Inside The Nuggets

Denver Nuggets Head Coach Reveals Injury News Before NBA Preseason

The Nuggets have one player dealing with an injury.

Joey Linn

Denver Nuggets forward Peyton Watson (8) dunks during the second half against the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center.
Denver Nuggets forward Peyton Watson (8) dunks during the second half against the San Antonio Spurs at Frost Bank Center. / Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
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The Denver Nuggets hosted their media day on Thursday and began their training camp on Friday. The team will travel to Abu Dhabi for two preseason games against the Boston Celtics, but they will likely be without one key rotation player.

Speaking with reporters on Friday, Nuggets head coach Michael Malone revealed that 22-year-old forward Peyton Watson is dealing with a hamstring injury that will likely sideline him for the NBA preseason.

Via Bennett Durando of the Denver Post: “Peyton Watson is out with a soft tissue hamstring injury. Michael Malone said Watson rehabbing and being prepared for the regular-season opener is more important than getting him in preseason games.”

Watson is entering his third NBA season and projects to see a career-high in playing time. While he appeared in 80 games last season, Watson averaged just 18.6 minutes per game. This should go up after the departure of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency.

While Watson is far from the shooting threat Caldwell-Pope was, his defensive upside is something Denver is high on. In 103 career NBA games, Watson has averaged 5.9 points in 16.3 minutes per game.

Peyton Watson
Denver Nuggets forward Peyton Watson (8) after his dunk in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Ball Arena. / Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Watson was on the 2023 Nuggets championship team, appearing in 23 regular season games and five postseason games that year. The 30th overall pick out of UCLA in 2022, Watson is an athletic player who can impact the game in a lot of ways.

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Joey Linn
JOEY LINN

Title: Credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation Email: joeylinn52@gmail.com Education: Communication Studies degree from Biola University Location: Los Angeles, California Expertise: NBA analysis and reporting Experience: Joey Linn is a credentialed writer covering the NBA for Sports Illustrated's FanNation. Covering the LA Clippers independently in 2018, then for Fansided and 213Hoops from 2019-2021, Joey joined Sports Illustrated's FanNation to cover the Clippers after the 2020-21 season. Graduating from Biola University in 2022 with a Communication Studies degree, Joey served as Biola's play-by-play announcer for their basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams during his time in school. Joey's work on Biola's broadcasts, combined with his excellence in the classroom, earned him the Outstanding Communication Studies Student of the year award in 2022. Joey covers the NBA full-time across multiple platforms, primarily serving as a credentialed Clippers beat writer.

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