2019 Preseason

[THE J0KER]

NBA preseason started today officially (INDIAna beat in INDIA Sacramento in overtime), but the first Nuggets game will be in Sunday vs Portland.

BTW TJ Warren scored 30 points in his Pacers debut... I can't believe Suns even give #32 pick to get rid of their TOP3 player last two seasons with a team-friendly 10M contract. Other Pacers new player, Brogdon, finished with 15-6-14, so they going to be a very interesting team once Oladipo is back. Other games between Clippers and Rockets should be a showdown, but without Kawhi, George, and Westbrook it was just one man show (Harden was 37-7-7), and an easy win for Houston.

Jokic will be limited this preseason (will play probably just 2 out of 4 games), probably Juancho and Plumlee too which also played World Cup. For me, the most interesting to watch will be

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SCHEDULE:
@POR oct-8
@LAC oct-10
@PHO oct-14
POR oct-17

[skywalker33]

So, with Jokic out this 1st game, is Bol Bol playing at all ??

[THE J0KER]

So, with Jokic out this 1st game, is Bol Bol playing at all ??

I think Bol is still not cleared even for contact work at practice sessions.

Talking about 1st preseason game, I'm happy. Not because win, it is just a friendly game, but because I see some things I wanted to see. That include Grant 3-5 for threes and 2 blocks, and the beauty of MPJ jumpshots. Malone being Malone for postponing Porter debut for another half, but in the 2nd half I finally see what I want to see at SF, Porter playing and Barton sitting.

[TunaFish]

First preseason game and Denver was never behind. Light minutes for starters as expected and the bench looked strong, its a very deep team. So deep they didn't play MPJ until mid third quarter.

Harris and Barton looked healed and played well. Millsap was the best player in the game. Murray looks like he always does at the start of the season, having difficulty finding his shot. Plumlee looked the same.

Grant shot well and had some incredible blocks. He makes the Nuggets that much deeper. Hernangomez could not hit his shot but did have a big block. Morris was effective as usual. Beasley looks like a outstanding offensive player who has defensive issues.

MPJ does not look hurt and his shooting form is outstanding. He looks lost in team defensive positioning and he is not aggressive enough at rebounding but he will be a wing even at 6'10'. The hype looks justified as he appears to be a future number one scoring option. However, he does need seasoning with the rest of his game and will likely be coming off the bench for a while. Still, I would not mind seeing him take a critical shot at a critical time because defenders don't seem to bother him, he just shoots over them with confidence.

Denver played well in this game and I wish we could see the rest of the preseason.

[skywalker33]

Millsap looked real good for the 1st preseason game, Murray seemed rusty to me. Liked what I saw from Grant, not so much Juancho who looked more like trade fodder than a player IMO.Morris looks like he did last year, just a steady force. Barton, Craig and Beasley all seemed non-descript in their time on the floor, but it was the 1st game of the pre-season.

As for the young guys, MPJ played well although he still needs to work on court awareness IMO, Vandy was decent but still looks like a 10-13th guy. Both showed talent but are works in progress. Cancar had some passes that caught his teammates by surprise, he has some good court vision. Dozier has potential IMO.

First opinion: MPJ will be a starter before All-Star game if Barton or Craig don't pick it up.

[skywalker33]

Gotta say I loved Nurkic's new hairdo, he looks so boy-ish

[The Rebel]

Millsap looked real good for the 1st preseason game, Murray seemed rusty to me. Liked what I saw from Grant, not so much Juancho who looked more like trade fodder than a player IMO.Morris looks like he did last year, just a steady force. Barton, Craig and Beasley all seemed non-descript in their time on the floor, but it was the 1st game of the pre-season.

As for the young guys, MPJ played well although he still needs to work on court awareness IMO, Vandy was decent but still looks like a 10-13th guy. Both showed talent but are works in progress. Cancar had some passes that caught his teammates by surprise, he has some good court vision. Dozier has potential IMO.

First opinion: MPJ will be a starter before All-Star game if Barton or Craig don't pick it up.

