David Adelman\u2019s experimentation is going to continue into the season.<\/p>\n
The Nuggets\u2019 new coach has established a willingness to try a variety of different schemes in his short time as an interim coach last season and the first four preseason games since his temporary tag was removed.<\/p>\n
It started last postseason with more zone mixed into the equation. The Nuggets even threw some full-court pressure at the Clippers in the first round and some junk defenses at Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder in the second. With first-year assistant Jared Dudley coordinating the defense, the team\u2019s man defense is also significantly different, though Adelman said they might not show some of the tweaks during the preseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe defense is new for us. There\u2019s a lot of new concepts, a lot of new actions. We\u2019ve been good up to this point. Obviously, we\u2019re not too worried about offense, just got to worry about the defense side of the ball,\u201d Christian Braun said after Tuesday\u2019s preseason win over the Bulls when Denver turned 18 Chicago turnovers into 18 points.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re throwing different things. We have a lot of different lineups we can throw at people. I think the zone was so good for us in the playoffs. It was a different look.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adelman came into the season wanting to see what it looked like with Nikola Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas on the court together. It took three preseason games for the two-big lineup to play its first minutes together.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s going to be a process. I\u2019m not going to shy away from it,\u201d Adelman said. \u201cI think it can work. There\u2019s been really good moments and very confusing moments.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the fourth preseason game, Adelman paired the two centers with Aaron Gordon at small forward in a supersized lineup \u201cjust to see it.\u201d Adelman also went the other direction, playing Spencer Jones, listed at 6-foot-7 and 225 pounds, at center. With one new member of the starting five, three new faces in the second unit and plenty of new coaches, the Nuggets spent the start of training camp and preseason building the foundation. The more creative stuff came later. The evaluation process will carry into the meaningful games.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you have to be OK with trying things for three minutes,\u201d Adelman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not like we\u2019re practicing for 14 hours a day. We\u2019re not an NFL team that gets six days to script plays and put these different combinations out there. You\u2019ve got to let them go do it and see what happens. You can\u2019t freak out if it\u2019s ugly.\u201d<\/p>\n
What I\u2019m Thinking<\/strong><\/p>\n Hands should be nowhere near the panic button when it comes to the start of Cam Johnson\u2019s and Tim Hardaway Jr.\u2019s stints with the Nuggets.<\/p>\n Shots haven\u2019t fallen \u2013 Johnson is 5 for 16 (31%) from 3, and Hardaway is 2 for 18 (11%) but they\u2019re taking the right ones far more often than not. Johnson\u2019s two makes against Chicago came off handoffs from Gordon and Jokic, a staple of Denver\u2019s offense and an easy way to generate looks for Johnson, who\u2019s shot 39% or better from deep in the last three seasons. The misses were a clean catch-and-shoot attempt and an aggressive pull-up 3 in transition, the only questionable attempt. The more important part is Johnson\u2019s comfortable with where he\u2019s at in the integration process.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m feeling out the movement of everything, where people go, where people look \u2026 where passes come from,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cIt\u2019s a spacing thing. It\u2019s a personnel thing. It\u2019s just getting used to playing with the guys. I feel good about the spots I\u2019ve got shots out of. Just finding other ways to be aggressive outside of that is probably more of my concern.\u201d<\/p>\n Hardaway\u2019s success is going to be more contingent on getting the 3s to fall sooner than later. He\u2019s attempted four shots inside the arc in the first four preseason games. His process has also been complicated by splitting his preseason minutes between the starters and second unit. The veteran\u2019s lone make against the Bulls also came off a Jokic handoff, but most of the six misses, one of which came from 32 feet out in the final seconds of the second quarter, were the shots the Nuggets need him to take.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought we got really good looks,\u201d the Nuggets\u2019 coach said. \u201cWe had shooters that didn\u2019t have great nights (but) got great looks.\u201d<\/p>\n What They\u2019re Saying<\/strong><\/p>\n To the man behind the visiting bench for the Nets\u2019 trip to Denver on Jan. 10 last season, Cam Johnson hasn\u2019t forgotten. Johnson was sidelined with an ankle sprain and spent much of the night going back and forth with Nuggets nation. Johnson also saw some hostile Denver crowds during his time in Phoenix.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember last year when we were playing here, the crowd got like kinda raucous and chippy and, you know, annoying. So, it\u2019s nice to have them backing me now,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re ganging up, and they\u2019re yelling. There\u2019s one guy that just kept yelling. I\u2019m like \u2018Shut up.\u2019 He\u2019s like right behind the bench, just wailing. I\u2019m like \u2018Oh my God. Go somewhere.\u2019 It\u2019s just funny now, how the feeling is so different when you switch sides.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014<\/p>\n South Carolina women\u2019s basketball coach Dawn Staley had a legitimate interview with the Knicks this summer, but she doesn\u2019t think the NBA will have a woman coach in her lifetime.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the Knicks have a five-game losing streak, it\u2019s not going to be about the losing streak,\u201d Staley said at a recent press conference. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be about being a female coach. So, you as an organization, a franchise, you have to be prepared for and strong enough to ignore those types of instances when you\u2019re going to look to hire a female coach.\u201d<\/p>\n What I\u2019m Following<\/strong><\/p>\n
![\"Denver](\"https:\/\/gazette.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/AP25272675077590-1024x685.jpg\")
Denver Nuggets forwards Tim Hardaway Jr., left, and Cameron Johnson greet each other during an NBA media day news conference Sept. 29, 2025, in Denver. (The Associated Press)<\/p>\n\n
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