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

NBA Insider

The upcoming season is a big one for Peyton Watson, and the forward knows what needs to happen for his fourth season to be his best.

“Just becoming a more consistent shooter has already done a lot for me and opened things up,” Watson said on a recent appearance on The Young Man and the Three podcast hosted by new teammate Cam Johnson and host Tommy Alter. “I remember earlier in my career, like last year, when I really started playing and even beginning this year, coming off injury in the preseason, teams were sagging off of me. For me, honestly, that was not something that affected me, because sometimes when you’re wide open, it’s like ‘is this the ethical shot to take?’ if they’re always leaving me wide open, but my teammates and my coaches encouraged me to shoot them and rep them out.”

Watson and Christian Braun become eligible to sign contract extensions in July. More than a month later, the duo is heading into next season without extensions. If there’s not an extension by next summer, they will be restricted free agents. Watson has flashed defensive potential in recent seasons, but a leap offensively could make him a key piece to Denver’s future. He said he’s been working on being “nerdy” about mastering the mechanics of his shot with Dorrell Wright. That’s something Johnson appreciated.

“A lot of it is habits,” Johnson, a 39.2% 3-point shooter said.

“I like to have an approach that tries to transfer over to the game, because the mental pressures of shooting when you’re just shooting catch and shoots, you’re able to catch a rhythm, there’s no defense, and there’s really no punishment for missing. In a game, you know the deflating feeling of missing a wide-open 3. You know the feeling of being 0 for 4 or 0 for 5. It affects the next shot as much as we want to say it doesn’t.”

Johnson’s 22-year-old teammate understood that sentiment. After shooting 43% from deep on limited attempts as a rookie, Watson’s 3-point percentage dropped to 29.6% in Year 2. The shot bounced back 35.3.% last season when Watson took a career-high two 3s per game.

“Continuing to sharpen that part of my game and shoot well all around the arc, learning some things from yourself and Tim (Hardaway Jr.),” Watson said. “I shot with Tim this morning. It’s just the consistency in every single shot and things that I’m picking up on that’s making me a better shooter, making me more of a threat. I think that’s something that’s brought me more success.”

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What I’m Thinking

The NBA is set to release the regular-season schedule later this week, and national-television assignments should reflect the disparity between the Eastern and Western Conferences.

Denver won’t have as many prime assignments as the Lakers, Warriors or Thunder, but the offseason changes should have the Nuggets comfortably in the second tier. Injuries to Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton should decrease the number of national broadcasts the Celtics and Pacers, respectively, receive.

Oklahoma City and Denver being located in the central and mountain time zones should allow the NBA to have more doubleheaders featuring exclusively Western Conference teams.

If the NBA thinks the best course of action is to stick with the formula with an Eastern Conference matchup to start the doubleheader and a Western Conference game on the back end, Adam Silver and company have lost the plot.

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What I’m Following

• Nikola Jokic looked ready for the season to start in a EuroBasket tune-up game against Greece. Jokic reportedly dropped 23 points, 19 rebounds and four assists against a Greek team that was without Giannis Antetokounmpo.

• Vlatko Cancar will not be representing Slovenia in this month’s EuroBasket tournament. Cancar’s new team, Olimpia Milano, wanted the forward to prioritize his health ahead of next season.

• Former Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony picked Allen Iverson, another former Nugget, and Dwyane Wade as his presenters for his introduction to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Sept. 6.

• The Nuggets will be hosting the Timberwolves on Christmas, but they’ll be watching opening night. Kevin Durant and his new Rockets teammates will be in Oklahoma City for the Thunder’s banner night on Oct. 21. The NBC doubleheader will also feature the Warriors visiting the Lakers.

• The Celtics might have a rough season ahead, but Boston gave coach Joe Mazzulla some additional security in the form of a multi-year contract extension. Boston shed some salary this offseason after Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles tendon in the playoffs. The star forward expected to miss most if not all of next season.

• SuperMascot Rocky crashed the Savannah Bananas’ takeover of Coors Field over the weekend.

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What They’re Saying

One of the newer Nuggets expressed a little bit of jealousy that Watson and Braun not only won the championship as rookies. They also haven’t missed the playoffs.

“You were spoiled early, for sure,” Johnson said. 

“I hope you’re never on the outside of it. When you’re on the outside of it and that season ends, man, and you watch the playoffs, one you feel like ‘Man, this sucks.’”

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Earlier in the podcast, the host asked Watson to explain to Johnson what he’s walking into in his first season in Denver.

“I would describe it just as the perfect opportunity to do something really major. To win a championship is really hard to do in the league. It’s only a certain amount of teams that you feel like really have the DNA to do it and the roster and locker room presence to do it, but our team has always been super tight knit,” Watson said. “Obviously, acquiring Cam and acquiring Tim, that’s going to be huge for us. Just to have their veteran voices in there will be great. I think it’s a great locker room. We got some special players, obviously. I think we’ve got all the makings of what could be a special team, so I’m excited for it, and I think you should be, too. For sure.”