Denver Nuggets basketball is back! The Nuggets have flown halfway across the world for a pair of games against the Boston Celtics in Abu Dhabi on both Friday and Sunday in a matchup of the past two NBA champions. It may also be a preview of this year’s Finals if both teams hold up their end. Nikola Jokic has put aside racing his horses, Jamal Murray has emerged from MMA practice, and MPJ stopped lifting weights on the beach to be here.  Two years ago Boston failed to show up, last year it was Denver’s turn to fumble the dance, but each team has sky-high expectations for its season and tipping this preseason off in the desert facing each other is a spectacular way to end the long offseason – and begin the chase for this year’s Larry O’Brien Trophy.

The Essentials

Who: Denver Nuggets (0-0) vs Boston Celtics (0-0)

When: 10:00 AM MDT

Where: Emirates Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

How to watch/listen: Denver Stiffs does not condone piracy…unless it’s the romanticized 18th century type. (Stream is available on NBC Sports Boston on YouTube TV, Hulu, DirecTV Stream and Fubo TV). League Pass for non-Nuggets market viewers. 92.5 FM KKSE Altitude Sports Radio. Don’t break the law in the UAE – you don’t have the money to beat the crime.

Rival blog: Celtics Blog

Injury Report: Peyton Watson – out (hamstring), Jalen Pickett – out (vibes), DaRon Holmes – out (Achilles); Kristaps Porzingis – out (foot/ankle).

The Three Things

The thing to watch for: How does Jamal look?

Jamal Murray’s last game was in the Olympics and he didn’t look like he’s shaken the rust off quite yet. He’s seemed springy in the practice footage that’s been released, but how his body responds to early game action will provide another clue for whether Mal is going to be ready for full action in game one of the regular season or whether he’ll be taking care of that rust still. Everyone is going to be going through their first real game in months, but Jamal’s early action is probably the most anticipated for Denver fans. As Jamal goes, so goes Denver’s title hopes.

The thing to remember: New bench rotation starts now

This will be Russell Westbrook’s first action leading Denver’s reserves. Peyton Watson and Jalen Pickett are not expected to play but there are plenty of bench roles to sort out as well as starters who aren’t likely to go into deep minutes, so expect heavy action for players like Julian Strawther and Hunter Tyson, with perhaps more minutes for 2-way guard Trey Alexander than one might expect. Dario Saric and Vlatko Cancar will also be a new wrinkle for the Nuggets as they will be trying an entirely different reserve front court than last year. The Nuggets hope these changes can take some of the load off Denver’s starters, and the practice energy has been spicy thanks in part to Russ, but our first look at them together comes in a few short hours.

The thing to bet: Don’t bet on preseason games, you degenerate. Just enjoy Nuggets basketball being back!