Nov 3, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Will Barton (5) dunks the ball against Los Angeles Lakers center Tarik Black (28) and forward Brandon Bass (2) as Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) watches at Staples Center. The Nuggets defeated the Lakers 120-109. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
5. Nance, Black, and Brown on the Bench
Larry Nance, Jr. now finds himself out of the rotation entirely, alongside Black and Anthony Brown. Instead, Scott is going with Lou Williams, Nick Young, and Bass. When Scott is asked about this, his answer is, “We want to win.” Does he really believe that playing Williams, Young, and Bass – three career journeymen – is going to lead to more victories? How has it worked out so far?
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Williams is competing with Bryant nightly for most inefficient player on the team, if not in the entire league. Young has been better than last year, but he is not a consistent contributor. And Bass, as noted previously, is contributing little in the role he has been handed. Yet the coaching staff sticks with both of them, but for what reason?
No one knows if Nance, Brown, and Black have an NBA future, but we do know that Williams, Young, and Bass aren’t the answer if the team hopes to have a brighter future so why not give the others a chance to see what they can do? If the team has been patient with D’Angelo Russell, why not show that same patience with the other young players? Black played a bit earlier in the season, but was yanked out of the rotation and has not returned since. Brown has been given no chance at all. Nance had some strong outings, but regressed in two or three games and now he is on the bench full-time.
Next: No. 6 The Small Forward Position