How The LA Clippers Can Get A Mile Higher

Chasing Rainbows or Chasing Stars?

Why would the Nuggets do this trade?

Well, for (the) starters (literally, the actual starting 5) could actually be set in stone and not changed every two seconds. (Okay, it’s not actually, I really like Malone as a coach, he just seems a little jittery with his rotations; but that’s not necessarily his fault).

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From what I gather, Malone’s preferred starting 5 (if everyone was healthy) is Mudiay-Harris-Gallinari-Faried-Nurkic; which is a fine lineup… until you look closer.

Harris is dealing with a foot injury and is out at least another week if not longer, so that explains why 6th Man sensation Will ‘the Thrill’ Barton logged 39 minutes against the Nets, and why surprise rookie standout Jamal Murray logged 34.

On the flipside of that (if you continue to look at the box score from the game against Brooklyn), Darrell Arthur, who the Nuggets signed to a three-year, $23 million extension this offseason, logged 11. Malone has too much talent on his roster, and Denver’s management needs to think about consolidating the redundancies like Gallinari and Chandler (scoring wise) to more evenly distribute the minutes and get some roster continuity.

Gallinari is a fine player. He’s a gifted scorer, and can play both the 3 and the 4, which is something both Malone and Rivers value.

If you’re curious about what his numbers are so far, take a look: 16.3 PPG on 11.7 FGA per game, 39.9 percent from the field, and 37.5 percent from 3.

While not terrible numbers, when Gallinari goes to the bench and replaces him with Chandler, Malone will play Nurkic and Jokic together which clogs the lane for the still developing Mudiay, and can lead to poor ball movement.

By moving Gallinari, then your rotation begins to look more like this:

Starters: Mudiay, Harris (when he returns), Chandler, Griffin, Nurkic
Bench: Nelson, Murray, Barton, Faried, Jokic

That looks a lot better, now doesn’t it?