"He’s ahead of the curve": Bones Hyland looks like the complete package

Bones Hyland will never be able to shake the image. He remembers the hour, the day and exactly where he was when he saw his mother, Marshay, crying in her Nissan as she struggled to pay the bills that kept piling up.

Hyland decided at that moment his No. 1 goal in life was to make sure Marshay was taken care of. It’s a goal he was able to accomplish after signing his contract with the Nuggets this summer. Hyland moved Marshay out of Wilmington, Delaware and bought her a house close to him in Denver.

“It’s very comforting having her here,” Hyland told DNVR last week in San Diego. “You don’t worry. Where I grew up in the hood, there’s a lot of violence. I’m always thinking, ‘Is my brother going to make it back home? Is my sister safe? Is my mom safe?'”

Having Marshay close by has helped Hyland transition into his new life as a professional. Hyland says he goes to his mother’s house every night for dinner because nothing beats Marshay’s home cooking. Being around her also keeps him grounded.

“It’s like, ‘Wow, I really did it.’ I got her out here. I’ve wanted to do that since I was a kid. That was my No. 1 goal in life,” Hyland told DNVR. “It gives me a better peace of mind to have her in Denver. It’s just a relief.”

Whether it’s the home cooking, the motherly love, the rookie’s exceptional work ethic, or a combination of all three, Hyland has impressed in every way since arriving in Denver. After a promising showing at training camp last week, Hyland was as advertised in his Nuggets debut Monday pouring in 19 points on 8-13 shooting to go with 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 turnover in 24 minutes. Hyland did most of his work around the basket too and shot 7-8 from the paint.

It was everything the Nuggets could have asked for.

“He’s ahead of the curve,” Malone said after the Nuggets’ 103-102 loss to the Clippers.

It was obviously a thrilling debut, but maybe not as surprising of a showing as you’d think. Hyland drew rave reviews throughout training camp last week, so much so that Michael Malone brought him up unprompted during his pregame remarks Monday and said Hyland had “tremendous” camp in response to a question I asked him about PJ Dozier. But the chatter last week in San Diego backed up Malone’s comments. Hyland looked like he belonged.

The player we saw at Summer League was also the same player we watched Monday. Hyland was able to get to the rim with ease against Clipper defenders. His confidence was of course there.

“Bones is sick,” Michael Porter Jr. said Monday night. “We were all like, that dude can really, really really, play. He’s one of the quickest guys I’ve seen. He carries himself like he’s been here before. He doesn’t care who he’s up against.”

“Once I get in that bag, I feel like nobody can stop me,” said Hyland.

The only aspect of his game that wasn’t present in Los Angeles was his 3-pointer. Hyland shot only 1-5 from distance and misfired on a 32-footer that he launched from a couple of feet in front of the Clippers’ center court logo with 1:51 remaining in the fourth quarter, 12 seconds left on the shot clock and the Nuggets leading, not trailing, 100-98.

It was the full Bones experience. Hyland attempted and made deep, deep near-logo 3s while at VCU and doesn’t plan to stop now.

“My range is extended from where I was shooting in college,” he joked (I think) to DNVR. “It’s half-court now. Don’t be surprised if I pull up off the break from half-court and it’s bottoms.”

But Hyland only takes those rangy 3s because he works on them. Around 20 minutes after his second official NBA practice ended at training camp last week, I watched Hyland go through an extended workout with assistant coach Charles Klask. Hyland, who was the only player still on the court at RIMAC Arena by this point, locked into a shooting session that had him taking spot-up, pull-up and transition-type 3s. Some of those shots crept out to around 30+ feet.

Hyland went through only game-like situations during the workout. He dribbled off screens and into long-range pull-up triples. He then started to go to the rim, finishing with his right, and then his left, both through and around contact. They were all very similar shots to the ones Hyland attempted and converted Monday.

The extra work seems like it’s already paying off.

“Extremely comfortable,” Hyland said about how he felt during his debut. “Beyond comfortable.”

The Nuggets love how eager Hyland is to learn. At practices, Hyland has been peppering starting point guard Monte Morris with questions about operating within Denver’s read-and-react offense and how he should be reading the defense based on what set Malone calls for.

“A guy who asks questions, that goes a long way in this league and he’ll be around a long time,” Monte Morris said. “He listens. A lot of rookies don’t listen. They’ve got egos and stuff, but he’s not one of them. He’s a natural hooper and I like it.”

“He’s willing to learn and he’s in here working every day. His transition should be smooth because he’s actually got hoop game. He’s not a systematic player. So any guy like that, it should be an easy transition once you figure out our scheme.”

If his preseason opener was any indication, Hyland is picking things up quickly. The Nuggets are still deep in their backcourt even without Jamal Murray, and Hyland didn’t win an opening night rotation spot with his performance against the Clippers. But it really feels like he’s trending that way.

You definitely got the sense throughout training camp that with a strong and complete preseason that Hyland could garner minutes on opening night.

Monday night felt like a very real step in that direction.