Denver’s new defensive philosophy, second-unit shoutout | Nuggets notebook

Nuggets coach David Adelman speaks to members of the press during the Nuggets Media Day at Ball Arena on Monday. (Tom Hellauer/Denver Gazette)

LA JOLLA, Calif. – Don’t sleep on Jared Dudley as a meaningful addition to the Denver Nuggets.

Dudley last played in the NBA as a member of the 2020-21 Los Angeles Lakers. He joined Jason Kidd’s coaching staff as an assistant the following season and left Dallas for Denver this offseason. Coach David Adelman said at Monday’s media day he’s trusting the 14-year veteran to coordinate Denver’s defense this season. The Nuggets’ new assistant didn’t waste much time.

“It’s great,” Nuggets guard Bruce Brown said after the team’s first training camp practice Tuesday at UC San Diego. “He kind of started talking to me in the summer about defense, just being more physical, picking up like three-quarters court, depending, obviously, on who you are.”

Brown went on to mention a new interpretation of a rule that would allow defenders to be more physical when the opposing player is not in the act of dribbling. David Adelman was on the same page with a roster to match Dudley’s outlook.

“To have the depth we have, there’s no excuse,” Adelman said. “Play extremely hard, put your hands on people, not worry about being in foul trouble like we’ve had to do in the past. It’s a different way of looking at the game. We have to demand it every day – put your hands on people, challenge each other. It helps our offense, too, because that’s how our league is going to be played this year.”

Nikola Jokic said he wasn’t asked about the change that might mean he’s spending less time playing at the level of the screen, something he’s fine with. The three-time Most Valuable Player went to his trusted line of letting the coaches do their job, so he can worry about doing his to the best of his ability.

“We’re going to try to do something different than last year,” Jokic said. “I’m looking forward to seeing how it’s going to be. It’s kind of exciting to try something new.”

There’s a give-and-take with schematic changes. Adelman sounded willing to give up some scoring if it means Dudley’s tweaks can improve on Denver’s 116 defensive rating, which ranked 22nd in the NBA last season.

“Defense, sometimes in our league, is so hard, that it’s not how you drill it. It’s just do you want to do it? It really is. It’s ‘Are you willing to do what it takes?’” Adelman said. “It may take away from your offense a little bit, and I would love to see our defense get better. If our offense takes a little step back, we’ll be fine.”

Second-unit shoutout

If Day 1 was any indication, there are big changes coming to Denver’s bench.

Bruce Brown said the second unit consisted of himself, Julian Strawther, Tim Hardaway Jr., Peyton Watson and Jonas Valanciunas at Tuesday’s practice.

“It was good today. We was rolling … we were playing really well, just playing through Val kind of like the first unit playing through Jok,” Brown said.

“I think we can do everything. We’ve got shooters. We’ve got defenders. Me and P-Wat can pick up full. … We can play through Val in the post. He can score with the best of them.”

With Cam Johnson expected to replace Michael Porter Jr. in the starting lineup, that leaves Jalen Pickett, DaRon Holmes, Hunter Tyson and Zeke Nnaji as the four players on standard contracts on the outside of a potential 10-man rotation on Day 1, but things are bound to change.

“That second unit will fluctuate,” Adelman said. “We’ll try different people at different positions.”

Joker Jokes

The topic of Nikola Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas sharing time on the court has been a topic of conversation ever since the Nuggets’ new coach said Monday he planned to play the duo together at times.

When it came up again Tuesday, Jokic took advantage of an opportunity to crack a joke at Aaron Gordon’s expense as Gordon walked behind the scrum surrounding Jokic.

“Why not? I’m sick of AG. I cannot play with him anymore. We need to change him. We’re not going to change me,” Jokic joked before getting a bit more serious. “Why not? Just to try to put something out there, something different.”