Entering play on Friday, Denver Nuggets rookie Bones Hyland had logged fewer than 20 minutes of action in five straight games after seeing a large role with the team prior to that point.
Hyland didn’t play in two of those games during that stretch while he saw only six minutes of playing time in another contest. The recent decline in minutes was a bit surprising considering he had emerged as a key player, and one they could count on for a spark of energy off the bench.
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone explained the reasoning behind his recent drop in playing time.
He hasn’t felt great as of late physically and being sick at times, under the weather so that’s part of it. The other part of it is me just trying to find a group of guys that can go out there and try to give us some consistency. That group has struggled at times, not because of any one player so by no means am I saying that is Bones Hyland. That is collectively, starting with me. It is just a number of things. I’ve been talking with Bones, trying to get him up. He has been into the games, staying ready.
Despite the recent decrease in minutes, Hyland returned to the lineup on Friday in a win over the New Orleans Pelicans. He recorded six points, four assists, three rebounds, one steal and one blocked shot in 24 minutes of work in the 116-105 win.
Bones Hyland's playmaking was looking sharp here…
Feeds Zeke Nnaji twice, first a nice dropoff in transition, then in on the cut
Then on another cut gets DeMarcus Cousing to the line free throw line#Nuggets #MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/kQNxqcwjSx
— Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) January 29, 2022
Malone credited Hyland with organizing the Nuggets’ second unit in that win. He thought he played well despite not seeing much time as of late and was an integral part in the Nuggets holding their lead when the starters were on the bench.
By all accounts, Hyland has handled his recent decline in playing time with professionalism. He has stayed ready for his next opportunity and that was on full display on Friday in their win over the Pelicans.
This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
[lawrence-related id=47046,44162,39625]
[mm-video type=video id=01fstn8tf05cdwpd5s71 playlist_id=01f09kz5ecxq9bp57b player_id=01f1jxkahtwnvzepyp image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01fstn8tf05cdwpd5s71/01fstn8tf05cdwpd5s71-77f741ab78f665e0929a2983ef139149.jpg]
[listicle id=49417]