The Denver Nuggets are back in action tonight for their second game of the 2024 Las Vegas Summer League, they’ll be facing the Toronto Raptors. For Denver it’s back to business after suffering a major loss in their first game when rookie DaRon Holmes II exited the game late with a torn achilles. He will miss the entire 2024-2025 season. The Nuggets will also be looking to secure their first victory of Summer League after losing to the Los Angeles Clippers in their first contest. As it is just the second game of Summer, Denver will likely still utilize their top players on the roster which means more work for Julian Strawther, Hunter Tyson, Jalen Pickett, Trey Alexander and P.J. Hall.
The Essentials
Who: Denver Nuggets (0-1) vs Toronto Raptors (1-0)
When: 7PM MDT
Where: COX Pavilion. Las Vegas, NV.
How to watch/listen: Denver Stiffs does not condone piracy (though the new TV deal announcements make it hard for us not to)…unless it’s the romanticized 18th century type. Altitude TV where available (Altitude TV is available on DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and Fubo TV), NBATV, NBA League Pass for those not in the Nuggets market. Show up to Vegas three games prior so you can get a good seat, spend an evening watching fringe NBA players run isos for 90% of the time that otherwise could have been spent watching the Blue Man Group.
The Three Things
What to watch for: Julian Strawther
We see it every year in Summer League, the sophomore player who was on the fringes of the rotation throughout the previous season comes for their second stint in Vegas knowing full well they are the guy…and it looks bad. Peyton Watson is a prime example. Last Summer he came to Vegas as the clear top player on the squad and tried to play in that role and it just didn’t work. It’s not that Peyton isn’t a quality player, he’s just not suited to be the go to scorer on most possessions. Strawther looked every bit the part of “the guy” in Denver’s first Summer League game. He wasn’t afraid to shoot the ball whenever it hit his hands and when his shot wasn’t falling he was aggressive to the basket and getting to the free throw line. He led the team in scoring with 25 points. I’ll be very curious to see if he can do it again. With every strong performance in Vegas, Strawther will continue to solidify his spot in the actual NBA rotation.
What to remember: Someone will have to step up
Losing Holmes hurts big time. Not only were the Nuggets extremely high on him in the draft, but there was a chance he was going to get legitimate playing time this season. Now, the Nuggets will have to find big depth either internally with guys they probably didn’t have tabbed for the roster or out in the extremely depleted free agent market. P.J. Hall had an up and down game against L.A., it would help assuage all of Nuggets Nations concerns right now if he could put up a strong performance tonight. The Nuggets also still have one two-way and one guaranteed roster spot available. With Hall occupying one of the two-ways it didn’t seem likely that Denver would fill their final spot on the roster with another big man but with Holmes’ injury that might have changed. Gabe McGlothlan got minutes in the first Summer League contest and Jaylin Williams is on an exhibit 10 contract (essentially an invite to training camp) already for the Nuggets. Those would be the first two “in-house” options I imagine the Nuggets look at if they are trying to shore up some size on the roster.
The thing to bet: Denver moneyline (+136)
Why not? Who know who’s going to win this game but I’m hoping for a rallying cry out of Denver in the wake of Holmes’ injury. A strong performance tonight is just what the doctor ordered to lift the spirits of the collective squad. The Raptors are also on a back to back which probably matters less considering there’s no travel and all the players are in their early 20s but when it comes to betting Summer League like an absolute degenerate you have to find things to convince yourself there’s an edge. This is mine.
