The Nuggets are getting close to having their top-nine rotation players healthy and available for the season-opener.
Peyton Watson was a full participant in practice Sunday for the first time “in close to five weeks now,” coach Michael Malone said. The 22-year-old forward sustained a soft-tissue hamstring injury a few days before training camp, forcing him to miss all five of Denver’s preseason games.
The Nuggets are still planning on Watson being available for opening night, Thursday at Ball Arena against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“We’ll see how that injury and how that muscle reacts to what he did today,” Malone said Sunday. “Because tomorrow, the hope is to introduce some more things offensively. … I want to blow it out tomorrow. We’ll be on the main court, which will be nice to finally get on the main court and play, maybe, three or four 12-minute quarters. And the hope is that Peyton feels good enough to be able to get through at least some of those (quarters) tomorrow.”
Watson, who was drafted 30th overall in 2022, played in 80 games for the Nuggets last season, averaging 6.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. His minutes declined in the second round of the playoffs as Malone felt a need to prioritize scoring and floor-spacing against the Timberwolves’ top-ranked defense. A 25% outside shooter during the regular season, Watson was often left open on the perimeter in each of the first two rounds.
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But this season, his role is set to increase again. Malone had labeled Watson, Julian Strawther, Russell Westbrook and Dario Saric as a complementary set of players likely to form Denver’s second unit.
“Peyton, I’m not making him out to be Dr. J, (but) we need him,” Malone said. “The things that he beings to the table, he’s going to be an important part for this team. His athleticism, his versatility. I see him running the floor in that second unit with a guy like Russell Westbrook. I think those two can fit really good together. So just having Peyton Watson back out here, I was happy for him. Because talk about getting hurt at the worst possible time, as you get into training camp and missing all five preseason games.”