Nuggets Playoff Rotation: What's Changing vs. Timberwolves

Fortunately, the Nuggets will have their entire starting five healthy, rolling with their reliable group of Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Cam Johnson, Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Jokic. This has been one of the league's most effective starting lineups, although they went most of the season without sharing the floor due to injuries.

Denver's bench, though, is where things could get tricky. When at full strength, the Nuggets are one of the deepest teams in the NBA. Even without Watson and Jones, they have an impressive bench, but their potential absences are certainly not ideal. Here is the group of players we could see come off the bench for the Nuggets against the Timberwolves:

Rotation locks: Bruce Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr., Jonas Valanciunas, Julian Strawther

Deep rotation pieces: Tyus Jones, Jalen Pickett, Zeke Nnaji

With Watson sidelined, Strawther's role increases the most. Fortunately, he ended the regular season on a hot streak. He had four consecutive outings with ten or more points, including 47 combined points in their last two games on 8-15 shooting from beyond the arc.

We could also see Valanciunas slip out of the rotation in certain situations, but that is only plausible if Jones is back in the lineup to act as a small-ball center.

The Nuggets will be heavily leaning on Brown and Hardaway Jr. as their go-to guys off the bench. Once Watson returns to action, his presence on the bench will allow Denver to run a more sturdy eight or nine-man rotation, but until then, they could have some holes in the lineup.

For the "deep rotation pieces," we could potentially see one or two of them get scattered minutes, but they are solely dependent on matchups, foul trouble, and potential injuries. We should not expect to see Tyus Jones, Pickett, or Nnaji get any significant minutes in the playoffs as Denver looks to tighten their rotation, especially once Watson and Spencer Jones return from injury.

Even with a pair of injuries, the Nuggets are in a good spot heading into the playoffs, with a favorable starting lineup and bench rotation. Saturday's Game 1 will be a big test, but this group has proven they are ready for it.