The 2023 NBA All-Star Weekend is officially in the books, which means the 2022-23 regular season is entering its final stages. Organizations such as the Denver Nuggets are in contention for the NBA title, so they certainly have many eyes on them for the final months of the season.
The Nuggets are 41-18 and at the top of the Western Conference. Additionally, they have the third-best record in the NBA, only trailing the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks.
The problem is that some West opponents got even stronger by the trade deadline. The Dallas Mavericks acquired Kyrie Irving while the Phoenix Suns added Kevin Durant. Although both teams are far from Denver's record, they could steal some games from the Nuggets and influence the finals standings.
Because of that, the Nuggets might have some extra work to do. With no more trades allowed, the team will have to work with what it has.
With that being said, here is one flaw the Denver Nuggets must fix after the All-Star break to win the 2023 NBA title.
1 fatal flaw Nuggets must fix: backup frontcourt rotation
The only move the Nuggets made in the Feb. 9 trade deadline was a four-team deal involving the Orlando Magic and both the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers. In the trade, Denver essentially sent second-year guard Bones Hyland to the Clippers and received center Thomas Bryant from the Lakers.
This move addressed a big need that the Nuggets had. They ended up bringing in a new center who can be the main backup for back-to-back MVP Nikola Jokić.
In 41 games with the Lakers this season, Bryant started in 25 of them. He averaged 12.1 points and 6.8 rebounds plus 0.6 blocks a night. He shot 65.4% from the field, 44% from beyond the arc, and 74.1% from the free-throw line.
The big man played an important role in Los Angeles while Anthony Davis missed extended time with a foot injury. However, once the eight-time All-Star returned, Bryant's minutes went down. Because of that, he was reportedly unsatisfied with the situation.
The former Indiana Hoosier could be a solution for some of Denver's problems. The Nuggets are in the bottom 10 in the league in offensive rebounds with just 9.8 per contest. Also, they are No. 19 in the league in total rebounds per game with 42.7.
Although Bryant seems to be a big help, head coach Michael Malone and the coaching staff still need to fix the backup frontcourt rotation.
In Bryant's first game with the team, he played only two minutes as DeAndre Jordan served as the main backup big. Then, in the next two games, Bryant took over Jordan's minutes. However, it is worth noting that Aaron Gordon and Zeke Nnaji were both out of those games. This means that a lot of minutes from those two ended up going to the team's newest acquisition.
Whenever Gordon returns, he should get his starting role back from Vlatko Čančar. The Slovenian should return to the bench, which might become a problem now that Bryant is there. Also, with Nnaji returning too, there might be too many frontcourt players for limited minutes.
All things considered, the Nuggets must fix the frontcourt backup rotation. A solution is playing only Bryant and one of Čančar and Nnaji but it might require some time to adapt. With Western teams bringing some big names, time is not on Denver's side.
Should the Nuggets quickly address this issue, especially by permanently adding Bryant to the rotation, they will likely be in a good position to finish the regular season strong and be a real contender for the Larry O'Brien Trophy.
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