The Nuggets head coach shared his impressions of his bench players’ contributions
Coming off a loss to the Chicago Bulls on Nov. 17 – which snapped the team’s seven-game winning streak – the Denver Nuggets aimed to pick up a win on the road against the New Orleans Pelicans two nights later to get back on track.
And the Nuggets ultimately did just that, returning to their winning ways against a Pelicans team that has started the season 2-13. However, it was not always an easy go of it in New Orleans, and head coach David Adelman gave his bench unit their flowers for coming in and impacting gameplay right off the bat when Denver was trailing.
“I thought [Spencer Jones and Bruce Brown] really got into the ball,” Adelman said during his postgame press conference on Nov. 19. “They forced turnovers, they got us run outs. Cut into that lead right away. I thought Valančiūnas’ energy was great as well. And we needed it…It was a weird energy in the gym and we mimicked it. We were not all there getting up and down. Once we got back in the game I liked our energy.”
“Nice to have energy-changing players like [Jones] and [Brown] that can come in and really change the game and the way the game feels, especially on the road where it doesn’t matter what the other team’s record is, it’s always hard to win in the NBA on the road,” Adelman said.
Denver's Depth
Denver has been able to lean on its depth throughout this first month of the 2025-26 season.
When players like Christian Braun and Cameron Johnson, or even Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray have been out of the lineup, players beyond just three-time MVP Nikola Jokić – who is averaging a triple-double with 29.1 points, 13.2 rebounds and 11.1 assists per game this season – have time and again filled in when there have been gaps in the rotation.
This depth, which again, has been a calling card of Denver’s through its 11-3 start to the season, will serve the Nuggets well as the new campaign progresses.
Currently, Denver is only three games behind the conference-leading and reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who are 15-1.
The Nuggets’ next game is against the Houston Rockets (10-3), who, like Denver and Oklahoma City, are faring well in a highly competitive Western Conference.
Tip-off is set for 9:30 p.m. EST in Houston on Nov. 21.