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Spotlight on young players: Peyton Watson

Peyton Watson is finally having his moment.

After Aaron Gordon‘s injury early in the first quarter of a narrow win against Toronto six games ago, Michael Malone had no choice but to play Watson heavy minutes and he has delivered.

The third-year forward has been a defensive wrecking ball for most of his career, but offensive struggles had kept him pinned to the bench. Since Gordon’s injury, however, Watson has averaged 14 points per game. game on 55 percent shooting – despite several games without Nikola Jokic.

Where much of his offense used to come in transition, Watson has shown increased agility in a half-court setting, filling Gordon’s role as a roll-man and dunker-spot lurker. He’s even flashed a little bit of self-creation off the dribble:

The Nuggets bench has been their Achilles’ heel for years, but if Watson can hold up at this level in a smaller role after Gordon’s return, they might finally have someone they can rely on.