Sizing up the starting five

There will be at least one change in the starting five from the Nuggets’ final game last season to the first game of this season.

In Game 5 of the Western Conference finals, Denver started Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Jerami Grant, Paul Millsap and Nikola Jokic. Four of those players are back, but Grant departed for Detroit in free agency and coach Michael Malone recently said only Murray and Jokic are sure-fire starters. Will Barton had previously been the starting small forward but left the bubble to rehab an injury. Barton is back at practices but has been limited in early sessions.

With the preseason starting this weekend and the start of the regular season just a couple of weeks away, there’s not much time to figure out rotations.

“This thing is coming at us so damn fast right now,” coach Malone said Wednesday.

The plan, Malone said, is to find the five players who fit best together and allow for some production to be available off the bench. The starting five for the season opener against Sacramento, scheduled for Dec. 23, might not be the most talented but it will feature the best combination.

“I don’t think your top-five guys, in terms of talent, are your starters,” Malone said. “It’s going to be who compliments each other well and how can we cover up and have the best cohesive unit out there because your bench unit is so important in this league.”

Malone happy to have Markus Howard

Size might have prevented Markus Howard from being drafted, but it didn’t stop him from leading the NCAA in scoring and securing a chance to play in the NBA.

After 60 draft picks passed without the 5-foot-9 sharpshooter out of Marquette having his name called, Howard signed a two-way contract with the Nuggets. In his final season at Marquette, Howard averaged 27.8 points per game and shot 41.2% from 3-point range.

“To lead the country in scoring and to be the size of Markus Howard is truly remarkable,” Malone said. “And for us, since he’s been here, (he’s been) a student of the game, very hard worker, very serious, very detailed, organized, high IQ.”

While that might not mean much playing time this season with the Nuggets backcourt loaded with more experienced players, Malone thought the Nuggets’ history with players on two-way contracts helped land Howard. Guys like Monte Morris, Torrey Craig, P.J. Dozier and Bol Bol have earned expanded roles in Denver after starting on two-way deals.

“For him to come here, shows that he believed in what we’re doing and the success that all of our two-way players have had,” Malone said.

Hearing from Hartenstein

The Nuggets had a need for an agile backup center after Mason Plumlee signed a free-agent deal with the Detroit Pistons.

Isaiah Hartenstein, a 22-year-old who spent the last couple of years with the Houston Rockets and G League team Rio Grande Valley Vipers, has impressed in early practices and looks to be in line to back up Nikola Jokic.

“He’s going to have a chance to play this year,” Malone said. “That’s one of the reasons we went after him. When we lost Mason, I felt it was very important that we had an athletic big that could roll, that could run, that could defend and be a presence at the rim. I think Isaiah brings all those things to the table.”

And he’s not afraid to talk, something that’s increasingly important with the number of pick-and-roll plays teams are running these days.

“I’ve really been impressed with his talk,” Malone said. “He’s a new player that has come into our gym and is not afraid to open his mouth, especially on the defensive end of the floor.”