The Nuggets’ game of musical chairs was always going to leave at least one or two players on the outside of the rotation.

Lately, that’s been Torrey Craig and Malik Beasley. Both were mainstays in the rotation over the first three weeks of the season, but as the second unit sputtered, Nuggets coach Michael Malone decided to tinker with his substitution patterns.

“I felt going into the season, I think Torrey earned the right (to play),” Malone said. “Torrey started 11 playoff games for us, so it’s easy for all of you to sit here and say, ‘Why did it take Malone 10 games to play Juancho (Hernangomez)?’ But that is disrespectful to Torrey Craig. After 10 games, I felt that our bench unit needed to play better, we needed a spark, and Juancho’s given us exactly that.”

Malone spoke with Craig about his thinking and also said that there might be games — such as Wednesday night’s matchup against Houston — where Craig’s length and physicality could be useful.

“I met with Torrey one-on-one, we talked about things and obviously with Malik coming back from being sick and missing that amount of time, I’ve kind of talked to him a little bit as well,” Malone said. “When you have this many talented players and you’re up by 28 (vs. Memphis), and Malik and Torrey haven’t even played, that speaks to our quality of depth.”

Craig has shot just 22% from 3-point range and hasn’t been nearly as impactful as he was during last year’s playoff run against San Antonio and Portland. That doesn’t mean Malone has forgotten about him.

“(The talk) was just encouragement, knowing what I mean to the team and how he uses me and different things like that,” Craig said. “It means a lot, I’ve been here three years. We’ve pretty much got a feel for each other, so whatever I have to do, I’m willing to do to help the team.”

As the Nuggets were rolling over the Grizzlies on Sunday evening, Craig was at the head of the bench encouraging his teammates. He didn’t check in until halfway through the fourth quarter when the game was well in hand.

“That’s just genuine having love for the guys,” Craig said. “We all get along, we’re all happy for each other when each other have success. I’m not one to sit here and pout when my teammates are doing good. If they’re doing good and we’re winning, I’m happy. So as long as we’re winning, I’m happy.”

Hernangomez has provided a massive lift over the past two games. In last week’s win over Brooklyn, Malone called his rebounding and hustle the difference in the game. Against Memphis, he had a season-high 15 points on four 3-pointers.

Rookie Michael Porter Jr. has also seen an uptick in his play as a result of Denver’s new rotations but his offensive and defensive awareness are works in progress.