David Adelman opens the door to an 11-man Nuggets rotation, with Brazile, Hopkins and Whitmore in the mix

Denver Nuggets coach David Adelman said after practice on Sunday, October 18, that he may use an 11-man rotation at times in the opening weeks of the season, and that Trevon Brazile, Bryce Hopkins and Cam Whitmore are all in line for minutes when Denver opens at Oklahoma City on Thursday. That is a real change of tone from a coach who spent camp arguing for a tight group.

“You can’t be scared to throw those guys out there,” Adelman told reporters, in comments filmed by DNVR Nuggets.

Earlier in camp Adelman said he would rather not play more than 10 men in a half, because an 11th body breaks up the substitution pattern of his starters. He called that kind of rotation “really junky.” His new wording leaves that preference in place but makes room for spot minutes from the three young forwards, most likely in short stretches rather than as fixed parts of the nightly plan.

What the preseason showed

The three candidates gave Adelman reasons to keep them close. Brazile was the most convincing. In the 122-110 loss to the LA Clippers on Wednesday, October 14, he came off the bench for 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-4 from three, in 25 minutes. Two nights later he started the 121-106 win over the Los Angeles Lakers and went 5-of-7 for 12 points, eight rebounds, two steals and two blocks, finishing +8 in almost 27 minutes.

Whitmore played 24 minutes against the Clippers and scored 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting, though he only saw four and a half minutes against the Lakers. Hopkins played 12 minutes in each of those two games. Denver outscored the Clippers by five and the Lakers by 10 while he was on the floor, and he went 2-of-2 for five points and four rebounds in Los Angeles.

Why the depth matters now

The wing room is real. Julian Strawther will miss at least six weeks with a left knee sprain, which takes one shooter out of the second unit. Spencer Jones, who missed the whole preseason with a hamstring strain, practiced on Sunday and says he is on track for Thursday, but Denver will not want to lean on him heavily right away. The core is set around Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, Christian Braun and Cameron Johnson, with DeMar DeRozan, Tyus Jones, Marvin Bagley III and Alpha Diallo all getting bench minutes in the Lakers win. The last few minutes each half are what is up for grabs.

The first two weeks are also the cheapest time to experiment. Adelman can find out which of the young forwards holds up against regular-season opponents before the schedule tightens and he trims back toward 10.

What comes next

The Nuggets open the regular season at the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday, October 22, at 9:30 pm ET. Follow it in the Game Center, and see the full roster on the Nuggets team page.