The Nuggets are back! How and when to watch the NBA Abu Dhabi Games

Ladies and gentlemen, the long wait is finally over. The NBA preseason tips off on Friday all the way from Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. This is part of the NBA’s Global Games, a long tradition of pre and regular-season games that have been played in a number of countries and cities outside the United States.

This season, the Denver Nuggets were chosen to partake as they’ll be taking on the defending champs, the Boston Celtics. The teams will play two games in the UAE city before returning for the rest of the preseason.

What time is the Nuggets game on Friday?

The first preseason game will tip off at 10 AM MT, a nice early tipoff for fans in the Denver area. The two teams will play again on Sunday morning to wrap up the trip before returning to the States early next week.

How to watch the Nuggets game on Friday

For fans who want to wake up and have their breakfast and coffee while watching the game, it will be broadcast nationally on NBATV and it can be streamed on the NBA app.

What to watch for in Nuggets/Celtics

Despite this being an exhibition game, it should be fun to see the past two champions kicking off a new season. The Celtics enter the year as favorites to repeat as champs while the Nuggets have the second-best odds in the West and the fifth-best overall.

These teams will play very deep rotations and run guys for short rotations but we should get a look at most of the players on the roster. One of the most important things to monitor is the health and fitness of Jamal Murray. It will be fascinating to see how he looks after a brutal showing at the Olympics where it looked like he wasn’t moving well at all.

Beyond that, it will be interesting to see who the fifth starter is and how all of the young guys perform and fit in. Christian Braun is the favorite and figures to get the first crack at it, but Julian Strawther and Peyton Watson are also going to be relied upon for major contributions this season.

One other thing to watch will be the Nuggets debut of Russell Westbrook. Friday’s game may not be super informative, but it will still be cool to see an all-time NBA legend suiting up in a Nuggets uniform for the first time.