Monte Morris

For the first time in his young career, Morris dealt with the injury bug during his 2020-21 campaign. The 6-foot-2 guard played in just 47 games last season, first missing a chunk of the season with a strained quad and then missing another 11 games near the end of the season due to a hamstring injury. Morris averaged just 10.2 points and 3.2 assists in 25.4 minutes per game while shooting a very respectable 38.1 percent from three. The Iowa State product's numbers did improve in the games he played after Jamal Murray tore his ACL, however, averaging 12.7 points and 4.9 assists per game. That said, the Nuggets were still easing Morris back into the lineup during that time and he only started one game during that span, which ended up being the team's final game of the season. Entering the new year, Denver figures to still be without their star point guard in Murray for the start of the season, making the starting point guard spot wide open in Denver. The crafty Facundo Campazzo was getting the starts without Murray at the end of the year last season, but again, this could easily be attributed to the team playing it cautious with Morris and his injury status. The Nuggets still are deep at the position with the likes of older players in Campazzo and Austin Rivers, while still having youth at the position in Markus Howard and Nah'Shon "Bones" Hyland as well. Even with their sturdy depth, there is reason to believe Morris will be starting for Denver in place of Murray to begin the year, which may lead to Morris' most productive season yet as a pro.