This might be hard to believe, but there are only five days left until the Nuggets are back on the court in a preseason game against the Warriors in the Bay Area. Training camp is flying by quickly and the short turnaround between last season and the 2020-21 campaign has been an adjustment for the Nuggets’ players and coaches. That said, all of the teams who participated in the Bubble as part of the NBA's restart are dealing with similar challenges. Here are the takeaways: Malone's early impression of rookiesFive of the Nuggets' seven new additions are rookies Zeke Nnaji, R.J. Hampton along with undrafted two-way player Markus Howard. There is also international imports Facundo Campazzo and Greg Whittington, who are also rookies as well. Considering Campazzo's reputation proceeds him, Malone gave some detailed thoughts on Nnaji, Hampton and Whittington. He acknowledged this is a challenging year for rookies due to the quick transition after being drafted in November to playing in December. In pre-pandemic times, rookies usually are eased in through Summer League and allowed to acclimate to their new surroundings. "I feel really bad for rookies this year," Malone said. "I've been really impressed with their work ethic (the rookies), and what they bring to the gym every day in terms of their energy and pushing the guys around them." His scouting report on each so far: On Nnaji: “Zeke's going to work hard. He has tremendous work ethic. When I watch him on the floor right now, I can see he looks overwhelmed at times – there's so much coming at him. How he played at Arizona, under a really good coach in Sean Miller, with their terminology and philosophy then you come to a pro team…He's done some nice things. Once he settles down and relaxes, and things become second nature to him, that's when I think he'll make a big, big jump.” On Hampton: “He has put his athleticism on display quite a few times. He's another young man that works extremely hard. RJ, he's a hell of an athlete. He's strong and he's made some really nice plays attacking the basket in the half court and in transition. Not just for himself, but for teammates as well.” On Whittington: “Greg is a vet, he's been around but he hasn't played a game since January – I think that was the last game he played in Turkey. So, it's kind of getting that rust off and getting back in [rhythm], playing 5 on 5." Malone also emphasized he doesn't expect to play his starters much in Saturday's preseason matchup against Golden State. That could potentially open the door to see several of the Nuggets rookies, bench players and new additions this weekend. Harris unfazed by added depth at guard Malone made headlines last week by mentioning as many as three starting positions could be open, heading into the season. It's a challenge Will Barton III made his thoughts public on and it could also impact Gary Harris as well. With the Nuggets having eight guards on the roster, minutes won't be a given as much as they've been in the past. Still, Harris welcomed the added depth in that position. "We have a lot of talented players and that's what our front office does. They did a good job of gathering talent" Harris said. "We're a deep team and you can never have too much talent."The longest-tenured Nugget has largely been a starter outside of his rookie season and emerged as arguably the best two-way player on the team, when healthy. The last part is the key, staying on the court. Over the past two seasons, Harris has played in 113 of 164 regular season games due to dealing with various ailments. The shooting guard insisted he is not letting past seasons control his outlook for this campaign. "Injuries, you can't necessarily control. If it happens, I'm going to keep fighting back no matter what happens," Harris said. "I have to keep concentrating on getting back healthy and don't really worry about them. If it happens, it happens." If Harris has one big backer in his corner, it's Malone. The coach recently went to bat for the 26-year-old in an interview with ESPN and expanded on those thoughts Monday. "I've had conversations with Gary and not necessarily regarding the starting lineup,[but] more importantly just in terms of Gary and myself figuring out a way to get Gary back to playing at the level I know he's capable of," Malone said. The head coach pointed to Harris' performances in the second round of the playoffs against the Clippers as an example. Harris averaged 10.7 points and a team-leading 1.9 steals on 50 percent shooting, including 41.9 percent from downtown. Malone wants to see more of that offensive efficiency while hopefully maintaining the stout defense Harris is known for. "We don't beat the Clippers in seven games without the productivity and efficiency of Gary Harris," Malone said Vlatko keeping an open mind about his roleIt was a picture that certainly made its rounds on social media. Vlatko Čančar standing shirtless, seemingly adding what appeared to be 70 pounds of muscle (we're exaggerating here) from the start of his rookie season in Denver. The forward acknowledged he got a lot of feedback on his newfound, “Pumping Iron”-like physique. "A lot of people was thinking it was Photoshop or they gave me steroids in the NBA. I definitely got a lot of questions." Čančar said jokingly. "People were skeptical on if it was me or not. But yeah, I was doing a great job with [strength trainers] Felipe [Eichenberger] and Claus [Antunes de Souza]. Last season, I was there [in the gym] adding [muscle] almost every day. I feel like it's helping me this season and it's helping me now because I feel more prepared." Last season, Čančar played in 14 games, averaging just over three minutes per contest. The 2017 second-round draft pick acknowledged he doesn't know what his role yet is, but he is willing to be patient and showcase what he can do in practice."It's step-by-step and not try to look into things that far into the season," he said. "If we work hard enough, there's going to be positive results for sure. I'm just trying to give 100 percent every time I step on the basketball court." He added, "If I deserve to play a role, I will. If not, then I guess not." Bonus takeaway: Markus Howard happy to land in DenverWe usually stick to three takeaways in this space, but there were plenty of stories to emerge out of Monday's pressers. Markus Howard, the Big East's scoring record holder, had some intriguing things to say about how he came to join the Nuggets. Howard, who averaged 27.8 points per game in his final season at Marquette, went undrafted before signing a two-way deal with the Nuggets in the offseason. "Draft night, there was a lot of emotion [and] of course you want to hear your name called. At the end of the day, for me personally, I wanted to be in a place, in an organization where I knew I could get off on the best foot," Howard said. "I just felt, fit-wise, culture-wise, play style-wise and the interest Denver showed in me, I just felt it was best for me to not get my name called and end up signing as an undrafted free agent." Howard insisted he didn't consider looking into options in Europe and wanted to focus on fighting for an NBA opportunity. The 21-year-old has already made an impression as Malone revealed he got to participate in lineups with some of the regulars. "What's great about the situation I'm in is I'm blessed and fortunate to be around a bunch of guys who I can learn from and be a sponge [around]," Howard said.