Denver Nuggets: 3 takeaways from Oct. 3 loss vs. Thunder

Bones needs to step up as a facilitator

Truth be told, it’s hard to be too critical about Bones’ performance last night as it was just a preseason game and there were a lot of moving pieces for the team this offseason. Nevertheless, to finish the game 2-of-7 from the field, and 0-of-2 from three-point range, resulting in a negative plus-minus rating of -11, is disappointing, to say the least.

Even though Hyland’s still projected to be Denver’s sixth man and one of their more reliable scoring options for the Nuggets. A lot has changed regarding this roster makeup and it’s probably going to take some time for Bones to adjust.

Looking at things from a positive lens, Bones Hyland appeared to be one of the more aggressive players on the court last night against the Thunder. As expected, he was one of the first players off the bench and was constantly seeking out ways to attack the basket as the clear leader of Denver’s bench mob. The issue is that passes like this were few and far between.

Coming into the 2022-23 NBA season, Hyland was the player projected by most to take the biggest leap forward. The Nuggets recently traded away Monte Morris, the one player ahead of Bones in the rotation, and are relatively thin at the point guard position. And as the saying goes, talent plus opportunity equals success, right?

The presumed result is that Hyland would build off his All-Rookie second team performance from a year ago, and emerge as one of the key components for a championship contender. While I still believe he will live up to the sky-high expectations set out for him this season, he’s going to have to learn to adapt to a role he’s not exactly used to and that’s as a facilitator.

When Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are out of the game, Bones Hyland will need to step up as the lead facilitator of the Denver Nuggets offense. Bruce Brown and Jeff Green can move the ball effectively, but neither can set up others for open shots consistently. This means that for the second unit to be effective, Bones needs to act as more of a point guard than a shooting guard and put effort into getting his teammates open.

Last season, the Denver Nuggets needed Hyland to step up as a scorer following the losses of Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., the team’s second and third go-to scoring options. While that was probably more natural for him, the challenge for Bones now is to evolve into more of a passer than a scorer.

With all of the new additions to the team, his success this season will be measured by how well he can lead the second unit, which begins and ends with his ability to facilitate the offense.