Why the Nuggets want to pick up the pace and play faster this year

SAN DIEGO — Here’s what you need to know from Day 2 of Nuggets training camp.

Nuggets suffer their first injury of camp

Will Barton rolled his left ankle during the live portion of Wednesday’s practice. He walked off the court and out of the gym under his own power but left the building with a boot on his foot. Barton will likely miss tomorrow’s practice but it seems like he avoided a serious injury.

It’s unfortunate news. Barton had drawn rave reviews since camp opened and had been playing great during the Nuggets’ open runs back in Denver over the last week. Barton mentioned last Thursday that he felt “rejuvenated” after coming into camp healthy. Michael Malone had also been impressed with the shape Barton was in and how spry he’s looked.

“(He has) that pop back,” Malone said. “That explosiveness. Attacking the basket. Finishing. I haven’t seen that in a few years to be honest.”

With Nikola Jokic still not at camp and probably not joining the Nuggets this week in San Diego due to the impending birth of his first child, Denver’s starting unit might not get any practice time together prior to preseason game No. 1 Monday in Los Angeles against the Clippers. It’s no cause for long-term concern, but not having the Monte Morris-Barton-Michael Porter Jr.-Aaron Gordon-Jokic five-man lineup building chemistry throughout this week is a bit of a buzz kill. During the scrimmage portions of Denver’s practices, Gordon has been playing center.

All in all, Day 2 was a much better practice than Day 1. Malone characterized Tuesday’s practice as “sloppy,” but Wednesday’s was a step in the right direction. The energy was higher, guys were being more vocal and Denver played cleaner basketball.

Jeff Green, who filled in for Jokic on Denver’s starting unit on Tuesday, has impressed with his feel for the game and athleticism even at 35-years old. Malone called his fit with the Nuggets “seamless.” Gordon, who DNVR reported Tuesday has been the standout from Denver’s open runs and throughout the first couple days of training camp, continues to shine as well. Malone said Gordon is “locked in” and looks in “midseason shape.”

Porter also continues to impress. Malone noted Wednesday that Porter’s doing a good job of focusing in and executing the details of what Denver’s trying to accomplish on the defensive end of the floor.

“Michael’s attention to details, getting to the corner. We’re trying to do a better job taking away corner threes on the defensive end,” Malone said. “Slicing into passing lanes. Just the little things. That’s what’s going to be the difference maker for Michael Porter Jr. The talent is there. Anybody can see that. But his attention to detail and being disciplined in those details. I thought he’s really been playing well.”

Playing fast isn’t just coach speak

You typically hear the same refrain from coaches around the league on Media Day. One very popular one is, “We want to play faster.”

Sometimes that talk is real, sometimes it’s fake. For the Nuggets, it seems like playing faster is very real.

“We haven’t been playing at a great place these last few years,” Monte Morris said Wednesday. “We have too many athletic guys to play as slow as we do.”

Denver ranked 27th in pace last season and averaged only 97.74 possessions per game on their way to posting the sixth-best offense in the league. The only teams who played slower were the Clippers, Heat and Knicks. But when the Nuggets did get out in transition they were lethal. Denver averaged 3.4 points added per 100 transition possessions last season, per Cleaning the Glass, the fourth-highest mark in the NBA. The Nuggets were also the fifth-most efficient offense in transition last year.

One player who can help the Nuggets get out in transition more? Rookie Bones Hyland.

“What Bones brings is that energy, that pace and that attack mindset,” Malone said. “He can get to places on the court that some guys just can’t.”

Hyland excelled in the transition drills Denver ran at Wednesday’s practice and brings a different type of cadence and speed to the point guard position than Morris who’s a more classic lead ball handler.

With athletes like Porter, Gordon and Barton on Denver’s starting unit, and the likes of PJ Dozier, Austin Rivers, Facu Campazzo and potentially Hyland contributing off the bench, it makes sense that the Nuggets would be a very efficient transition team. Getting out on the break could lead to even more easy baskets for an offense that typically cooks on a night to night basis.

It’s notoriously been difficult for rookies to carve out playing time on the Nuggets over the last few seasons with how stacked their rotation has been. Denver’s two-deep with quality rotation players at every position once again this season, but if Malone is set on playing faster there’s a door cracked open for Hyland to grab minutes.

“I’ll play anybody if they can help us win a game,” Malone said. “I dont care where you’re from, where you were picked, where we signed you from. If you can help us win a game, your ass is going to be out there. I’m going to push Bones. I’m going to stay on top of Bones and help him get to that level.”