Tyus Jones got his first real look running the Nuggets’ offense, and the early read was encouraging.
With Jamal Murray out of the lineup for personal reasons in Denver’s first preseason game against the Utah Jazz, Jones started and handled the job well in the 109-97 loss. The Nuggets spent much of the offseason with questions about backcourt depth, and that concern only grew before they signed Ryan Nembhard. But Jones, the steady ball-control guard, looked comfortable as the lead man even while committing two turnovers, which is not exactly his calling card.
In 18 minutes, Jones finished with 8 points and hit 2 of 3 shots from beyond the arc. The bigger number was the 6 assists.
He kept playing like a floor general, looking to make the right pass first and take the open shot second. If that outside shot keeps showing up, there’s real value there for Denver.
Jones’ track record says this should fit. He owns a career 5.47-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio and has shot 37.2% from three for his career. That lines up cleanly with what the Nuggets need around Nikola Jokic: someone who can keep the offense organized, find the open man, and punish defenses when they collapse.
There was also something to like from Nembhard, who got moved into the second unit with Murray out. The new two-way addition played almost 17 minutes, scored 5 points, knocked down a three, and added 4 assists against just one turnover. For a player who has only been with the team a few days, he looked composed and quick while working the perimeter.
The result was still a loss, but the backup point guard picture looked better than expected. For a preseason opener, that matters. The Nuggets came in with a question mark behind Murray, and at least for one night, Jones and Nembhard gave them a more stable answer than many expected.
In Other News...
Nuggets Bench Wings Are Making Denvers Rotation Battle Harder To Ignore
The Nuggets second preseason win over Utah offered another look at a bench group that is starting to make the back end of the rotation feel a little less settled. Denver beat the Jazz 117-106, and the wing depth was a major part of why the game had a different feel than a typical exhibition tune-up. Alpha Diallo brought energy on both ends, Cam Whitmore flashed the kind of impact the Nuggets want to see from reserve wings, and the second unit again looked like it can change the tone of a game.
Julian Strawther, meanwhile, kept building on an encouraging start to the preseason after another productive outing. For a team trying to sort out roles before the games count, those performances matter because they are happening in the right places: on the wing, in lineups where defense, spacing and shot-making all carry extra weight. Denver still has more decisions to make, and the bench wings are making those calls harder to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Bruce Brown's Knicks Deal Says A Lot About Denver's New Reality
Bruce Brown is back in the kind of summer roster squeeze that has become common around the league, this time with the Knicks, who have signed several players to Exhibit 9 training camp deals as they sort through a crowded field for limited openings. New York values Brown for the same reasons many teams once did: versatility, experience and the ability to plug holes in a rotation without needing much time to adjust.
For Denver fans, the more telling part is the backdrop around his market. Brown said the teams interested in him "weren't many," and pointed to the second-apron salary cap rule as a frequent explanation, a reminder of how much the leagues spending limits can shape even familiar names. The Nuggets had room to add a veteran, but Brown never became a serious target there, a quiet sign of how different the roster-building reality is now compared with the one that once made him such a fit in Denver. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Suddenly Have A Guard Battle Fans Didn't See Coming
The Nuggets are using the preseason the way most teams use it this time of year, as a live audition for the bench, and head coach David Adelman has made it clear he wants to sort through the group before the games start counting. Denver has several new pieces in the mix, including DeMar DeRozan, Marvin Bagley III and Alpha Diallo, while the backcourt depth chart is still being sorted out behind the main rotation.
What makes the situation interesting is the squeeze it creates for the players fighting for backup guard minutes. Tyus Jones, Julian Strawther and Spencer Jones are all in the conversation, but every preseason run is carrying more weight than usual as Adelman and his staff try to decide who fits and who may be the odd man out once the roster gets trimmed down over the course of the season. [Read more 🡒]