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Notes from the Nuggets' scrimmage where Bones Hyland shined
Notes and observations from Day 4 of Nuggets training camp at the University of California, San Diego.
Key takeaways from Friday’s scrimmage
The Nuggets held an intrasquad scrimmage on Friday. Four quarters of action. The starters (Jamal Murray, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, Nikola Jokic) vs. the bench (Bones Hyland, Bruce Brown, Davon Reed/Christian Braun, Jeff Green/Peyton Watson, DeAndre Jordan/Zeke Nnaji. Referees were officiating the game too. It was the most formal 5-on-5 that Denver has played so far at training camp.
The Nuggets let the media into the gym for the entire fourth quarter of what surprisingly turned out to be a 98-89 win for Denver’s bench. Here are notes from the 12 minutes of action that I watched live.
– Bones’ takeover
Bones Hyland hit two deep 3s in the fourth quarter and was the key catalyst for Denver’s bench group. He took command of the second unit and shined on several possessions where the offense broke down and he had to improvise. That’s where Hyland is at his best. Throughout training camp, I’ve heard chatter that Hyland had looked good, but wasn’t exactly standing out. But the reason why is because Denver’s practices have contained so much structure, drill work, etc, which is common at camp. When the reigns came off and Hyland just got to hoop, he showed off the creativity that makes his game so special. He was the best player on the floor for the portion of the scrimmage I watched.
– KCP’s offensive role
Denver’s wings getting/sprinting to the corners has been a point of emphasis from Michael Malone this week, especially when it comes to Michael Porter Jr.’s offensive role. It helps the Nuggets’ spacing and spreads the court. And it was clear during Friday’s scrimmage that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is already an elite sprinter-to-the-corner. He hit two corner 3s that came via very healthy Nuggets offense. He was in perfect position on both and ready to catch and shoot. He’s going to get so many open looks from there. What you love most about Caldwell-Pope is that he knows his role in this offense. He knows he’s a catch-and-shoot guy who just needs to learn Nikola Jokic’s game and how to play off him and Jamal Murray. He has gotten up to speed really quickly this week.
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– Murray’s confidence
Murray had a couple of really crafty drives to the rim where he got around his defender and finished through traffic. His confidence and touch around the basket seems like it’s there. I also saw him hit a corner 3. But Murray also had a bad turnover near mid-court and it just felt like the starters aren’t quite on the same page yet. Again, we saw a quarter of the scrimmage, so things could have looked a lot different earlier on. Their execution just isn’t quite there yet, at least from what I could tell. I’m not worried at all. The starters are going to be unstoppable. I don’t think Murray is back to the player he was pre-injury, but he’s on his way.
– MPJ’s shot-making
Michael Porter Jr. is still taking ridiculously tough shots. He took a contested step-back 3 from the corner over Davon Reed that I’m sure Michael Malone hated, but it went in. It was a classic ‘No! No! No! Yes!’ shot and a quick reminder of how special Porter is as a shot-maker. The guy can shoot over anyone, from any spot on the floor, and make it. He’s so, so special in that department. Defensively is where I’m worried about him heading into this season. After missing all of last year, I’m just anticipating him struggling on that end. Christian Braun blew by him off the dribble for a layup today. I’ve been told that Porter is 100% good to go and has no limitations. He looked confident in his body the couple of times I saw him take his defender off the bounce and get to the rim.
– Braun’s defense
I don’t know if Braun starts the year in the Nuggets’ rotation — I predict that Davon Reed is the backup small forward on opening night — but Braun will be in Denver’s night-to-night rotation soon. He’s a better defender than Reed, he’s taller and more athletic but maybe a slightly more inconsistent shooter right now. I think Malone initially goes with the vet, but Braun will soon find his way on the floor. His defense was impressive on Friday. He drew, in my opinion, two charges on Michael Porter Jr. One was called, one wasn’t. Braun just looks really locked in on that end. He’s an exciting player to watch.
– Zeke’s position
We finally got clarity about what Zeke Nnaji’s position is right now. He’s been playing center. Michael Malone said on Friday that the Nuggets have simplified his role, and now Nnaji’s more of a screener, roller, defender and rebounder. That’s his job description. Nnaji bulked up this offseason and put on 10 pounds of muscle. He looks huge. He now should have the strength to play center, and Nnaji had a couple strong finishes during the scrimmage around Nikola Jokic. However, I am a little worried the Nuggets are putting Nnaji in a role where he’s not going to be stretching the floor much — he shot 46% from 3 last year and 40% from distance as a rookie. I think if he keeps playing like this throughout the preseason he’ll be trending towards a rotation spot, but DeAndre Jordan has had a good camp as well.
Bruce’s ball-handling
Bruce Brown didn’t stand out during the scrimmage but it was notable that he served as the second unit’s point guard on multiple possessions and allowed Bones Hyland to move off the ball. I reported earlier this summer that I wouldn’t be surprised if Brown played some point guard this season. It frees up Hyland (I’d still expect Bones to handle the ball a ton.) I think Brown’s going to be a Michael Malone favorite this season. He will play a lot.
More notes
– He didn’t play during the portion of the scrimmage I saw, but Michael Malone raved about how Peyton Watson looked on Friday.
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“It starts with playing hard,” Malone said of Watson. “I challenged him coming into camp. I said, ‘I know you think you’re playing hard, but you’ve got to play harder, understand what that means.’ It was him defending, him being vocal. I hear him out there. Him rebounding the ball and getting out and running. Keeping it simple offensively. If you don’t have a shot, get off it, make a play for someone else. And attacking and finishing. On top of that, he’s been spending a lot of time working on his jump shot and his consistency, and he shot the ball well from the 3-point line today.”
– I didn’t see anything too noteworthy from Nikola Jokic. He had a few nice rebounds but didn’t take over the scrimmage or anything. From all reports, he’s looked excellent throughout camp and is in a good headspace. He was frustrated with the officials towards the end of the scrimmage today — yeah, you read that right.
– We weren’t in the gym for the first three quarters of the scrimmage, but the word was that the starters were up for most of the game, and the bench mounted a big comeback in the second half.
– Stan and Josh Kroenke were at practice today. It was the first time I’ve seen them in San Diego this week. After the scrimmage ended, both spoke with Michael Malone for around 15 minutes or so.
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