Interim Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman had an impossible task on paper in his first game against the Sacramento Kings.
Just a day after the Nuggets fired long-time coach Michael Malone — the winningest coach in franchise history and the only one to bring the organization an NBA title so far — Adelman essentially had to keep the Nuggets’ entire season from collapsing with just three regular-season games left. Given the way Nikola Jokic responded with an epic motivational quote and a player-coach leadership style, maybe Adelman’s mission wasn’t necessarily that hard.
However, Adelman did make a tough (and bold) choice that Malone may have never considered if he was still roaming the Nuggets’ sideline: he slashed the volatile Russell Westbrook’s minutes.
And not by a tiny margin, either.
In a decisive win over Sacramento, where it looked like the Nuggets were finally connected and playing for each other, Westbrook’s 16:45 minutes of game time were officially the least amount he’s played since early December. It is also a far cry from his season-long per-game average of 28. Rather than let the older Westbrook play his way through chaotic extended stints — which has killed Denver on the court lately — Adelman wasted no time pulling the plug on the veteran point guard the moment he started playing out of control in both of his bench stints. This allowed second-year point guard Jalen Pickett (18 points, 5-of-7 from 3-point land) to flourish in an expanded role in a much-needed victory.
It’s hard not to think that Westbrook’s noticeably reduced role played a huge part in the new-look Nuggets snapping a four-game losing streak. This is particularly striking when you consider the details in a report from The Athletic’s Tony Jones and Sam Amick on what went wrong at the end of Malone’s coaching tenure in Denver. One of the big sticking points that apparently frustrated other Nuggets players was how Malone seemingly granted Westbrook special treatment and limited accountability, despite all of his recent mistakes.
Oof. That’s never something you want to hear after the fact. Kudos to Adelman for paying attention.
All the while, Malone’s choice to continue supporting [Russell] Westbrook, despite the frustration he was causing on and off the floor, led to a loss of credibility among the team’s key players. It was one thing when Malone handled [Nikola] Jokic and [Jamal] Murray with more leniency than the rest of their group, but affording Westbrook that sort of treatment, even with his Hall of Fame credentials, wasn’t received well by some.
That dynamic intensified recently, starting with Westbrook’s meltdown against Minnesota on April 1 in which his late-game blunders cost Denver the win and spoiled Jokić’s 60-point triple-double. After a brutal Jokic turnover late in a loss to Indiana on Sunday, when he and Westbrook miscommunicated up top and the big man’s pass flew out of bounds, Malone defended his veteran point guard in a way that was seen by some as a shot at the team’s young talents.
In his first game as Nuggets coach, Adelman clearly understood this frayed Westbrook dynamic. And as an interim coach actively auditioning for the full-time position while on an expiring contract, Adelman was also free from the inherent politics of benching someone like Westbrook. He’s just trying to win and prove himself. The feelings of players, no matter how long they’ve been in the league and whatever they’ve accomplished, are ancillary to what he wants to accomplish.
Slashing Westbrook’s minutes was bold for a guy who hasn’t been there and done that, but it certainly seemed like something Adelman had to do to establish credibility with his players. If the Westbrook era in Denver didn’t feel like it was heading down a tumultuous, uncertain path before, it definitely is now.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: David Adelman appeased Nuggets players by benching Russell Westbrook
Interim Denver Nuggets head coach David Adelman had an impossible task on paper in his first game against the Sacramento Kings.
Just a day after the Nuggets fired long-time coach Michael Malone — the winningest coach in franchise history and the only one to bring the organization an NBA title so far — Adelman essentially had to keep the Nuggets’ entire season from collapsing with just three regular-season games left. Given the way Nikola Jokic responded with an epic motivational quote and a player-coach leadership style, maybe Adelman’s mission wasn’t necessarily that hard.
However, Adelman did make a tough (and bold) choice that Malone may have never considered if he was still roaming the Nuggets’ sideline: he slashed the volatile Russell Westbrook’s minutes.
And not by a tiny margin, either.
In a decisive win over Sacramento, where it looked like the Nuggets were finally connected and playing for each other, Westbrook’s 16:45 minutes of game time were officially the least amount he’s played since early December. It is also a far cry from his season-long per-game average of 28. Rather than let the older Westbrook play his way through chaotic extended stints — which has killed Denver on the court lately — Adelman wasted no time pulling the plug on the veteran point guard the moment he started playing out of control in both of his bench stints. This allowed second-year point guard Jalen Pickett (18 points, 5-of-7 from 3-point land) to flourish in an expanded role in a much-needed victory.
It’s hard not to think that Westbrook’s noticeably reduced role played a huge part in the new-look Nuggets snapping a four-game losing streak. This is particularly striking when you consider the details in a report from The Athletic’s Tony Jones and Sam Amick on what went wrong at the end of Malone’s coaching tenure in Denver. One of the big sticking points that apparently frustrated other Nuggets players was how Malone seemingly granted Westbrook special treatment and limited accountability, despite all of his recent mistakes.
Oof. That’s never something you want to hear after the fact. Kudos to Adelman for paying attention.
All the while, Malone’s choice to continue supporting [Russell] Westbrook, despite the frustration he was causing on and off the floor, led to a loss of credibility among the team’s key players. It was one thing when Malone handled [Nikola] Jokic and [Jamal] Murray with more leniency than the rest of their group, but affording Westbrook that sort of treatment, even with his Hall of Fame credentials, wasn’t received well by some.
That dynamic intensified recently, starting with Westbrook’s meltdown against Minnesota on April 1 in which his late-game blunders cost Denver the win and spoiled Jokić’s 60-point triple-double. After a brutal Jokic turnover late in a loss to Indiana on Sunday, when he and Westbrook miscommunicated up top and the big man’s pass flew out of bounds, Malone defended his veteran point guard in a way that was seen by some as a shot at the team’s young talents.
In his first game as Nuggets coach, Adelman clearly understood this frayed Westbrook dynamic. And as an interim coach actively auditioning for the full-time position while on an expiring contract, Adelman was also free from the inherent politics of benching someone like Westbrook. He’s just trying to win and prove himself. The feelings of players, no matter how long they’ve been in the league and whatever they’ve accomplished, are ancillary to what he wants to accomplish.
Slashing Westbrook’s minutes was bold for a guy who hasn’t been there and done that, but it certainly seemed like something Adelman had to do to establish credibility with his players. If the Westbrook era in Denver didn’t feel like it was heading down a tumultuous, uncertain path before, it definitely is now.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: David Adelman appeased Nuggets players by benching Russell Westbrook
