Denver Nuggets: Nah’Shon ‘Bones’ Hyland scouting report

Nah’Shon ‘Bones’ Hyland was selected by the Denver Nuggets with the 26th pick in the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft.

Hyland is a crafty 6’3 combo guard from VCU. He is an incredible athlete with a wingspan that is listed at 6’9.5” which pairs well with his explosive nature to his game. Last year at VCU he was tasked with being the go-to scorer and creator of offense. He seemed very comfortable at getting to an array of different shots at all three levels of the court.

He possesses palpable confidence and swagger on the court, he has a chance to be a high-level scorer in this league. He is a very reliable shooter off the bounce and seems to be even better when given the opportunity to catch and shoot.

He has deep NBA range that is allowing him to knock on the door of becoming a four-level scorer like the elite scorers in this game such as Trae Young and Stephen Curry. I do not think he is there yet as a shooter, but he has supreme confidence in his jump shot much like the greats.

As an undersized combo guard, his ability to attack the paint and score in the lane is very impressive. He has explosive leaping ability and can hang in the air to change his shot angles. He also has a soft floater he can get to when he turns the corner on a pick-and-roll or is challenging other bigs.

Nah’Shon is the definition of a combo guard, he loves to hunt for his own shot whenever possible but can use the pick-and-roll to create for himself, his big or his weakside shooters.

He’s a fantastic pocket passer in finding his roller, he knows how to fit the ball through tight windows.

At VCU he faced a lot of double teams and showed an ability to fire cross-court passes when getting trapped and as the help defender comes over in the pick-and-roll. His ability to dictate pace within the flow of an offense is very impressive, he is great at attacking with speed when he needs to and changing directions and speed to manipulate defenders into screens or into overstepping.

You can tell he has done his homework and watched film by the way he is able to coax defenders into doing what he wants. He is great at jabbing his defenders and force them to shift their weight, which allows him to shift his hips, and explode past them.

His frame, difficult shot-making ability, ability to score in the lane and manipulate defenders and defenses reminds me a lot of Jamal Crawford and Immanuel Quickley. Both players are supremely intelligent scorers and creators for themselves, and teams love when they have a reliable sixth man/backup scorer they can throw the ball to. His ability to turn the corner and get downhill and attack the paint reminds me a lot of Quickley, not to mention the high arcing soft floater he has in his bag.

There are not many flaws to Hyland’s game other than his lack of weight and height. It makes him susceptible to being switched onto on defense and hunted for his lack of defensive presence.

He has great length and is an intelligent player who knows how to play passing lanes and move his feet to cut off driving lanes and opportunities and I believe he has the potential to really grow as a defender. The only other real flaw I can find in his game during his time at VCU was the tendency to hold onto the ball too long. In the Denver Nuggets’ pass-happy system, led by last year’s MVP; Nikola Jokic it is unlikely this will even be an issue at the next level.

His best-case scenario with the Denver Nuggets is playing his way to high-level minutes as Jamal Murray continues to rehabilitate his ACL injury. Ideally, Bones can then be slid to the sixth man role and become the primary scorer with the second unit. Denver truly lacked in this area last year when Murray went down, and it was clear the offense did not have a secondary guard scorer who could create his shot at any point in time.

Bones will need to possess the ability to play alongside skilled scorers such as Murray, or Austin Rivers after he re-signed with the team in the off-season. Denver is in a fantastic position to take a shot on this scorer who might provide instant value to this roster as they search for another weapon to help guide them into Finals contention.