I disagree with your assessment of both Juancho and Porter JR.

It was obvious that Juancho is not an iso player, he struggled on offense when he was trying to create himself. However he played well on defense, especially help defense, and moved well without the ball which are both things he needs to do well.

MPJ I thought had a very nice shooting stroke. His awareness on defense was terrible, and the way he had to try to iso so often when he got the ball on offense completely killed the flow. It really bugs me that they have openly been talking about him learning to play off the ball for the last couple of weeks, and it was obvious that he is going to struggle with that idea. I would say that he has a long way to go before he is a starter, and think he will likely get spot minutes to start, I honestly was not that impressed with him.

[NuggetsWY]

My favorite play was near the end of the game. Denver had a three-on-zero fastbreak and Hernangomez just flipped the ball to Porter for an easy 2 step slam dunk.

It was clear to me that Porter is an ISO player who needs to learn team-play on both ends. That's not surprising and I was actually pleased with the effort he made on both ends. Compare him to Hernangomez, who is a terrible ISO player but rock solid in spot-up and motion game. I think Porter can become a solid team oriented player. His jump shot is very nice, so he'll be a good spot-up shooter, or so it seems. An ISO player can fit into a motion game.

Millsap & Grant looked solid. I liked Hernangomez' effort, especially on the defensive end. Morris was what he always is and I like that. Harris, Murray, and Beasley didn't overly impress me, but that's okay. We already know what they can do.

Pre-season it's hard to judge a team, but I liked some of the pieces.

[skywalker33]

Millsap looked real good for the 1st preseason game, Murray seemed rusty to me. Liked what I saw from Grant, not so much Juancho who looked more like trade fodder than a player IMO.Morris looks like he did last year, just a steady force. Barton, Craig and Beasley all seemed non-descript in their time on the floor, but it was the 1st game of the pre-season.

As for the young guys, MPJ played well although he still needs to work on court awareness IMO, Vandy was decent but still looks like a 10-13th guy. Both showed talent but are works in progress. Cancar had some passes that caught his teammates by surprise, he has some good court vision. Dozier has potential IMO.

First opinion: MPJ will be a starter before All-Star game if Barton or Craig don't pick it up.

I disagree with your assessment of both Juancho and Porter JR.

It was obvious that Juancho is not an iso player, he struggled on offense when he was trying to create himself. However he played well on defense, especially help defense, and moved well without the ball which are both things he needs to do well.

MPJ I thought had a very nice shooting stroke. His awareness on defense was terrible, and the way he had to try to iso so often when he got the ball on offense completely killed the flow. It really bugs me that they have openly been talking about him learning to play off the ball for the last couple of weeks, and it was obvious that he is going to struggle with that idea. I would say that he has a long way to go before he is a starter, and think he will likely get spot minutes to start, I honestly was not that impressed with him.

I'm alright with you disagreeing, it opens up good conversation and I respect your opinion.

Juancho...how would you rank our current SF prospects ? Mine goes this way

1. Barton 2. Porter 3. Craig 4, Juancho

He's last on my list. I did like his defense in the game but his shooting was abysmal in the game, he went o-fer not good for a shooter. And if it's defense you're looking for Craig will easily pass him up. He does have the ability to play PF too, but again we have a lot more talented guys ahead of him. I like Juancho but I believe his window on the Nuggets has passed.

As for MPj, I saw a lot of iso in his game still too but I did notice he was looking for a lot of catch-and-shoot opportunities on the perimeter. However, it was his 1st game back in almost 3yrs so I did give him a bit of a pass. Also, I noticed he was trying to get involved on the defensive end, just needs more court awareness but that was part of my assessment, maybe I needed to clarify a bit more there.

[THE J0KER]

Here is preview of the Nuggets-Clippers game tonight.
Preview: Denver Nuggets travel to Los Angeles to face Clippers in preseason

But according to the latest news Kawhi Leonard will not debut tonight for his hometown team, which makes this game far less exciting (Paul George will not play as well, while Jokic status is still uncertain).

