Julian Strawther has been searching for a way back into the rotation for the Denver Nuggets since he suffered a left knee sprain back in early March against the Boston Celtics. He was averaging around 24 minutes per game in the two months leading up to the injury, but that quickly changed once he was deemed healthy towards the end of the regular season.
The sharpshooter from Gonzaga didn’t play any meaningful minutes in the first round series against the LA Clippers, but has found his way into the rotation here and there against the Oklahoma City Thunder, as outside shooting is a must for Denver with how much paint protection the No. 1 seed Thunder have.
Strawther was on the floor for an eight minute stretch bridging the first and second quarters, and found himself back out there for two minutes to end the third. However, interim head coach David Adelman didn’t keep him out there to start the fourth quarter, as Strawther watched from the bench while Russell Westbrook airballed two 3-pointers early in the quarter.
In his 10 minutes, Strawther knocked down a deep ball, pulled down two rebounds, got an assist and stripped Lu Dort on a drive to the rim. While he’s not doing what Jokic is, those kinds of contributions are much needed if Denver wants to pull off the comeback in the series.
Julian Strawther, who many doubted could even be played for the #Nuggets in these playoffs, gets a huge 3 and a huge steal for Denver.
So badly needed bench production, big moment for the young guard. pic.twitter.com/AlFkFPvEIj
— Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) May 14, 2025
After the game, Strawther emphasized that he wouldn’t have been able to get back to this level of contributing to the team in important moments without the help of his teammates.
“I would be lying to you if I said there wasn’t days where it was tough, but I got a locker room full of guys that are going to keep uplifting me and keep pushing positive messages into my brain,” Strawther said. “I just really, really thank the guys for helping me get through that injury … not playing since February, it’s been tough, but to be able to build myself up to a point where the guys and the coaching staff trust me, it’s huge.”
The 23-year-old said that it was rewarding to contribute to the team in a playoff setting, but he was focused on getting the win, which the Nuggets ultimately didn’t do.
Could Strawther see more playing time in Game 6 after his solid performance on Tuesday? With how poorly the team has shot in the last two games, it couldn’t hurt Adelman to give him a longer leash if his defense can hold up. While he might not have much NBA playoff experience, he does have a ton of college postseason experience, including a National Championship appearance his freshman year.
