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DENVER, Colo. – When Gary Harris suffered a partially torn groin in the Denver Nuggets preseason opener October 4, Denver immediately inserted sixth-man Will Barton into the rotation, who’s done an admirable job filling in for the starting shooting guard.

However, Barton’s ride in the starting lineup may be coming to an end as Harris could be in the lineup for Denver’s regular season opener in New Orleans October 26.

“I think theres a good chance, no promises obviously, a lot of things have to happen in the next four to five days, but all I can say is that his rehab is going extremely well, he’s ahead of schedule,” Malone said before Friday’s preseason finale against Dallas. “He feels good and the training staff and medical staff feel really well about where he’s at. Well continue to monitor his progress, but I think theres a good chance he plays Wednesday night in New Orleans.”

The Nuggets initially put a four to six week timetable on Harris’s return, but the 22-year-old is ahead of schedule.

Malone has been adamant that when Harris is healthy he’ll return to the starting rotation.

“Obviously Gary is a starter for us and had a great season,” Malone said. “But until he’s able to get back we have different options we can look at and we’ll do so in the coming games.”

Barton returning to a bench role will give the second unit, which needs his offense a much-needed boost. The 6-foot-6 swingman came off the bench in all but one of the 82 games he appeared in last season, averaged 14.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 28.7 minutes per game.