Return of Millsap rotates rotation
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Northwest Division
WLThe Denver Post
MEMPHIS, TENN.» Michael Malone pulled Trey Lyles aside at Tuesday’s shootaround, then again after Thursday’s practice. Under the teamwide layer of excitement about four-time all-star Paul Millsap’s return from a three-month absence due to wrist surgery, the Nuggets coach could sense uncertainty from Lyles about what that means for his role.
That’s part of the next task for Malone now that Millsap is back on the court for the Nuggets (3328). Malone must retool Denver’s rotation to create a new normal for a playoff push that continues Friday night against Memphis.
“I can’t wait really long to get him back into that starting lineup,” Malone said of Millsap. “It’s like you’re delaying the inevitable. He is our starting power forward.”
Malone expects that move to come sometime next week, once Millsap regains game conditioning. He will join starters Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Wilson Chandler (at small forward) and Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets’ original starting group before Millsap suffered a torn ligament in his left wrist during a Nov. 19 game in Los Angeles against the Lakers. Guard-forward Will Barton will move back to the bench, with recently acquired guard Devin Harris, big man Mason Plumlee and Lyles as the other primary reserves. The Nuggets’ 10th man will depend on matchups and game scenarios, Malone said.
Millsap’s return most directly impacts Lyles, who began the season out of the rotation but emerged as a valuable contributor in Millsap’s absence. Lyles played only five minutes and did not score Tuesday in Denver’s loss to the Clippers, by far his least-productive outing since Millsap’s injury. Malone’s message to Lyles, though, has been that his minutes will again become more consistent once Millsap resumes his starting role.
“It’s definitely frustrating,” said Lyles, who is averaging 10.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game while shooting 39.6 percent from 3-point range in 56 games. “But (while) playing behind an all-star power forward, you have to take what you can get. Now that he’s back, I realize that.
“I’m not happy with it, but I’m going to do the best that I can for the team and try to help them win and be a good teammate and be a professional.”
Added Malone: “For a young player, (Lyles is) very mature and he’s handled everything thrown at him this year. He’s doing the same thing right now.”
Malone called Millsap’s performance “incredible” in the first half of his return against the Clippers. But the coach noticed fatigue set in for Millsap after halftime of a game in which he finished with nine points (4-of-10 shooting), seven rebounds and two blocks in 24 minutes. Next, Malone wants Millsap to work toward “quality minutes” that will likely increase each week.
The Nuggets’ rotation could be a bit funky for now, while Millsap works his way back into game shape. But once Malone stops delaying the inevitable and puts Millsap back in the starting lineup, that will create the Nuggets’ new normal for the stretch run.
DENVER AT MEMPHIS
Spotlight on Marc Gasol:
6 p.m. Friday, ALT2; 950 AM
The veteran big man has publicly expressed his frustration with the Grizzlies’ 11-game losing streak, dropping them to 18-42. Though his team is tanking, Gasol is putting up strong numbers: 17.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, four assists and 1.5 blocks per game. He has shot just 13-of-32 from the floor in two games against the Nuggets (both losses), but recorded a career-high 14 assists against Denver on Nov. 24.