Hunter Tyson makes most of opportunities at Denver Nuggets training camp; takeaways from Monday's scrimmage | NBA Insider

Denver Gazette beat writer Vinny Benedetto takes you around the NBA and inside the Nuggets:

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The trip to Abu Dhabi could provide Hunter Tyson the shot he needs heading into his second NBA season.

The forward from Clemson spent most of his rookie season playing with Denver’s G League affiliate, Grand Rapids Gold, or closing the final minutes of already-decided games. After a strong training camp, Tyson could be in line to see how he fares against the Celtics in a couple of preseason games before the Nuggets return stateside for the final three games of preseason.

“I've got to give him a chance this year to get out there and get some real minutes – not up 20 or down 20 with two minutes (left in the game),” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “That’s hard to judge a guy on. I've got to get him some rotation minutes at some point to see what he’s capable of doing.”

Tyson’s path to playing time looked complicated prior to training camp. Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon are locked into the starting forward spots. Peyton Watson was a member of the rotation last year, playing in 80 games to Tyson’s 18 as a rookie. Then, the Nuggets went out and signed Dario Saric, a versatile big man, to bolster the frontcourt depth. Watson missed training camp with a hamstring injury, creating a shot for Tyson.

“One guy who’s really impressed me is Hunter Tyson. It seemed like he didn’t miss all of training camp, so it’s been good to watch him take advantage of the opportunity, especially with Peyton out right now. Hunter’s really taken advantage of his time out there,” Porter said.

“He’s one of those guys who’s easy going. He just wants to learn. He’s humble. He’s a really good basketball player, so I’m excited to see him continue to progress and hopefully get a lot of opportunity this season.”

The 24-year-old returned to Summer League and didn’t enjoy the same success as the year prior when he made All-Summer League first team. A week or two after leaving Las Vegas, Tyson was back in Denver to work this summer. He said he wanted to quicken his release, get more comfortable putting the ball on the floor, work on his body and improve defensively this offseason. He wasn’t concerned with what that meant for his playing time at Thursday’s media day.

“I try not to overthink it,” Tyson said. “I just try and get better every day. Whatever opportunities I get, (I’ll) try and make the most of them.”

How meaningful Tyson’s offseason improvement will be in terms of playing time remains to be seen. After shooting 40.5% in his final college season at Clemson, Tyson connected on just 28.6% from the NBA line as a rookie. His limited playing time didn’t allow for him to establish much rhythm. But there’s little doubt what he brings to the team – shooting and intangibles.

“His skillset is shooting. Shooting makes up for a multitude of sins. You can never have enough shooting. I know a lot of people talk about our roster and the concern is ‘Do they have enough shooting?’ Hunter Tyson at Clemson, Hunter Tyson (in the) G League – on volume reps, mind you – shot the ball extremely well. He didn’t have the Summer League that we all know he was capable of having, and he was really hard on himself about that,” Malone said.

“Hunter’s a guy that, one, can space the floor and knock down shots at a high clip. Then, I just love the way he’s wired. He’s a tough kid. He’s not going to back down from anybody. You’re never going to question his work ethic, his toughness, his physicality.”

What I’m Seeing

The media was allowed to watch the final five minutes of Monday’s scrimmage before the Nuggets headed to the airport. Here’s what stood out from a game that ended in a 39-39 tie after some drama.

- At the start of the viewing period it was Julian Strawther, Christian Braun, Vlatko Cancar, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic making up the blue team against Jamal Murray, Russell Westbrook, Michael Porter Jr., Hunter Tyson and Zeke Nnaji.

- Murray looked like his old self on a couple of occasions. First, with 10 seconds left on the shot clock, Murray caught a pass near midcourt and started to work against Christian Braun. After a series of crossovers, Murray drives to his left. Braun did well to stay in front, but Murray got to his one-legged step back and hit. When the white squad needed a bucket in the final seconds, they went back to Murray. He used a Hunter Tyson screen that forced Strawther to switch onto Murray. This time, Denver’s starting point guard attacked to his right. When Jokic slides to the middle of the lane to stop the drive, Murray spun backwards into another made fadeaway that tied the game.

- Jokic didn’t treat it like much of a scrimmage. He spent most of the viewing period being guarded by Nnaji or DeAndre Jordan. It didn’t seem to matter who was in front of him. Jokic repeatedly got the ball into the post and either finished or drew a foul. He hit a couple of free throws with 17 seconds left to give his team the lead only for Murray to tie it.

- Westbrook was involved in a couple of rare instances where Jokic didn’t get what he wanted on offense. Jokic scanned the court from the left elbow early in the scrimmage only for Westbrook to sneak from behind and poke the ball free for a steal. A little later, Jokic tried a cross-court pass. Westbrook read the play, picked off the pass and earned free throws on the other end. He made both free throws to tie it at 37 and also had an impressive assist to Jordan. Westbrook’s earned rave reviews in the short training camp, and his play in the five minutes media watched showed why.

What They’re Saying

It took 10 years, but Michael Malone’s request was finally granted.

“I’ve been pushing for this for 10 years,” the Nuggets’ coach said of the team’s trip to Abu Dhabi. “I’ve been part of these trips in the past with different teams. I think preseason trips where you get to travel to see the world, experience a new culture but most importantly come together as a team, spend time off the court, go to dinner. I think it can only strengthen the bond and the brotherhood. So, that’s going to help us as we return from this trip in a week’s time.”

Julian Strawther didn’t have to wait as long.

“It’s an opportunity to go somewhere that I’ve never even thought about going. Just being able to have the blessing of basketball taking me around the world and being able to share this moment with a bunch of guys that are like-minded and go through the same things as me, it should be fun out there,” Strawther said. “Hopefully I can, like, ride on a camel or something.”

What I’m Following

The Grand Rapids Gold announced Andre Miller will return for a third season as the teams head coach. Riley Welch, Logan Quinn and Gilvydas Biruta round out the coaching staff for Denver’s G League affiliate this season.

What I’m Reading

Nuggets legend Alex English took to X to remember Dikembe Mutombo. In a six-post thread, English spoke about what made Mutombo truly special beyond his skills on the court.

Also, the Denver Gazette has a new Avalanche beat writer. Make sure you get to know Evan Rawal via his first NHL Insider. Avs fans are in good hands.