Mile High Tape · Week ahead

Denver's Week Is a Rehearsal for Minutes That Will Matter on Oct. 22

Before the games count, Denver has two nights left to find out which five it trusts once Oklahoma City is real.

By the Nuggets Nightly Desk · Thursday, October 15

Denver closes the preseason at the Lakers on Oct. 16, then opens the regular season at Oklahoma City on Oct. 22 — the rematch for last season's seven-game exit. Everything between those two nights is about continuity: who starts, who closes and who is actually healthy once it counts.

Nuggets Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

Two Games, Two Different Stakes

Denver plays at the Lakers on Oct. 16 (ESPN), still preseason, then gets five days off before the opener at Oklahoma City on Oct. 22 (ESPN). The Nuggets are on two days' rest for the Lakers game, with only one game in the last week and just this single road night in the stretch — not a back-to-back. The Lakers won't play again for a full week after Friday, which gives JJ Redick more room to experiment with his lineups than Adelman has with his own.

Why Oklahoma City Is the One That Counts

The Lakers game closes out the exhibition slate. Oklahoma City is what the week is actually building toward — the team that eliminated Denver in seven games last spring and has replaced Minnesota as the rival with real teeth. Nothing from the Lakers game carries into that night directly, but whichever rotation holds together on Oct. 16 is the one Adelman takes into the opener.

Who's Missing, and When They're Expected Back

DeMar DeRozan sat out for rest and is day-to-day, with a return targeted for the Lakers game. Julian Strawther, day-to-day with a knee issue, carries the same target date. Spencer Jones, out since Oct. 2 with a leg injury, isn't expected back until the opener — meaning Denver may not see its intended rotation at full strength until Oklahoma City.

What Continuity Actually Buys

This isn't about the preseason record. It's about which combinations share the floor often enough that the passing becomes automatic before it has to hold against a real opponent. Jokic and Murray will play the Lakers regardless; whoever lines up beside them on Oct. 16 is the group actually being tested.

When do the Nuggets play the Lakers?

Denver plays at the Lakers on Oct. 16 on ESPN, still in the preseason.

When does Denver's regular season start?

The Nuggets open the regular season at Oklahoma City on Oct. 22 on ESPN, a rematch of last season's second-round exit.

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.