The three leading candidates for Most Valuable Player will be on the Ball Arena court in the next few days, but that’s of little concern to Michael Malone.

The Nuggets welcome Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks to Denver for Saturday’s game before Joel Embiid, the current favorite to end Nikola Jokic’s MVP reign, and the 76ers come to Denver for Monday’s game.

“It’s not about Nikola and Giannis; It’s not about Nikola and Joel,” Malone said after Friday’s practice at Ball Arena. “It’s about with nine games to go, can we find a way to get some guys that aren’t playing to the level we need them to play at – can we get those guys going? Can we maintain our health and can we find a way to play a lot more consistent basketball for 48 minutes.”

The starting five – Jamal Murray, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Jokic – have been an elite group through 73 games. The bench unit hasn’t had the same level of consistency or success. Malone has gone to a number of different lineups throughout the season due to injuries, roster changes and stretches of ineffective play. The current iteration features Murray helping reserves Christian Braun, Bruce Brown, Jeff Green and Zeke Nnaji.

“That’s what we’re going to plan on going with for right now,” Malone said.

While that’s bad news for guys like Vlatko Cancar, Reggie Jackson and Thomas Bryant, Denver’s coach cited the need for others to stay ready. Both Green and Nnaji have missed time with different injuries. Jackson had his number called when Braun faced early foul trouble in Brooklyn. Teams with more traditional starting centers could lead to Bryant, who the Nuggets traded for at the deadline, returning to the rotation.

Murray said he prefers the ability to adjust the bench group to the matchup as opposed to sticking with one group of five the rest of the way.

“It can be anybody’s night. It depends on what we need,” Murray said. “Sometimes we might need DJ, a big guy down there that can just block shots and rebound (with) a big presence. Everybody is staying ready for that second unit. I think we have a great feel of how we want to play and what we’re looking for.”

Regardless of who has made up the second unit, Malone has stressed the importance of that group doing three things – defending, rebounding and running – all season. That hasn’t always happened.

“Let’s be honest, that’s been a challenge for 73 games,” Malone said. “We’ve had stretches where it’s gone well, and obviously we’ve had stretches where it hasn’t gone well. That puts a tremendous amount of pressure on our starting group.”

As if Malone needed another option, the Nuggets coach said Collin Gillespie participated in his first practice Friday. The rookie guard broke his leg in the offseason and hasn’t played any minutes as a professional. Malone also said there’s a chance to rotation gets reduced in the postseason. The reserves have nine games left to make their case, starting with a couple of games against playoff teams with deserving MVP candidates.

“With nine games to go, it gives us an opportunity to try to come up with a grouping that can give us some success in the postseason,” Malone said.

Up next: The Nuggets host the Milwaukee Bucks at Ball Arena for a 7 p.m. tipoff. (Altitude TV)