The Denver Nuggets officially play a basketball game tonight, oh happy day! Even though it’s just a preseason game, it will still be nice to see how the 2021-22 Nuggets team looks after a week or so of training camp.
Denver will be without superstar big man and MVP Nikola Jokic tonight due to personal reasons, but should have everyone else available minus Will Barton, who is questionable with an ankle injury. That means we may get an extended look at rookie Bones Hyland, who performed extremely well in summer league just a couple of months ago.
Los Angeles will be missing a ton of key players as they are resting Paul George, Nic Batum, and Marcus Morris Sr. while Serge Ibaka (back), Kawhi Leonard (knee), and Jason Preston (foot) are all out as well. This will be the first of five preseason games that Denver will play over the course of the next two weeks.
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The Basics
Who: Denver Nuggets @ Los Angeles Clippers
Where: Los Angeles, California (Staples Center)
When: Monday, 8:30pm MT
How to Watch: League Pass
What to watch for
How does Michael Porter Jr. look and how much will be play
This will be MPJ’s first game since signing his five-year, max deal last week so it will be interesting to watch not only how he plays, but how much he plays. It would surprise me if Porter played more than 20 minutes with this being the Nuggets first preseason game and it may be smart to limit his playing time in the preseason considering how much Denver is going to rely on him this season.
The Bones show
Denver’s first round pick from this year, Bones Hyland is set to take the world by storm tonight in Los Angeles. After a really strong summer league, Hyland will look to build on that in the preseason and hopefully earn a rotation spot with the Nuggets to begin the season. The main thing to watch with Hyland in his creativity with his shot, playmaking, and passing ability. Hyland’s passing ability is easily something that could standout in the preseason and may surprise some people.
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How does Bol Bol look
All the reports out of training camp sound like Bol is incredibly engaged and determined to have a breakout season, so hopefully that translates to some production in the preseason. Bol looked extremely productive at times in summer league, but wasn't as consistent as you would’ve liked to see. It feels like Bol will have a pretty solid opportunity to prove himself in the preseason, so hopefully he takes advantage of that.
