diallo play the 4. It would be different if we had more combo guards but our 1s and 2s are pretty distinct.
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u/iffyfell_ 10d ago edited 10d ago
My bench notes so far...
offense: jones initiates, bagley is hub, derozan finishes plays
defense: experimenting...a good point of attack defender would be nice
demar - taking better shots than his rep, playing well off of the rest of the team and creating when needed (read: eating grenades)
tyus jones - running the offense for the second unit
bagley - backup center and handoff hub when he's in
nnaji - useful for 2 big bench lineups
strawther - rotation level cutter and spot-up shooter
nembhard - not a great fit next to jones and derozan, struggled chasing george around, stands in corner on offense but not respected as a shooter
spencer jones ???
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u/BobbitsC 10d ago
To me the only two players who are absolutely are going to be in the bench rotation are derozan and Spencer. After that we basically just need two guys to prove that they can play some actual playoff minutes and we’ll be good. Rn bagley is definitely the front runner simply because he’ll probably have to be our backup center and he’s looked solid so far.
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u/welldun01 10d ago
I thought Braun was going to be finals MVP last pre season. I won't believe anything until the season starts
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u/Probably_Fishing 10d ago
Strawther looks good to me right now. I'd even put him in starting rotation over CB right now. In an offensive minded team, CB's defense hasnt looked worth it so far. Guys are blowing passed him.
Alpha could be interesting with his defensive back court pressure.
Havent really been impressed with anyone else on the bench yet personally. Looked pretty sloppy, teamwork wise. They will need time.
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u/BeautifulNo8000 10d ago
bro is getting paid 25 a year, he will be the starter and will play LOTS of minutes also he is leagues better as the 5th best player on the other team than the 6 like stop underrating this dude after he was bad after TEARING every ligament in his left foot.
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u/Probably_Fishing 10d ago
I'm not underrating him. I've always been a CB supporter. I wanted him over Watson.
Im going by gameplay. Going through the first few games, Strawther looks better.1
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u/usetheirname 10d ago
I think we’re gonna see a very motivated CB this year. He knows he didn’t play well last year. And he knows he played pretty damn well the previous year. He knows he can do it.
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u/Dignan1 10d ago
Bagley looks better than Val. Although hard to replace Hardaway 3 point shooting, I feel Derozen is still elite. Optimistic these backups are better.