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But with Porter and Grant around, Denver Nuggets fans will not be bored for sure anyway. Related to the upcoming season, SF playing time distribution is a very interesting thing to watch.

[The Rebel]

Millsap looked real good for the 1st preseason game, Murray seemed rusty to me. Liked what I saw from Grant, not so much Juancho who looked more like trade fodder than a player IMO.Morris looks like he did last year, just a steady force. Barton, Craig and Beasley all seemed non-descript in their time on the floor, but it was the 1st game of the pre-season.

As for the young guys, MPJ played well although he still needs to work on court awareness IMO, Vandy was decent but still looks like a 10-13th guy. Both showed talent but are works in progress. Cancar had some passes that caught his teammates by surprise, he has some good court vision. Dozier has potential IMO.

First opinion: MPJ will be a starter before All-Star game if Barton or Craig don't pick it up.

I disagree with your assessment of both Juancho and Porter JR.

It was obvious that Juancho is not an iso player, he struggled on offense when he was trying to create himself. However he played well on defense, especially help defense, and moved well without the ball which are both things he needs to do well.

MPJ I thought had a very nice shooting stroke. His awareness on defense was terrible, and the way he had to try to iso so often when he got the ball on offense completely killed the flow. It really bugs me that they have openly been talking about him learning to play off the ball for the last couple of weeks, and it was obvious that he is going to struggle with that idea. I would say that he has a long way to go before he is a starter, and think he will likely get spot minutes to start, I honestly was not that impressed with him.

I'm alright with you disagreeing, it opens up good conversation and I respect your opinion.

Juancho...how would you rank our current SF prospects ? Mine goes this way

1. Barton 2. Porter 3. Craig 4, Juancho

He's last on my list. I did like his defense in the game but his shooting was abysmal in the game, he went o-fer not good for a shooter. And if it's defense you're looking for Craig will easily pass him up. He does have the ability to play PF too, but again we have a lot more talented guys ahead of him. I like Juancho but I believe his window on the Nuggets has passed.

As for MPj, I saw a lot of iso in his game still too but I did notice he was looking for a lot of catch-and-shoot opportunities on the perimeter. However, it was his 1st game back in almost 3yrs so I did give him a bit of a pass. Also, I noticed he was trying to get involved on the defensive end, just needs more court awareness but that was part of my assessment, maybe I needed to clarify a bit more there.

I do not know what it is about Juancho for you, but I think it is clouding your judgement.

IF I had to rank who was the best player right now I would easily go Barton, Juancho, Craig, and Porter JR

IF I had to rank who had the most potential I would go MPJ, Juancho, Barton, and Craig

If I had to rank who the best fit and most likely to be a positive is on the roster at SF with our schemes than it easily goes Juancho.

It was the 1st game of the preseason, with Juancho likely still adjusting back to the NBA rules and 3 line, being asked to play totally outside of his game. I am not worried about his shot at all. His defense was good. He was moving well and setting a lot of screens on offense. The guy is a 36.6% career 3 point shooter which was actually considerably higher when he started last year. If he brings 40% 3 point shooting and very good defense, then my question is what more do you want from the guy? We desperately need someone to spread the floor who doesn't want or need the ball at Forward that can also play good defense. IT opens the floor for the guards and Jokic.

We need someone that can spread the floor on offense and can play both man to man and help defense at both forward spots. Craig cannot bring the offense.
MPJ looked lost most of the time and even when he caught a couple of passes where he was wide he dribbled himself into trouble trying to go iso, and he was not looking to pass instead putting up tougher shots with guys open. Those are all things that are going to take time to fix, if he is still doing them after a year of watching and listening to what was needed on the team and how to adjust his game.
We all know the problems with Barton.

So in my eyes we have 1 guy who has proven to bring exactly what we need at SF, or we can have someone who causes their own set of problems.

