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LOS ANGELES — For much than a week, each the Nuggets had known was themselves. With caller competition, Monday’s preseason opener against the Clippers breathed caller beingness into Denver’s grooming camp.
The result, a 103-102 Clippers win, didn’t overmuch matter. But for the archetypal contention since Denver got swept retired of the playoffs against the Suns, it was an intriguing showing.
Here’s what stood out.
Emerging MPJ: It took 1 4th to spot what Michael Porter Jr. added to his arsenal. The 6-foot-10, newly-minted max player, dropped 16 points and snatched 4 rebounds successful hardly implicit 10 minutes successful the archetypal quarter. In summation to a tighter handle, Porter looked stronger and much assertive.
Defensively, helium was much connected than helium was astatine this clip past year.
There were besides respective sequences with Aaron Gordon that highlighted a budding two-man crippled which wasn’t arsenic salient past season. Using Gordon arsenic an violative initiator, either carrying the shot up the tribunal oregon successful transition, helium recovered Porter connected a mates occasions that suggested a devastating and versatile imaginable guardant pairing. Porter finished with 23 points and 7 rebounds.
Perhaps it was the effect of not playing done Nikola Jokic, who rejoined the squad Sunday but sat for Monday’s game. Or possibly it was a concerted effort by the Nuggets to enactment the shot successful Gordon’s hands much arsenic a playmaker. He initiated adjacent portion sharing the tribunal with Monte Morris and P.J. Dozier.
After a frustrating postseason, Gordon was determined to usage his physicality and strength amended than helium did past season. On respective plays, Gordon enactment his enarthrosis down and bullied his defender similar a moving back.
Outside of Porter scoring, Gordon’s versatility whitethorn person been the astir noteworthy facet from Monday night. He ended the nighttime with 8 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
Dozier’s spot secure: Despite a heavy and talented excavation of guards, Nuggets manager Michael Malone emphasized however invaluable Dozier is to his roster.
“He’s not warring for minutes, he’s not warring for my respect,” Malone said. “I’m a immense P.J. Dozier fan. I recognize the value of P.J. Dozier due to the fact that of the versatility that helium brings. He’s a feline that tin play 1, 2 oregon 3 connected discourtesy and helium tin defender 1-4 connected defense.”
Dozier had his moments against the Clippers and did a small spot of everything. He buried 2 3-pointers, grabbed 4 rebounds and threw 3 assists. One 3-pointer came disconnected a country look successful modulation — a changeable the Nuggets person been emphasizing successful camp.
On different sequence, Dozier drew 2 defenders and threaded a bounce walk to a rolling Jeff Green. It yielded the item of the nighttime — a poster dunk connected Clippers large antheral Harry Giles. The full Nuggets seat jumped retired of their seats astatine the jam.
Jeff Green is someway inactive bully for 1 of these sneaky posters per crippled 15 years later. pic.twitter.com/dxrkZeny6N
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) October 5, 2021
Bones/Bol: Before the game, Malone saved his highest praise for Denver rookie Bones Hyland, whose play and vigor person already won implicit his teammates.
“The feline who I deliberation has had a tremendous camp, and he’s a rookie, is Bones Hyland,” Malone said. “Bones has been phenomenal, each day, time in, time out. Everything being thrown astatine him. But the energy, the gait successful which he’s been playing has been tremendous.”
Hyland played arsenic advertised. He was fearless, driving into the teeth of the Clippers’ defence and assertive toward the rim. His consciousness for the crippled was outstanding. On 1 sequence, Hyland got his defender successful the air, drove to the rim, absorbed interaction and finished done a foul. He finished the crippled 8-of-13 with 19 points.
He and Bol added a tantalizing magnitude to Denver’s 2nd unit. Bol, aft drafting praise from his teammates during the week successful San Diego, backed it up with hustle, effort and a fewer of his signature moments. Whether it was a finger-roll connected discourtesy oregon a changeable alteration connected defense, Bol backed up the humble hype that’s circulated the past week.
The Nuggets volition play their 2nd preseason crippled Wednesday astatine Golden State. Both Jokic and Will Barton are expected to beryllium available.
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