Nuggets' Will Barton: Goes for 20 in preseason victory

Barton went for 20 points (6-14 FG, 2-4 3Pt, 6-6 FT), three rebounds, two assists and two steals over 31 minutes in Friday's 101-97 preseason victory over the Lakers.

Analysis:

Barton has opened the preseason slate with double-digit points in back-to-back games, an unsurprising development given that he paced the Nuggets' bench with a career-high 14.4 points per game in 2015-16. The sixth man is expected to see an expanded role early on in the upcoming campaign with Gary Harris (groin) likely to be unavailable initially, though it's not clear if he'll directly replace Harris in the starting five.