The new horses in Nikola Jokic's stable

Denver somehow won 48 games last season. On paper, they should be substantially better. Can it be real?

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

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Mares and Foals in a Landscape, George Stubbs, 1763-68

Last season, nine Denver Nuggets players logged at least 1,000 minutes for the club. In order of minutes played and with some generalized categorization by which I mean no insult:

• Nikola Jokic (the league MVP)

• Aaron Gordon (a solid starter)

• Will Barton (solid rotation player)

• Monte Morris (solid rotation player)

• Jeff Green (rotation player)

• Austin Rivers (somewhere between fringe and rotation player)

• Bones Hyland (rotation player)

• Facu Campazzo (fringe player)

• JaMychal Green (rotation player)

In their top 9, that’s a superstar, a solid starter, two solid rotation players, three rotation players and two fringe or at least fringe-ish NBA players.

This team finished 48-34, No. 6 in the West. Outside the play-in spectacle, but not all that competitive in the first round of the playoffs against the eventual champion Golden State Warriors. Really good. Not a title contender.

Jokic, Gordon, Jeff Green and Hyland are back this season. Everyone else from the 1,000-minute club is gone. Here are the five players you would expect or hope to fill those slots in the rotation over the course of the season, barring other trades or continued injuries.

• Jamal Murray (fringe All-Star)

• Michael Porter Jr. (solid starter)

• Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (solid rotation player)

• Bruce Brown (solid rotation player)

• Ish Smith (rotation player)

If this works according to plan, the Nuggets — who went 48-34 last season — will be seeing major upgrades throughout the rotation.