The Denver Nuggets are just hours away from finally tipping off their NBA regular season against the Oklahoma City Thunder. There has been so much talk, discourse, and rhetoric around this team for the last few months, that it will be nice to finally just have an actual basketball game that counts to focus on.
Much of the talk has been around Jamal Murray and his health. Murray is obviously one of the most crucial cogs in this Nuggets team and his ability to play like a star is paramount to their chances this season.
Meanwhile, the Nuggets have been dealing with another important injury issue that has been flying relatively under the radar. That would be a hamstring injury that Peyton Watson has been dealing with for over a month. The injury has kept him off the practice court and out of preseason games.
Peyton Watson ready to play with no restrictions
But the Nuggets got some excellent news as Watson was finally cleared from the injury and will be a full go on Thursday night with zero restrictions. That means the Nuggets will have their entire roster ready to go and Michael Malone will have his full rotation intact to start the season.
Watson should be an important role player for the Nuggets off the bench this season and he’s one of the X-factors that could raise the team’s ceiling in a major way. He showed flashes in his first two seasons but struggled with consistency and failed to earn the full trust of Coach Malone.
But with some of the recent departures, and now entering his third year, Watson is going to have to step up and fill the backup forward role. We know he can provide great energy and athleticism, but he needs to be more consistent as a shooter and defender to truly take his game to the next level.
The talent and skill set are definitely there, now it’s just about putting it all together. Knowing that he’s fully healthy to start the year is a great sign, so hopefully he can hit the ground running. The Nuggets’ bench will be a fun unit to watch this year, as it’s almost an entirely new cast of players.
The combination of Russell Westbrook, Julian Strawther, Dario Saric, and Watson makes for a very intriguing group. They all bring different things to the table and they should provide Malone with some optionality and versatility that the team has been lacking in recent years.