Mile High Tape · Week ahead

Two Looks at Utah Are All Adelman Gets to Set His Rotation

Before the record matters, the only question this week is whether Denver's pieces move together against Utah.

By the Nuggets Nightly Desk · Thursday, October 1

Denver opens its preseason slate with two games against the only team on this week's schedule, Utah, a low-stakes measuring stick for whether new names move the ball the way the old ones did. The results won't count, but the trial runs matter with the regular-season opener in Oklahoma City three weeks away.

Nuggets Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

Same Opponent, Two Chances

Denver's only preseason games this week come against the same team: Utah visits Ball Arena on October 4 for an NBA TV broadcast, then Denver travels to Utah on October 6. That repetition is useful. Two games against one opponent in three days gives David Adelman an actual look at whether a lineup that worked in the first meeting holds up in the second, before camp rotations get cut down further.

The Absence That Lines Up With the Schedule

Trevon Brazile has not been cleared to play, with a return date estimated for October 4 — the same night Denver opens this stretch against Utah. If that holds, he debuts for the first unfamiliar test rather than missing it entirely. No other player on Denver's roster carries a reported absence this week.

Nembhard In, Simpson Out, Same Night

Denver's depth chart changed on the morning of October 1: Ryan Nembhard joined on a $2.2 million deal, and KJ Simpson left the roster. Whatever Nembhard shows against Utah will be his first evidence in a Nuggets uniform, with less practice time than anyone else on the roster to make the adjustment.

What Preseason Can and Can't Prove

Nothing from these two games will count toward a record, and Utah is not the measuring stick Denver will face in the games that matter. But passing chemistry is built in repetition, not instinct, and these are the only two games this week where new and old pieces have to find each other before the opener at Oklahoma City on October 22.

When do the Nuggets play this week?

Denver hosts Utah on October 4 (NBA TV) and plays at Utah on October 6, both preseason games before the October 22 opener at Oklahoma City.

Is Trevon Brazile playing against Utah?

Brazile has not been cleared, but his return is estimated for October 4, the same night Denver opens the Utah series.

By the Nuggets Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.