[NuggetsWY]

IF I had to rank who was the best [SF] right now I would easily go Barton, Juancho, Craig, and Porter JR

IF I had to rank who had the most potential I would go MPJ, Juancho, Barton, and Craig

If I had to rank who the best fit and most likely to be a positive is on the roster at SF with our schemes than it easily goes Juancho.

I might disagree on who is the best SF right now; but I'm not certain what I'd say. Can I say a three-way tie with Barton, Hernangomez, Craig? I think Malone's got a tough choice.

Who has the most potential? No question #1 is Porter. In fact I'll agree with the order you specified.

Best fit? Positive within our schemes? Has to be Hernangomez; at least for now. I'd rank Craig second, with Barton close behind.

What I'd prefer is a mix of Hernangomez, Grant, Vanderbilt (as a maybe), and Porter as the student. I'd rather we traded Barton and Craig. I think we could get some value there but mostly, it's about making playing time for Porter and Vanderbilt. We need to find out if Porter can reach his potential and we need to see if Vanderbilt has what it takes. I just believe we have enough forwards that we can go with Millsap, Grant, Vanderbilt, Cancar, Porter, Hernangomez. That's six forwards, most of whom can play either slot - at least for limited minutes.

[skywalker33]

I do not know what it is about Juancho for you, but I think it is clouding your judgement.

IF I had to rank who was the best player right now I would easily go Barton, Juancho, Craig, and Porter JR

IF I had to rank who had the most potential I would go MPJ, Juancho, Barton, and Craig

If I had to rank who the best fit and most likely to be a positive is on the roster at SF with our schemes than it easily goes Juancho.

It was the 1st game of the preseason, with Juancho likely still adjusting back to the NBA rules and 3 line, being asked to play totally outside of his game. I am not worried about his shot at all. His defense was good. He was moving well and setting a lot of screens on offense. The guy is a 36.6% career 3 point shooter which was actually considerably higher when he started last year. If he brings 40% 3 point shooting and very good defense, then my question is what more do you want from the guy? We desperately need someone to spread the floor who doesn't want or need the ball at Forward that can also play good defense. IT opens the floor for the guards and Jokic.

We need someone that can spread the floor on offense and can play both man to man and help defense at both forward spots. Craig cannot bring the offense.
MPJ looked lost most of the time and even when he caught a couple of passes where he was wide he dribbled himself into trouble trying to go iso, and he was not looking to pass instead putting up tougher shots with guys open. Those are all things that are going to take time to fix, if he is still doing them after a year of watching and listening to what was needed on the team and how to adjust his game.
We all know the problems with Barton.

So in my eyes we have 1 guy who has proven to bring exactly what we need at SF, or we can have someone who causes their own set of problems.

I have gone on record saying I hope Juancho wins the spot, just don't see it yet. And you claim he's "the 1 guy who has PROVEN to bring exactly what we need at SF" but I have seen he's proven nothing yet, wish he did/does. And I called him trade fodder as I haven't seen what I need from him for 3 1/2 years yet I think he is probably the most tradable or will leave. Let's be honest, MPJ isn't getting traded, Barton would have been traded already if he could've, Craig doesn't hold any true trade value which leave Juancho. And you're giving him leeway for re-adjusting to NBA rules from FIBA, praising his D (which I thought he was OK as well) even when he's been playing D against NBA level talent for a the last 6-8 weeks. But then jump on MPJ who played his first game in 3 years seems a bit hypercritical when he's realistically a lost rookie.

I'd LOVE for it to be (eventually) MPJ, Juancho and Craig...that's seems optimal to me but I need to get some value from a Barton trade so we can pay Juancho a reasonable salary PLUS Juancho to validate it w/o injuries for 1 whole season at least.

Not disagreeing a lot, but that's my belief. Unless Juancho either resigns for dirt-cheap I don't see him getting a new contract so might as well get something for him.

[skywalker33]

Looks like we should have another STRONG bench again this year, we'll need it if we're looking for that #1 seed to the WCF

[Powder Blue]

Can someone explain to me why Barton makes sense starting at the 3??

