Denver Nuggets head to Oklahoma City, take on the retooled Thunder

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Preseason game No. 7 | Denver Nuggets (3-3) at Oklahoma City Thunder (2-3)

Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | 6:00 PM MST | TV: No TV

After surviving a three-point barrage from the Portland Trailblazers and coming out of the Moda Center with a 106-97 victory the Denver Nuggets now head to Oklahoma City to take on the new-look Thunder. The game will not be televised so for all of you who just so happen to stumble upon a live stream of the game here are some important storylines to watch for.

Jamal Murray looks to continue his impressive preseason

Murray looks like he came into this preseason prepared to prove himself. He has been fearless and assertive regardless who he shares the floor with or who is playing opposite of him. The result has been impressive production from the 19-year-old rookie in his first six games of his professional career.

Through six preseason games, Murray has been able to average 12.6 points, 3.6 assists, and 4.5 rebounds while playing 26 minutes per game and shooting 45 percent from beyond the three-point line. While that kind of production is huge the biggest takeaway has been his ability to score regardless of if he is playing point guard or shooting guard. In the past three games, Murray has seen a boost in minutes at the point guard position and his scoring has followed suit. His minutes per game jumped from 23 in the first three preseason games up to 28.5 minutes per game in the most recent three match-ups. His points per game catapulted from 10.3 in the first three games up to 15 points per game in the latter three.

If Emmanuel Mudiay stays sidelined with a sprained right ankle, look for Murray to pick up a larger portion of the point guard duties. The Nuggets front office and coaching staff have been vocal about their faith in Murray’s ability to play both point guard and shooting guard and it seems he is the number one candidate to step into an increased role as he did against the Trailblazers last game. Murray has been given an opportunity to stand out and to prove himself. With the Nuggets projected starting backcourt both out it gives Murray a chance to come out against one of the league’s best point guards in Russell Westbrook and make a statement.

Jusuf Nurkic faces his biggest test yet in Steven Adams

Nurkic has been dominant all preseason. He has used his massive size low in the paint to wreck havoc on any front court that stands in front of him. In five games thus far Nurkic is averaging an outstanding 15.2 points, 11.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game in only 24.7 minutes per game.

While Nurkic’s play in preseason is wonderful, he has yet to face a truly dominant center like Steven Adams. Being 7-foot and 255 pounds Adams is in close proximity to Nurkic’s immense frame as anyone and uses his strength extremely well. Nurkic will not have the benefit of being able to play bully ball and effortlessly back his man down into the low post. Adams also is able to stretch out to around 15 feet and does a good job of passing from the high post, forcing Nurkic to play farther from the rim than he has needed to so far this preseason. Adams will be able to show Nurkic a plethora of different moves from a dozen different spots on the floor. If Nurkic can come out on top of this matchup and continue to post the same averages he has consistently contributed so far this preseason, it will go a long way in solidifying his starting status in the NBA.

In a lot of ways, Nurkic could learn a lot from the way that Adams plays at his size. Being able to be a versatile center while still being imposing physically is becoming rarer by the day. Adams has taught himself to use his athletic ability and smothering physical stature to be able to defend anywhere on the court. Nurkic shares that same quickness to sheer size ratio and could emulate a sizable chunk of how Adams plays on both ends of the court. Tonight will be a great gauge to see how much Nurkic has developed so far.

Which of Jarnell Stokes, Robbie Hummel or Nate Wolters is leading the charge for the 15th roster spot?

Being that the Denver Nuggets have recently cut DJ Kennedy, as well as former Nuggets Axel Toupane and JaKarr Sampson, that now leaves Stokes, Hummel and Wolters competing to stick with the Denver Nuggets into the regular season as the 15th man on the roster.

So far it is Stokes who seems to be in the lead. Of the remaining three camp invites Stokes leads in minutes played throughout preseason and impact on the court. He may also fit the Nuggets needs better than the other two due to the emergence of the “Jurkic” front court making the Nuggets dangerously thin at the center position. If Micheal Malone does choose to start the two young and promising 7-footers together the will have only Kenneth Faried and Darrell Arthur available to take backup center minutes. Bringing in Stokes, who has NBA experience and has looked great so far, would be a big step to solidifying the frontcourt going into the season.

Nate Wolters gets a nod as a solid second option mostly because of Mudiay’s recent ankle injury. His chances are solely dependent on how long Mudiay ends up missing being that Jameer Nelson has not played inspiring in his minutes this preseason. Murray is still a rookie who is not ready to lead an NBA team on a potential playoff run. The Denver Nuggets players have been quick to say that playoffs are the main goal this year which means having the defensive intensity and relaxed play from Wolters may be needed if Mudiay ends up missing more time than expected.

While Hummel does shoot well from beyond the arc and would provide some injury insurance for Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler, I would be most surprised if it was Hummel who made the roster. Being the Nuggets just cut two small forwards who are familiar with the roster it seems that the recent surge from the “Wild Stallion” Juancho Hernangomez seems to make Hummel’s chances worse. Hernangomez can play either forward position and his recent play has forced Malone to start using him as one of his first three players off the bench. As long as Hernangomez continues to play with infectious energy and a high basketball IQ, it seems that Hummel will not don the rainbow “Skyline” jerseys come game one.