When it was the Denver Nuggets‘ time to select a player in the recent draft, it came as a bit of a surprise as they selected Nah’Shon ‘Bones Hyland. Most people had in mind a defensive wing or perhaps a defensive rim-protecting big man, but instead, the Nuggets would use their pick on an offensive guard.
Bones Hyland wasn’t being mentioned much even around the spot where the Nuggets were drafting. Come to find out, the Nuggets had been eyeing him for a while and apparently fell in love with Bones during the pre-draft process.
If you’re like most Nuggets fans, you quickly searched to see what the Nuggets were getting with Bones Hyland. One of the first things that jump out on his tape is that he can really shoot the ball, and shoot it deep. It’s almost as if Damian Lillard gave the Nuggets nightmares in that first round of the playoffs last season and said “I want one of those.”
Bones Hyland takes DEEP shots and has such an effortless shooting motion as well, not only does he take these shots, he takes them with confidence and expects to make them. That is a sign of a good shooter.
Meet Bones Hyland pic.twitter.com/MCZJFyMn2Q
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) July 30, 2021
You also realize he’s quick-twitch with pretty solid isolation dribble moves to get where he wants on the court, but he’s lanky and will have to get used to the physicality of the NBA.
Right away the Nuggets put him in a position during Summer League where he’s running the show to see what he has to offer as a playmaker as well. Bones got off to somewhat of a slow start, but then he really picked it up and you could see why the Nuggets were hyped to have Bones.
He ran the show and looked natural doing so, he played with fierce intensity and passion for the game even coming up clutch on multiple occasions. The kid plays with such fire similarly to how when Jamal Murray gets going offensively, his confidence along with his play continues to rise.
Coming out, Tim Connely said one of the things they loved the most:
"“His intense passion for the game… he just has an infectious energy, it’s not unique to the basketball court, you walk in a room with him the guy puts a smile on your face… he just loves to play ball, he’s a hooper, we’ve had some good luck with those type of guys and we’re excited to have him.”"
During post-draft interviews, Bones was super excited to be a part of the Nuggets and expressed how confident he is about his fit with the team. He believes he and Jamal Murray would be a lethal duo along with Michael Porter Jr. and the MVP Nikola Jokic making everything go. The crazy thing is, he could be absolutely right. This could happen, but the Denver Nuggets would have to be willing to do something they usually don’t do, and that is playing their rookies.
Bones Hyland has a very attractive skill set, you could argue if he filled out his potential, only Murray’s skill set would be comparable. Imagine Bones Hyland at or near his full potential, he would make the Denver Nuggets dangerous and extremely tough to guard.
The MVP Nikola Jokic is already a handful and we all know the offense flows through him. We know Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic make up one of the NBA’s most dangerous duos, we know Michael Porter Jr. is as lethal as it gets as an outlet spot-up shooter with much more expected to come, and Aaron Gordon is as athletic as it gets.
If Bones Hyland also becomes an option as someone who can be a knockdown shooter and be creative with and without the ball like he’s shown in Summer League, you would then have a virtually unstoppable offense. This is something the Nuggets MUST explore.
Bones Hyland should play early and often for the Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets should not be shy about playing him early and often and shouldn’t hold him back. Experience for Bones Hyland early on, especially without Jamal for the beginning of the season, could bode well for both the Nuggets and Bones Hyland.
This is also not a diss to the other guards on the Nuggets, Monte Morris plays a very important role who is trusted and rarely makes mistakes. Facundo Campazzo is second to none when it comes to effort, you may as well put his picture next to the definition. And P.J. Dozier is very versatile, but Bones Hyland’s skill set (if he fills out his potential) offers a much more dynamic look which could put a different kind of pressure on opposing defenses making it difficult to defend.
It is in the Nugget’s best interest to fast-track his experience with hopes of him filling out his potential because Bones Hyland at that level would be the absolute best thing that could happen for the Nuggets.
When thinking about a fully healthy squad, Bones is the type of player that could push this team over the top if he pans out. It wouldn’t make much sense to heavily scout a player like this, then this player shows out in the Summer League, only for the team to play it slow and basically redshirt him this year.
When he mentioned Jamal Murray coming back and them being a “dominant 1-2,” it’s easy to think his vision was maybe something similar to the splash bros out in Oakland Stephen Curry, and Klay Thompson along with Draymond Green facilitating. It’s a dangerous trio of players because Green can handle the ball while Curry and Klay can run around searching for good looks.
In light comparison, the Nuggets’ facilitator would obviously be Jokic and the outlets being Murray and Bones Hyland, but the Nuggets would also have another deadly shooter in Michael Porter Jr. as well.
Bones could potentially be offensively versatile as well because he showed the ability to drive to the basket so it’s possible different lineups could work with him whether you want a shooting lineup or a slashing lineup that would feature Will Barton.
Similar to Murray, Bones may struggle early on the defensive side of the ball and could get targeted, but in due time could very well learn to not be a liability on that side mainly because of his competitiveness, this is a guy that loves to compete and plays with so much passion and fire that he could turn into a player you don’t worry too much about on the defensive side.
The Denver Nuggets are clearly in a championship window and winning a championship requires your best players to be clicking and playing at or near their highest level.
Not counting the Nuggets out for this upcoming season, but if they took this approach, the 2022-2023 season could feature a fully healthy Jamal Murray, a fully healthy Will Barton, an Aaron Gordon that would really know how to fit in with the team, a Michael Porter Jr. going into a third healthy season, an even more dominant Nikola Jokic because of the weapons around him, and Bones Hyland with a full season under his belt.
If you fill out the rest of the squad nicely with more role players like Monte Morris and Jeff Green, this Nuggets team would be ready for its most serious championship run in team history.