The Denver Nuggets head into their fourth preseason game tonight against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Denver Nuggets are currently 3-0 in their preseason with wins against the Perth Wildcats from Australia and the Los Angeles Lakers, twice. Now, it is only preseason, but a fan of this team has to enjoy the start that this young team has had to start off the new campaign.
Talk about how they were in a close game with a NBL team, or how the wins against L.A. don’t matter. They’ll respond with a W-L record that is perfect so far, and fans obviously will hope that transitions to the regular season as well.
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However, that’s in the past, water under the bridge. In the preseason, a team needs to take it one game at a time to ensure that they get the most out of it. Tonight, the Nuggets will face the Los Angeles Clippers in their second trip to L.A. already (one of the Lakers games was played in San Diego). What should the viewer look or watch for in this game? What play makers should they keep special eyes on? Which side has a certain advantage to keep tabs on?
This is a game that the Denver Nuggets should win, it just depends on how much time Coach Malone wants to get to the main rotation guys. The Clippers are suffering in injuries right now, with Danilo Gallinari, Patrick Beverley, Milos Teodosic, and Luc Mbah a Moute, four main rotation players with injuries. The Nuggets, of course, will not have Isaiah Thomas, Michael Porter Jr, and Jarred Vanderbilt in this game, but they haven’t played this year yet anyways.
Another thing to look out for is the play of Malik Beasley. Malik has been a man on a mission this preseason, putting in some impressive performances off of the bench in a year that he hopes to see the floor more. He is entering his third season with the Denver Nuggets, after being drafted 19th overall in the 2016 draft as the first one-and-done in Florida State history. The former Seminole looks to play more, with Will Barton most likely sliding to the small forward spot for extended time, and he should be trusted as a main reserve player.
Another rookie from the same class, Juancho Hernangomez, has had a pretty successful preseason as well. He will also fight for playing time off of the bench at the small forward position as well. Hernangomez dropped 19 points against the Lakers earlier this preseason. Personally, I’d love to see some lineups that include him and Malik running the wings as well.
Oh, and one more thing. His name is Juancho, not Juan. The Nuggets twitter account made that clear at the beginning of the preseason.