Three Big Takeaways in Demolition of Knicks

Denver Nuggets: Call-up of Davon Reed From G League Another Smart Move

With Bones Hyland and Austin Rivers still out due to COVID protocols, the Nuggets needed to make a call-up from the G League Rapids City Gold.

Many fans, myself included, wondered if they would call up the 31-year-old Lance Stephenson, who can score and play the strong defense Malone is making a calling card this season.

Instead, they called up the 26-year-old Davon Reed, who last played in the NBA in 2019 with the Indiana Pacers, his second season in the league. Like Stephenson, Reed is a stout defender.

Malone said choosing to sign Reed to a 10-day contract was an easy decision. In seven games with the Rapids City Gold, Reed was averaging 15 points, 8.1 rebounds, six assists and 2.6 steals. In his last game, Reed had five steals.

In his first 24 minutes with the Nuggets, Reed picked up two steals and a block on defense. In the post-game recap on ESPN, Reed talked about how the Nuggets’ D made the difference.

"“I felt they were out of sync,” said Reed. “We know they’re a heavy (isolation) team. We had shots we wanted to force them to take. … They were definitely getting frustrated and we were locked in.”"

According to Mike Singer’s game wrap in the Denver Post, the coaches gave the Defensive Player of the Game chain to Reed.

Yet Reed immediately made his presence felt on offense as well. He hit all three of his three-pointer attempts for 9 points and dished out four assists to help the bench unit outscore the Knicks reserves 43-32.

Once again Malone and Director of Operations Tim Connelly look extremely wise for not only calling up Reed at the right time, but acquiring him for the G League Rapids City Gold in the first place.

Monday marks the midpoint of the road trip, so let’s hope there’s just as many impressive takeaways after the Nuggets take on the Chicago Bulls.