The more interesting rotation belongs to the Clippers. Kawhi Leonard is in Toronto now and Ivica Zubac went to Indiana. What's left was rebuilt around Darius Garland, Rui Hachimura and 19-year-old Keaton Wagler, the No. 5 pick out of Illinois. All of it happens under a cloud: Steve Ballmer is serving a 1-year suspension, and the franchise gave up its first-round picks from 2029 to 2033 over the Leonard scandal.
The injury list is where LA's offseason falls apart. Two of the big additions won't be ready for opening night. Brandon Ingram is out with a partially torn Achilles, and Max Strus has a partially torn plantar fascia that won't be re-evaluated for 4 weeks. Bradley Beal is still getting knee inflammation managed and hasn't done 5-on-5 work. Kobe Sanders (hip) is day-to-day too. Add Yanic Konan Niederhauser's foot injury and Jordan Miller's rotator cuff surgery, and the guard and wing minutes fall to Garland, Wagler and whoever else is left standing.
Denver's side of that page is close to blank. Spencer Jones is working back from a hamstring and did on-court work after Thursday's practice. That's the whole list. Our recap of the 133-128 win over Chicago called this group nearly fully healthy, and it played that way. The Nuggets trailed by 9 at halftime, won the 3rd quarter 40-26 and pulled away from a Bulls team missing a lot of its frontcourt.
The thing to watch is Wagler. A No. 5 pick handed real minutes by necessity, going against a Denver second unit built around DeRozan, is about as useful a test as October offers. For Denver, the question is simpler: can the bench hold up when Jokic sits, which will be most of the night. Last time out the answer was a 40-point 3rd quarter.