Denver Nuggets: 3 things to watch for on opening night
By Sean Carroll
On Wednesday 20 Oct. 2021, the Denver Nuggets will play their first game of the 2021-22 NBA season against the Phoenix Suns, a rematch from their second-round playoff series.
It’ll be the first meaningful basketball Nuggets fans have seen since they were eliminated and the start of a very interesting season. No, you can’t judge a book by its cover or a season by its opener, but there’s potentially a lot to learn from the first game of the season.
Michael Malone has plenty of lineup questions to ask and while it looked as though some were addressed in the preseason, we won’t know until the real games kick off.
Let’s get into the key things to watch out for on opening night, carrying over from a trend in the preseason:
Denver Nuggets: Is Bones Hyland in the rotation?
Bones Hyland looks much further ahead than most rookies who get drafted in the late 20s and has been playing just under 28 minutes a night in the preseason. He has averaged 15.2 points a night and shared time both with and without the starters.
Like most Denver Nuggets players this preseason, he is letting the 3-point attempts fly and has taken 7.6 attempts a night and looks good while doing it, making them to the tune of 34 percent.
He has also racked up 4.6 assists per night but rookie guards typically struggle to distribute the ball in the NBA. If he is a solid enough secondary passer, boy would that be an embarrassment of riches for a team with Nikola Jokic, Monte Morris, Facundo Campazzo, and solid secondary ball-handlers like Will Barton.
On opening night, assuming everyone’s healthy, Bones could see some early minutes as the second or third guard off the bench. If Morris and Barton are starting and Facu plays the lead guard role for all the minutes Monte sits, Bones might slide in behind Barton.
P.J. Dozier has also looked elite in the preseason, potentially growing into the 3-and-D role, but given how thin the team is on the wing, Dozier might be Michael Porter Jr.’s main backup, sliding down to the small forward spot.
One player I haven’t mentioned yet is Austin Rivers, who returned to the Denver Nuggets on a minimum deal and sees this season as his last shot to stick in the league.
Preseason games usually see coaches opt for youth, saving the veterans for the regular season, but with how well Bones is playing, he’ll have an opportunity to beat out Rivers.
Dennis Smith, writer here at Nugg Love believes Malone should play Bones early and often after his stellar Summer League performances:
"“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.”"