We have zero length with him on the floor, literally we’re below average at height 1-4 with him in our starting line up and his D does not make up for his lack of length.

Can he score? Yea sure I guess but he went 3/11 tonight. He’s not meant to be taking the most shots on the team, it’s not a winning formula. I’d rather have Craig or Juancho out there who provide more size and play within the offense.

[NuggetsWY]

Looks like we should have another STRONG bench again this year, we'll need it if we're looking for that #1 seed to the WCF

On NBATV's preseason reviews they said the Nuggets are "without a doubt, the deepest team in the NBA". Another show said that most teams have 9 players they can play 24+ minutes per game but the Nuggets have 11 players that could play that and that some of our bench players would be starters on some teams and that our top 11 players could all make the roster on any team in the NBA. Depth? Yeah man, it's there. In my mind, some of it still isn't proven enough - well, maybe one or two.

Top-11?
Jokic - Plumlee
Millsap - Grant
Barton - Craig - Hernangomez
Harris - Beasley
Murray - Morris

Looks good and then add in Porter, Bol, Vanderbilt; all of whom have potential.

[NuggetsWY]

Can someone explain to me why Barton makes sense starting at the 3??

We have zero length with him on the floor, literally we’re below average at height 1-4 with him in our starting line up and his D does not make up for his lack of length.

Can he score? Yea sure I guess but he went 3/11 tonight. He’s not meant to be taking the most shots on the team, it’s not a winning formula. I’d rather have Craig or Juancho out there who provide more size and play within the offense.

He was a great bench wing, bringing in offense. So even though he doesn't fit well with the starters and doesn't play the same style and isn't a very good defender and is undersized; Malone likes him there (that's the sense of it to me).

I hate having Barton on the team because Malone uses him. If Malone would bring him off the bench and leave him in while he's hot and pull him when he's not; I'd love keeping him on the team. As far as I'm concerned, if Barton wants to start he needs to show more consistency on offense within a Jokic-centric offense and better defense. On both ends, he needs to be better than Harris & Beasley in order to start.

But that's just my opinion and I've been wrong before.

[TunaFish]

This second preseason game was difficult to watch because Denver's starters didn't play with much enthusiasm until the second half. Not only was Barton off but so was Harris. I am not happy about Barton's play but I know that if he continues to play poorly, Malone will make a change. Craig didn't play last night.

Hernangomez and MPJ looked better and along with Morris led the bench in the 4th. Plumlee had his best outing with multiple assists. Grant looked excellent. That unit dominated L.A. MPJ looked to be playing more within the offense so he appears to be responding to coaching. HIs defense was better as well. The bench in that final period looked to him for scoring and he is a big guy.

Believing that either Craig or Barton will start, Malone has got to do some thinking about how to use Hernangomez and MPJ.

[SkillzFromThe6]

Can someone explain to me why Barton makes sense starting at the 3??

We have zero length with him on the floor, literally we’re below average at height 1-4 with him in our starting line up and his D does not make up for his lack of length.

Can he score? Yea sure I guess but he went 3/11 tonight. He’s not meant to be taking the most shots on the team, it’s not a winning formula. I’d rather have Craig or Juancho out there who provide more size and play within the offense.

Looking like last year all over again. Sigh.

[THE J0KER]

After both preseason games we should be ever more confident in some already popular opinions about Nuggets SF problem:

- Michael Porter Jr is a real deal, but even if he raised into the NBA playoff team starter-level player already this season, his playing time precautionary should be limited anyway in his rookie year.
- We have too many legit SF options with Barton, Juancho, Craig, and MPJ, with also Beasley's ability to play it well in small-ball, and Grant too in "giant rotation" scenarios. I'm talking about this seriously, not like about "sweet problem" but a real problem when the team have 4+2 legit options to share 48 minutes on one single spot.
- Will Barton is definitely a bad fit for very unique Denver Nuggets offense.

I'm still with the plan to offer a bunch of useful players for one single SF starter-level player. For example Barton, Plumlee, Craig, and 2022 first pick for

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