Jeff Green, Nuggets fans discuss potential solutions to load-management issue as Denver drops game in Milwaukee without 4 starters

Jan. 25—MILWAUKEE — One popular solution to prevent star players from load managing and missing games doesn't solve the problem in Jeff Green's eyes.

A regular season with 10 fewer games has frequently been floated as a potential solution.

"I don't think it should be 72 games. It should be 82. Guys are sitting out. They're not just sitting out back-to-backs. They're sitting out with two days rest. So I mean, I don't think that means we should just go to 72. It's been 82 for how long?" the Nuggets forward told The Gazette prior to Wednesday's 107-99 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks, a game Denver played without starters Jamal Murray, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Porter Jr. and Nikola Jokic.

"I don't think changing it is going to make guys want to play every game. You can't control injuries. You can't control how tired you're going to be throughout the season. It could be 72 games; guys can still do load management. It doesn't mean that they're going to play all 72. Just keep it the same and guys just figure out a way to get through it. Sometimes you've got to play through injury. Sometimes you got to play through fatigue. I think guys have just found a loophole and are trying to figure out ways not to do that."

Nuggets coach Michael Malone said the league's schedule makers have an unenviable task. But he would like to see the NBA prioritize potential matchups like Wednesday, which could've featured the last four Most Valuable Players. Giannis Antetokounmpo, the winner of the MVP award in 2019 and 2020, played and scored a game-high 33 points. Nikola Jokic, the winner of the last two, posted a fourth straight triple-double Tuesday in New Orleans but was ruled out 90 minutes prior to the game with hamstring tightness, which had kept him out of a couple of games last week. The league was able to make sure the 76ers and Nuggets both have a couple of days off before Saturday's "Rivalry Week" matchup between Joel Embiid and Jokic.

"The league has an impossible job. You're not going to keep 30 teams happy with the schedule, but with that being said, I think Philadelphia played tonight. They don't play again until Saturday, I believe. We played tonight. We don't play again until Saturday. They're setting that game up for Nikola Jokic (versus) Joel Embiid. (on) ABC. Those players will likely be available," Malone said after the game, noting Milwaukee has won more games than any NBA team in the last five years. And his team has more wins than any other Western Conference team in that same stretch.

"Giannis is a two-time MVP. Nikola's a two-time MVP. To have this game (on) the second night of a back-to-back, not a national TV game and a lot of our guys weren't able to play tonight, you would hope that they would set this game up to be a little bit more of a marquee matchup, but again, that's easy for us to say."

It's the stars who are most burdened by the back-to-back, the way Zeke Nnaji sees it.

"It's definitely hard, especially when you play a lot of minutes," Nnaji said. "For the starters, it's really hard, because they're going (to) play 30-plus minutes, and then they have to go play another 30-plus. That's difficult. It's just really taking advantage of the time to recover and taking care of your body."

It's not so easy for the fans, either. Peter Zhong and Joel Sawatzky grew up in Boulder and moved to Wisconsin to continue their education in Madison. Zhong was wearing his Murray jersey, while Sawatzky sported Jokic's No. 15. Neither player played in their lone trip to Milwaukee this season.

"It's heartbreaking," Sawatzky said during the third quarter of the game.

While missing their favorite players in action was a bummer, both seemed to accept the new norm.

"We were looking at the (injury) report. We were refreshing it, refreshing it, because we knew (the Nuggets) just played in New Orleans, so we were wondering," Zhong said.

"It was terrible."

It's not much better for the Nuggets, who flew from New Orleans to Milwaukee on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. That leaves little time for the coaches to prepare and the players to recover.

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"You get in late, and you're trying to finish your film work from the New Orleans game," Malone said.

"Then you have to turn the page and get ready for a team in Milwaukee that presents so many problems. Time and the clock is not your friend, because now you're going to bed at 3:30, 4 in the morning."

Green's been dealing with back-to-backs throughout his career, which started in 2007. The best he can do is develop a different routine for games on back-to-back days. He won't do as much on-court work ahead of the second leg, he said.

"You never have it figured out," Green said. "Your body reacts differently every back-to-back, so I just try to develop a routine for regular games and back-to-backs and go with it."

BUCKS 107, NUGGETS 99

What happened: The Nuggets lost for the second time in three games, though Nikola Jokic didn't play in either of the defeats.

Jokic, who missed the game with hamstring tightness wasn't the only one in street clothes. Jamal Murray (injury management), Michael Porter Jr. (personal reasons) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (wrist sprain) were also held out of Wednesday's game, leaving Aaron Gordon as the only regular starter to play against the Bucks.

Ish Smith drove to the hoop and finished a layup, his fourth bucket of the first quarter, and gave the shorthanded Nuggets a one-point lead after the first quarter. An 8-0 Milwaukee run in the second erased Denver's five-point lead and helped the hosts lead 58-53 at halftime.

The Nuggets had a chance to regain the lead with just over two minutes left in the third, but the Bucks scored the next 10 points. Jeff Green's half-court heave just before the buzzer cut Milwaukee's lead to eight to start the fourth quarter.

The Bucks scored the first six points of the fourth, stretching the lead to 14. The Nuggets fought back to close within five with five minutes to play, but that was as close as Denver would get.

Aaron Gordon led the Nuggets with 26 points and 13 rebounds, while Bones Hyland added 15 points.

What went right: The fight Michael Malone was looking for showed up, led by Aaron Gordon. The Nuggets' All-Star hopeful played solid defense on Giannis Antetokounmpo and put up 26 points, 13 rebounds and four assists.

What went wrong: The Nuggets couldn't keep Antetokounmpo off the foul line or Pat Connaughton off the 3-point line. Antetokounmpo scored 15 of his 33 points on 22 free throw attempts. Connaughton finished the night 5 of 6 from 3-point range where he scored 15 of his 19 points.

Highlight of the night: Christian Braun introduced himself to Antetokounmpo in the opening minutes.

The Nuggets rookie seemed to be looking for a pass as he advanced the ball after coming up with a steal early in the first quarter. When there wasn't an obvious pass to make, Braun decided to take it all the way. He finished the play with a driving dunk over Milwaukee's two-time Most Valuable Player and shot the Bucks star a brief look after he put the Nuggets up 5-3.

Up next: The Nuggets conclude a three-game road trip at Philadelphia on Saturday.

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