What the Nuggets' Summer League win says about Denver's three most interesting players in Las Vegas

Three days into their Summer League stay, more earthquakes had taken place in Las Vegas than Nuggets basketball games.

Denver’s opening night Summer League matchup with the Phoenix Suns was wiped out by the 7.1 magnitude tremor that hit Southern California on Friday, but the Nuggets got back on the court Sunday. Denver topped the Orlando Magic 84-79.

Michael Porter Jr., who suffered a knee injury at practice last week, is likely to stay sidelined for the entirety of Summer League, but Michael Malone in an interview on NBA TV left the door open for him to return. Still, the Nuggets had enough offensive firepower to edge the Magic.

Here’s what stood out from Denver’s win.

Terence Davis looked like an NBA player

Nuggets Summer League head coach Jordi Fernandez said Davis, the undrafted guard out of Mississippi, was “an NBA player” after a practice last week, and the 22-year-old looked the part Sunday. Davis finished with a game-high 22 points on 8 of 13 shooting, converted on 5 of 7 3-pointers, five rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block.

The biggest takeaway from Davis’ game was his 3-point shooting. Davis’ ability to convert from beyond the arc was one of his bigger question marks coming out of the draft even though he hit 37% of his triples last season.

“He was awesome, I’m so happy for him,” Fernandez said of Davis’ Nuggets debut. “I’ve said it since day 1 he’s an NBA player. He proved it today and I think he’ll keep doing it because this kid, mentally he is really tough.”

Davis hit from distance off both catch-and-shoot and off-the-dribble opportunities.

Davis is a plus-athlete and above-the-rim player, and on defense, he’s a bulldog. He showed off elite timing on this block in transition and also looked smooth navigating around screens. His defense at times on Sunday forced the Magic into turnovers.

Davis turned down the opportunity to be selected in the second round last month and instead chose to bet on himself, instead of tying himself to a two-way contract, a decision which immediately paid off. Davis signed with the Toronto Raptors Sunday night after his standout game.

Vlatko Cancar skill-set and basketball IQ fits the Nuggets’ play style

Cancar, Denver’s 2017 draft-and-stash forward, picked up right where he left off after a promising showing at Summer League in 2018 and turned in a 12-point, five-rebound effort in the Nuggets’ win. At this point I’d be surprised if Cancar didn’t fill one of Denver’s final roster spots for next season and the Nuggets are high on him as a potential piece that they can build with going forward.

“He’s a player we believe in for our future,” Fernandez said.

Part of what makes Cancar such a logical fit in Denver moving forward is that he fits the Nuggets’ offensive philosophy, which is centered around ball and player movement. Cancar is a smart basketball player and knows how to move off the ball. He has great timing on his cuts — a near prerequisite to play alongside Nikola Jokic in Denver — and is a quick decision-maker when he receives the ball. He’s similar in a way to Juancho Hernangomez, another great ball-mover who’s well suited for the Nuggets’ offense, and he doesn’t need a lot of time to determine whether he’ll shoot, pass, or attack the rim when passed the ball.

Cancar is a skilled and smart passer and can space the floor. He knocked in two 3s on Sunday and even though Cancar only shot in the low-30’s from three last season in Spain, he’s a better 3-point marksman than those numbers indicate. Cancar has good form and good shot mechanics too.

The book on Cancar is pretty simple. He’s a really well-rounded player who’s a solid shooter, unselfish and more often than not makes the right play. In that sense, he fits the Nuggets’ identity perfectly. He also plays hard every second that he’s on the floor. Cancar is strong too and has legs that look like tree trunks.

If Cancar can play minutes at the back end of the Nuggets’ rotation next year or in 2020-21, he’d be another heck of a find by Denver at the 49th pick.

Jarred Vanderbilt’s upside is clear, but his ETA to Denver’s rotation is still TBD

If we’re talking potential, Vanderbilt has the highest ceiling of any Nuggets player who suited up Sunday, which is a discussion that obviously excludes Porter and 2019 second-round pick Bol Bol. But while Vanderbilt displayed some of the tools that make him a highly-regarded prospect who could very well factor heavily into the Nuggets’ future, he’s still incredibly raw.

At just 20-years-old, that’s not exactly breaking news. Vanderbilt appeared in just four G League games last season and has played almost exclusively garbage time minutes for the Nuggets. But the tools Vanderbilt packs into his 6-foot-9 frame are obvious. He’s an extremely skilled and crafty rebounder, can handle the ball well for his size and moves very fluidly for a player of his height. Vanderbilt also has a great motor, can sky for alley-oops or blocks at the rim and isn’t afraid to get on the floor for loose balls.

At times on Friday, he flashed an All-Defensive team skill-set. Vanderbilt has great feet and moves laterally like a guard.

He executed a great trap on this high screen too.

At times, Vanderbilt also looked lost in pick-and-roll coverage. But again, he’s a raw prospect with not too many game reps under his belt. He has the skill-set and work ethic to improve in that area.