The Nuggets played their third game of the Las Vegas Summer League on Tuesday night, losing to the Charlotte Hornets. But the story of the game for the Nuggets was who wasn’t playing. Summer League standout Julian Strawther was on the bench in street clothes and reports are that he is done for Summer League.
The second-year player out of Gonzaga had a solid rookie season but he was slowed by injuries and never carved out a real rotation role. But with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Reggie Jackson, and Justin Holiday all exiting this offseason, there are some massive holes to be filled in the backcourt.
Julian Strawther has impressed in Las Vegas
Apparently, after two strong showings in Las Vegas, the front office has seen enough out of Strawther and decided to shut him down until training camp. They’ve obviously seen everything they needed to as he looked fully in command of the offense and was able to get into his shots and fill it up with jump shooting.
Strawther was very impressive, especially in his second game when he poured in 32 points and 5 assists while knocking home six three-pointers. That’s exactly what Denver will need this season and they’ll expect Strawther to be a major bucket-getter, whether as the starting shooting guard or off the bench.
Strawther has locked up a spot in the Nuggets' rotation
Pulling Strawther from Summer League with two games left should all but solidify his spot in the rotation to start the season. It’s not like the Nuggets really have any choice given their lack of options, but seeing Strawther stand out at Summer League certainly instills some confidence that he can get it done at the highest level.
He won’t be asked to do as much in the regular season and he should get plenty of open looks playing alongside players like Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. It’s a promising development for a team that badly needed some. They’ve put a lot of stock in their young players and a big leap from Strawther would help justify their belief.
Seeing DaRon Holmes go down for the season in game one put a bit of a damper on Summer League for the Nuggets and may have been a factor in shutting down Strawther early. But more likely, he’s proven himself and the team wants to see what they have in some of their other players.
It’s only Summer League, but Strawther looks like he belongs. Now we’ll see what he can do playing in high-leverage situations against the best players in the world once the games count. But he’s passed the first test and that’s great news for the Nuggets.