Nuggets Roll Out Another Bizarre Starting Lineup Featuring Bryce Hopkins

The Denver Nuggets are officially treating their fifth starting spot like a local radio station giveaway.

According to Underdog NBA, Denver is rolling out a Monday starting five of Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Bryce Hopkins, Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Jokic against the Golden State Warriors.

"Underdog NBA reported the lineup alert on X."

For anyone trying to handicap Denver's rotation this season, this is pure psychological warfare. You have four established NBA champions and a two-way forward who sounds like he should be taking your drink order at a premium steakhouse.

The core four are doing their usual heavy lifting to keep the ship afloat. Murray is pouring in 24.0 points a night, while Jokic is casually averaging 11.0 rebounds and 7.5 assists. Braun has also stepped up to grab 7.0 boards per game.

But the coaching staff keeps spinning a giant wheel to decide who gets to stand in the corner while Jokic runs the offense. This is a nightmare for prop bettors and fantasy managers. Just when you think you have a read on the wing rotation, a random two-way guy gets tapped to log 25 minutes of cardio.

Denver is sitting at 1-1 after surviving a 141-135 shootout against the New Orleans Pelicans over the weekend. They clearly have the offensive firepower to outscore people, but plugging a fringe roster guy into the starting unit against the Warriors is certainly a choice.

We will see if the Hopkins experiment lasts longer than the opening tip. If it fails, expect the Nuggets to pull another random name out of a hat before they travel to New Orleans for a rematch on Wednesday.