- Nuggets guard Troy Daniels discussed his time with the Lakers, his path to Denver and more in an interview with Mike Singer of the Denver Post. Daniels was waived by the Lakers on March 1 and signed with the Nuggets four days later. “Early in my years, my agent used to tell me, he said it’s always good to be wanted,” Daniels said. “It’s good to feel wanted, and I want to be where I’m wanted.”
Joel Embiid missed the Sixers’ last two scrimmage games due to right calf tightness. However, he’s expected to play on Saturday in the team’s seeding opener against the Pacers, according to Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Embiid suffered the calf injury during a July 24 scrimmage against the Grizzlies and played just 13 minutes. He also battled injuries prior to the stoppage of play in March. He missed nine games with a torn ligament in his right hand, and sat out five others with a left shoulder sprain, Pompey notes.
The Sixers can improve their playoff seeding during the next eight games. They are tied for fifth place in the East with Indiana at 39-26.
We have more injury-related news:
- Sixers forward Glenn Robinson III is doubtful to play on Saturday, Pompey notes in the same story. He has a left hip pointer, which he suffered during a scrimmage against the Thunder on Sunday.
- The Nuggets will go without at least two key players in their seeding opener on Saturday, the team’s PR department tweets. Guard Gary Harris has a right hip muscle strain while Will Barton is dealing with right knee soreness. Reserve big man Vlatko Cancar (left foot fracture) will also miss the game. Starting point guard Jamal Murray is questionable duo to left hamstring tightness.
- Spurs veteran guard Patty Mills didn’t play in the team’s first game in Orlando but it wasn’t injury-related, ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk tweets. Coach Gregg Popovich simply wanted to use his younger guards more extensively. Shooting guard Bryn Forbes‘ absence was injury-related — he’s dealing with a sore right quad.
- The health and conditioning of his players are among Michael Malone‘s most pressing concerns with the Nuggets‘ seeding games about to get underway, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Injuries and late arrivals make it unclear which players will be at full speed when Denver resumes play on Saturday, Singer observes.
- Nuggets backup point guard Monte Morris notes that he was entirely asymptomatic while testing positive for the coronavirus, Mike Singer of the Denver Post tweets. “I never felt any kind of way in terms of symptoms,” he said. “I felt fine.”
- Nuggets bench guard P.J. Dozier cleared his quarantine this morning, according to The Denver Post’s Mike Singer (Twitter link). Singer notes that, with Dozier’s new availability, every non-injured Nuggets player can now suit up for seeding games. Dozier arrived in Orlando for the season restart on July 28.
Nuggets guard PJ Dozier has touched down in the NBA’s Disney World campus in Orlando, filling out Denver’s season restart roster, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
The 6’8″ floor-spacing bench guard out of South Carolina has seen limited time for Denver in his third season, averaging 11.1 minutes per game for just 21 of the team’s 65 games. He is a career 39.5% three-point shooter, and has connected on 39.6% of his 1.3 attempts this season.
Dozier will need to immediately quarantine himself in his hotel room, clear a physical, and test negative for the coronavirus for two straight days before he can join the Nuggets for team activities. This timeline would allow him to participate in the team’s first seeding game on Saturday, August 1 against the Heat.
Starting point guard Jamal Murray, starting small forward Will Barton, bench small forward Keita Bates-Diop, and exciting rookie forward Michael Porter Jr. were only available to partake in their first scrimmage game yesterday, while backup point guard Monte Morris just cleared quarantine protocols and appears probable for Saturday’s first seeding game on Saturday, as we previously noted.
Coach Michael Malone said earlier this week that, prior to yesterday, the team’s various player absences have meant that scrimmages against other teams have served as the only time the Nuggets could play five-on-five basketball, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN (Twitter link). The Nuggets sport a 43-22 record ahead of their season restart this weekend, and are currently the No. 3 seed in the West.
The Nuggets have been one of the most short-handed teams at the NBA’s campus so far, having been limited to just eight players in each of their first two scrimmages this summer. However, reinforcements are on the way for Monday’s game against Orlando.
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone told reporters this afternoon that Jamal Murray, Will Barton, Michael Porter Jr., and Keita Bates-Diop will all be available to play in tonight’s game, increasing the team’s roster count to 12 (Twitter link via Kendra Andrews of The Athletic).
While he won’t be active tonight, Nuggets guard Monte Morris moved one step closer to getting back on the court as well, having cleared quarantine, as Mike Singer of The Denver Post tweets. He seems likely to be ready by the time Denver plays its first seeding game vs. Miami on Saturday.
Bol Bol hasn’t played in an official NBA game yet, but he’s the talk of Orlando after his performance in the Nuggets‘ first two scrimmages. Pressed into service because of Denver’s shortage of players, the 7’2″ rookie posted 16 points and six blocks in Wednesday’s game, then followed that with 15 points last night.
