For all the talk about the Nuggets’ new and improved bench and how deep they are, the team is still somehow losing the minutes when Nikola Jokic is on the bench. The rotation is certainly much deeper and better, but through six games, Denver has an elite +19.3 rating with Jokic on the court, and a rating of -7.4 when he sits.
One of the biggest points of emphasis for the Nuggets in the offseason was finding a way to stabilize the minutes when Jokic is off the floor. Trading for a legitimate backup center in Jonas Valanciunas was a big step in the right direction, rehabbing rookie DaRon Holmes was a big step in the right direction, and bringing in the wing depth to play small-ball was a step in the right direction.