The Nuggets showed some warts as a team in their first preseason game on Saturday night, losing to the Timberwolves 128-116 in San Diego. But one player who was very impressive and looks ready to take a major leap this season was Peyton Watson. Now entering his fourth season, Watson has steadily progressed, but hasn’t been able to keep a consistent everyday role.
He’s due for a rookie extension this month, and with the added depth and upcoming financial crunch, it’s going to be hard to justify a big deal for Watson if he doesn’t show out early. There have been whispers about Watson being the odd man out, and that this may be his last year in Denver, with him even being used as potential trade bait during the season.
But if Watson takes a major leap this season, that could change that thinking entirely. He has always been a great athlete and a good defender, but a shaky offensive game has kept him off the floor, most notably in the playoffs.
If Saturday night was any indication, Watson may be ready to take on a bigger role on offense. In just 18 minutes, he scored 10 points, making all five of his shot attempts. He was playing with the ball in his hands, making things happen, getting to the basket, and finishing.
3-Point shooting going to make or break Watson
The big thing that we didn’t see from Watson on Saturday night was three-point shooting. If he is really going to be able to play heavy minutes in a playoff series, he’s going to have to make threes.
Seeing this part of his game was excellent, and it can raise his ceiling a lot. But in the biggest moments, this offense is going to run through Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. That means for Watson to make an impact, he’s going to have to play off the ball. He can do a lot with screening and cutting, but he has to space the floor and make the defense respect his shot.
Nobody is expecting him to turn into a marksman overnight, but if he can make open, catch-and-shoot threes, especially from the corners, he can really become a weapon. If teams are forced to stay in his airspace and close out aggressively, that will open things up for Denver’s offense and will create more opportunities for Watson to drive to the basket, where he’s most comfortable.
We’ll see how sticky this new development is, but for one preseason game, it was an incredibly encouraging sight to see.