Nuggets to open facilities Friday
By Evan Siegel
The Denver Nuggets are one of four teams that will be opening their facilities on a limited basis this Friday.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced NBA play to stop altogether. But as the first week of May trudges on, the Nuggets will be opening back up for business at the end of the week. According to the USA Today, the Houston Rockets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Portland Trail Blazers are the three other teams that will be opening back up.
Last month, the NBA announced that starting on May 8th, teams could begin reopening their facilities in accordance with state and local stay-at-home orders. Restrictions are still in place, however.
Teams will be limited to workouts of up to four players at a time and head coaches and assistant coaches will not be allowed to participate. So far, no other team has suggested that they will also be opening at week’s end.
The rate at which all teams decide to open could directly impact when the NBA as a whole decides to start back up again and either finish the 2019-2010 season, or begin preparing for the next full season altogether. The Nuggets were third in the western conference when play stopped, and concluded play with a road loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
Should the NBA decide to forgo the rest of the regular season and begin the postseason right away, the Nuggets would be matched up in the first round with the Houston Rockets. The two teams feature a very different style of play, with Denver’s being much more oriented in the half court offense, where the Rockets love to play more in transition.
Denver would have to pay close attention to the long range marksmanship that the Rockets possess. The athleticism of Russell Westbrook and James Harden will be no walk in the park for the Nuggets, but their matchup with the backcourt of C.J. McCollum and Damian Lillard from their seven-game series in 2018-2019 would be a good use of film for them to study.