Julian Strawther spins and Jalen Pickett does a bit of everything

Observations from the Nuggets’ 96-91 loss to the Utah Jazz at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.

Lack of P-Wattage: Peyton Watson’s summer league appears to be over. The second-year Denver wing averaged 19 points over the first two games in Las Vegas and was not in uniform for the Nuggets Wednesday night against Utah.

It showed early on.

The Nuggets struggled on both ends, falling behind the Jazz 55-35 by halftime and hitting just 6 of 23 3-pointers while Utah poured in 11 triples. Utah eventually prevailed, 96-91.

Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth joined the broadcast during the second quarter and said that while it’s important to watch the rookies in Las Vegas, he thinks it’s more likely Watson and others will help fill the void left by departed free agent Bruce Brown.

“I think more so it’s some of the guys on the roster. The Christian Brauns of the world,” said Booth, who sat courtside next to Braun. “Christian maybe averaged 13-14 minutes pre game in the regular season last year, obviously played a role for us in the playoffs. Really excited about Peyton Watson. Reggie Jackson’s a vet and has had his moments in this league. Reggie, man, every time it looks like he might be done he comes back and a couple years ago he averaged 19 points a game for the Clippers.

“I think we have some guys that can come in and try to replace some of what Bruce did.”

The Strawther spin. Julian Strawther has struggled shooting so far in Las Vegas, but he found some rhythm early agains the Jazz. The Nuggets’ selection at No. 29 overall on June 30, Strawther got into the lane twice early with spin moves and hit a pair of 3-pointers for 10 first-half points on 4-of-8 shooting (2 of 4 from deep). He had been just 6 of 24 from the field entering Wednesday.

He broke out the effective spin to get to the hoop multiple times in the second half, too, and finished with 21 points on 7-of-17 shooting.

“I love how hard he plays,” Booth said. “He’s a shooter. He hasn’t shot it well, but he keeps shooting it and his body language doesn’t change.”

Pickett’s line. Nuggets fans are probably already enjoying watching rookie point guard Jalen Pickett play. He started the game guarding Utah’s Keyonte George — he entered averaging 29 a game in the summer league but had six in 10 minutes before an ankle injury ended his night — and did a little bit of a lot on offense. Pickett finished with 12 points, eight assists, six rebounds, three blocks and three turnovers. Through three games, he’s at 18 assists and seven giveaways.