Peyton Watson’s task, as bestowed by Michael Malone, was simple enough: Make Collin Sexton’s life hell.
Two nights ago, Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray tweaked his hamstring against the Milwaukee Bucks. Malone gave him the night off Friday, against the bottom-scraping Utah Jazz. Veteran sixth man Russell Westbrook sat right there, ready and waiting to step in, ballhandler for ballhandler.
But Malone went to Watson, sensing an opportunity. He told the young forward he’d start (technically at guard, but not really, in the position-less void that’s created by playing next to Nikola Jokic). And he assigned the 6-foot-7 Watson to Jazz sparkplug Sexton, Utah’s top option amid a rash of injuries in Salt Lake City.
“I want you,” Malone recounted telling Watson, “to be the guy that we can put on a matchup.”
It is the key, in a nutshell, to Watson’s ability to stick in Denver’s playoff rotation come April. Envelop a team’s best scorer in his wingspan. Fill in enough gaps offensively to not hurt the Nuggets on the offensive end. And the 22-year-old X-factor continued to grow up Friday night, holding Sexton to 20 points on 8-of-18 shooting, two assists and three turnovers in the Nuggets’ 129-93 win over the Jazz.
Sexton still got his, at times, as Watson acknowledged. But Watson made him work, just as Malone preached. He swatted away a Sexton layup in the first quarter, and shut him down on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter, his Slenderman arms going both vertical at the rim and diagonal in smothering closeouts.
As the Nuggets maintain a precarious hold on the third seed in the Western Conference, each potential first-round playoff matchup presents its own personnel that could give an inconsistent Denver defense fits. The Lakers have LeBron James and Luka Doncic. The Warriors have Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler. The Clippers have Kawhi Leonard and James Harden.
And Watson is “super confident,” as he said postgame, in his ability to be that Malone-dubbed matchup guy.
“I mean, I think just as – about as confident as any guy in the league right now,” Watson said of himself as a defender. “I think that I have the ability, on a night-to-night basis, to slow a lot of guys down and cut their water off. And I’m just trying to get better at doing that as consistently as possible.”
Malone’s trust in him, too, is visibly growing, the coach venturing out to halfcourt to hug Watson after he chased down the Jazz’s Kyle Filipowski for a foul on a third-quarter breakaway. And Malone, too, showed love to fellow Nuggets reserve forward Zeke Nnaji, who’s endured even more up-and-down minutes, after one late-game triple
After being slapped with a DNP against the Bucks Wednesday, Nnaji was a difference-maker in 17 minutes against the Jazz, racking up three blocks, two steals and 10 points. At the moment, he could be on the outside looking in on the Nuggets’ regular playoff rotation — but could be deeply valuable in spot situations as a switchable defensive presence.
Defensive consistency has recently evaded these Nuggets, sitting at 26th in defensive rating since the All-Star break entering Friday night against Utah. But they got necessary stops in the fourth quarter Wednesday against Milwaukee and held the Jazz to 36% from the field Friday, thanks in no small part to the efforts of Nnaji and Watson.
“If we can come out with that type of mindset from the jump,” Nnaji told The Denver Post pregame Friday, speaking on wire-to-wire defensive effort, “I think we’re the scariest team to play against.”
And Watson is the most important variable in that equation, continuing to cement himself as Denver’s stopper.
“I got nothing but confidence in myself, especially come playoff time,” Watson said, postgame. “I’m a gamer. I’m a riser.
“And when it’s time to go, I’m ready.”
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