Michael Malone on Nuggets starting lineup: 'I'm really fortunate to have a tough decision'

Bennett Durando, The Denver Post on Feb 19, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

DENVER — Back from a beach vacation and spared the indignity of having to coach the NBA All-Star Game, Michael Malone has another tricky decision at the top of his to-do list this week.

Who’s in the starting lineup?

“You really don’t think I’m gonna answer that question right now, do you?” Malone said Wednesday at Ball Arena, laughing.

The Nuggets return to action Thursday (7 p.m. MT) after a seven-day hiatus. Also expected to return is Russell Westbrook, who missed the last seven games before the All-Star break with a hamstring injury that he suffered two days after Malone chose to start him over Christian Braun.

Since then, Braun has played some of the best basketball of his life. He rejoined the starting lineup by necessity and averaged 19.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals during Westbrook’s absence. He shot 59% from the field during that stretch while the Nuggets (36-19) won his minutes by 24.2 points per 100 possessions. The team went into the break on a season-best eight-game win streak.

So now what? Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic are each championship-caliber starters when healthy. Malone and his staff must decide on a fifth.

“All I’ll say is that it’s great to have options,” he said after the Nuggets finished practice. “We have a healthy team, and obviously, Russell Westbrook’s done great things for us. Christian Braun, this last eight-game stretch, is playing just incredible basketball. And so people say, ‘Oh, that’s a tough decision.’ I look at it the opposite way. I’m really fortunate to have a tough decision to make where you have quality players that have really impacted winning. And that’s what it comes down to. It’s never about one player. It’s about what’s best for our team.”

Braun, 23, was Denver’s starting two-guard on opening night, replacing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the lineup. Westbrook signed with the Nuggets to be their sixth man, replenishing their backcourt depth chart after the losses of Caldwell-Pope, Reggie Jackson and Justin Holiday. But the 36-year-old point guard also quickly developed chemistry with Nikola Jokic, prompting Malone to use him as a spot starter in a smaller lineup when Gordon missed nine games between late December and early January.

Westbrook has averaged 14.2 points, 7.0 assists and 6.2 rebounds in 27 starts this season. Denver is 19-8 in those games.

Gordon returned from his calf injury on Jan. 12 and slowly ramped up by coming off the bench at first, leaving room in the starting lineup for both Westbrook and Braun. But that was only a temporary arrangement. By the time Gordon was ready to start again on Jan. 30, one of the guards had to move to the bench. Malone decided to stick with Westbrook, saying the change wasn’t necessarily permanent but adding, “we’re going to give it a chance to see where it goes.”

The next game, Westbrook limped off the court in Philadelphia with his untimely injury.

“As we approach tomorrow night’s game and this final stretch, we’ll do what we think is best in that moment,” Malone said Wednesday. “And it could change, I mean, like we’ve seen it change throughout the season. So we’ll make that decision tomorrow night and kind of give that a chance to continue to grow.”

Injury updates

Porter also missed the last three games before the break with his own hamstring injury, but he practiced Wednesday and is probable to play Thursday against Charlotte. Gordon (right calf injury management) and Murray (left knee inflammation) were listed as probable as well.

Peyton Watson (right knee sprain) was the only player on the roster who was unable to participate in any part of Wednesday’s practice.

Reserve forward Vlatko Cancar, nearing 11 weeks since undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery, went through practice but remains inactive for now. Even rookie DaRon Holmes II (torn Achilles tendon) participated in portions.

“Really excited for him,” Malone said. “You get hurt in your first game at Summer League, and you have surgery, you’re rehabbing, you’re recovering — that’s a lot to ask of a young player mentally. And for him to get out here and go through parts of practice, the guys were excited for him.”

Malone said it’s still unlikely that Holmes will play this season. Holmes told The Denver Post in December that he expects to be fully recovered by the time Denver is playing basketball, but he doesn’t expect to appear in games as a rookie with no regular-season experience.

____