DENVER – If there’s one thing Michael Malone wants the Nuggets to take from the preseason, it’s the realization that no one on the team possesses a switch.

The ability to elevate play to the requisite level at a moment’s notice is rare even among the elite, the Nuggets coach said.

“I’ve been around one guy in my career that had a switch,” Malone said after Monday’s practice at Ball Arena. “That’s LeBron James; 99.9 percent of teams and players don’t have a switch. It’s all about building habits. If we don’t build habits now, they’re not going to be there opening night.”

Malone’s proof is in the preseason. The Nuggets seemed to believe they possessed a switch in the first two games – losses to the Thunder and Bulls where Denver allowed 112 and 131 points, respectively. The Nuggets won their final three games of the preseason against the Suns, Clippers and Warriors. After the two losses, Malone said the Nuggets were competing harder in practice than they were in games.

“That finally shifted,” Malone said. “We were playing as hard, if not harder, in our final three games. That’s why there was such an uptick in our play on both ends.”

The regular-season opener, Wednesday at Utah, will be a good test of Denver’s mindset. The Jazz are retooling after trading away Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell in the offseason. Part of operating without a switch is treating each opponent with respect. Bruce Brown seems to have picked up Malone’s message despite his short time in Denver.

“I came here because everybody knows we’re in a great position to win the championship,” Brown said. “We just got to look forward to every day, get better in practice, know what we need to do and just even when we’re playing kind of s—– teams … just lock in play like we’re playing the Warriors.”

Murray fully participates but second unit wins again

Jamal Murray took another step Monday toward being available for the regular-season opener.

After not being a full participant in Sunday’s practice, Murray was with the rest of the starters for the little bit of live action during Monday’s practice.

“Unless something changes, I don’t see him not being available on Wednesday night,” Malone said.

That allowed Brown to rejoin the bench unit with Bones Hyland, Davon Reed, Jeff Green and DeAndre Jordan, according to Malone. The starters were once again beaten by the bench, something Malone said isn’t unusual in Denver or elsewhere. Aaron Gordon said the reserves just executed better and sees it as a positive thing.

“It’s not a concern, not even close,” Gordon said. “It just is a testament to how deep we are as a team. That bench unit is going to give us a lot of lift, and they’re going to win some games for us this year.”