A foot injury ended Bol’s college career after nine games at Oregon and caused him to slip to the 44th pick in the draft. The Nuggets may gotten a steal with that pick, which Bol’s trainer, Julius V, believed all along.
“He has elite feel for the game,” he told Mike Singer of The Denver Post. “If he was 6’3″, he could be an elite point guard. … He’s one of those guys, regardless of height or size, he would be a potential NBA player because he has ball skills and feel. … The height makes him a unicorn.”
There’s more Nuggets news to pass along:
- Coach Michael Malone is confident that Michael Porter Jr. can adapt quickly, even though he hasn’t worked with the rookie forward since the hiatus began, Singer writes in a separate story. Porter just arrived in Orlando a few days ago and hasn’t been able to practice yet because he’s been quarantined. “I’ve stayed in touch with him, I’ve talked to him,” Malone said. “From everything he’s told me, he’s in great shape, he’s stayed ready. So when he gets an opportunity relatively soon to start practicing and playing, I have no doubt that he’ll be out there in great shape. He’s young and he truly loves to play, he truly loves to work out. I don’t anticipate any real issues. Yes, it’s four months off, but I think Michael will have a very quick return to that playing mindset.”
- Paul Millsap had to sit out Saturday’s scrimmage after missing a coronavirus test, tweets Rachel Nichols of ESPN. Under the NBA’s protocol for the Walt Disney World campus, he was required to be quarantined in his hotel room until he produces a negative test.
- Point guard Jamal Murray was held out of the scrimmage because of slight tightness in his hamstring, according to Nichols (Twitter link). The Nuggets also rested Will Barton, who has a knee issue, and Gary Harris, who is dealing with hip pain.
- Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. has cleared his initial quarantine period at the NBA’s campus, a source tells Mike Singer of The Denver Post (Twitter link). Porter still needs to pass a cardiac screening to be cleared to practice, but the team is taking small steps toward getting its full roster available.
Nuggets backup point guard Monte Morris is scheduled to arrive at the NBA’s Disney World campus on Friday, per Kendra Andrews of The Athletic (Twitter link). Andrews went on to note that deep-bench forward Keita Bates-Diop touched down in Orlando for the league’s season restart on Thursday.
The reason for either player’s delay in joining the Nuggets has not been provided. They’ll both be required to quarantine and take a physical, as well as testing negative for COVID-19 for two straight days, before joining their squad for team practices.
Morris was previously rumored to be missing from the Orlando campus, having not been spotted in team photographs or videos at all since the team touched down earlier this month.
Morris had developed into being an integral part of the Nuggets’ rotation during 2019/20. The 6’2″ third-year guard out of Iowa State logged averages of 8.4 PPG, 3.5 APG and 1.7 RPG in 21.6 MPG across 65 games for Denver. He connected on 37.5% of his 2.2 three-point looks and 82.3% of his free throw attempts.
At 43-22, the Nuggets are the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference. Their first seeding game during the NBA’s season restart is scheduled for Saturday, August 1 against the Heat.
The 6’8″ Bates-Diop, the No. 48 pick out of OSU in 2018, appeared in just two games for Denver this year prior to the suspension of the season, after being traded to the team from the Timberwolves in a larger deal. The Nuggets occasionally sent Bates-Diop to the G League’s Windy City Bulls to accrue in-game reps.
After a layoff of nearly four-and-a-half months, basketball returned today, and the Nuggets celebrated the occasion by running out the most unusual five-man starting lineup we’ve seen all season in their inter-squad scrimmage vs. Washington.
As Kendra Andrews of The Athletic relays (via Twitter), Denver’s starting five consisted entirely of power forwards and centers, with Nikola Jokic, Jerami Grant, Paul Millsap, and Mason Plumlee joined by rookie Bol Bol, making his Nuggets debut after having been limited to eight G League appearances so far in his first professional season.
The Nuggets rolled with that gigantic lineup in large part because a handful of their players were unavailable on Wednesday. Here are updates on a few of those players:
- Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. is traveling to Orlando today, a source tells Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Porter hadn’t initially traveled with the team two weeks ago and had yet to arrive at the NBA’s campus, but should be able to begin his two-day quarantine period on Wednesday evening.
- Will Barton was held out of the Nuggets’ first inter-squad scrimmage today due to knee soreness, Singer writes in a separate Denver Post story. According to head coach Michael Malone, Barton could have played today if he were needed, but the team preferred to take a cautious approach (Twitter link via Singer). Jamal Murray was also held out of today’s scrimmage as a precautionary measure.
- Nuggets forward Vlatko Cancar is dealing with a left foot injury and has yet to arrive in Orlando, per Singer. Cancar was listed on the Nuggets’ official summer roster announced by the NBA on Monday, so presumably the team still believes he has a chance to report to the Disney campus.