BOSTON — When Juancho Hernangómez injected 19 minutes’ worth of life in a Nuggets victory over the Nets back on Nov. 14, hindsight had a field day.



Hernangómez, who had been used almost exclusively in garbage time during Denver’s first 10 games, finally slipped into the rotation and took the place of Torrey Craig, who had struggled offensively as the team’s backup small forward to begin the season.



Nuggets coach Michael Malone heard the “what took so long?” chorus that came after Hernangómez’s breakout game. It was a refrain, he insisted, that ignored the human element coaches must weigh in any lineup decisions.



“Torrey had earned the right (to be in the rotation); he started 11 playoff games for us,” Malone said. “So it’s easy for all of you to say, ‘Why did it take Malone 10 games to play Juancho?’ That is disrespectful to Torrey Craig. But after 10 games, I...