From Utah to Taipei, the Nuggets will be all over the globe during the 2009 preseason, playing eight October games, just two at the Pepsi Center.
The Nuggets will open up the preseason Oct. 1 in Utah against the Jazz, the same opponent Denver will open the regular season against (Oct. 28 at Pepsi Center). The Nuggets will then host a Serbian team called Partizan Belgrade on Oct. 3; the other preseason home game is Oct. 20 against Minnesota.
After the game against Partizan Belgrade, the Nuggets will head to Asia, where they’ll meet former Nugget Dahntay Jones and the Pacers in two games — Oct. 8 in Taipei and Oct. 11 in Beijing, at the same arena where Denver’s Carmelo Anthony won the Olympic basketball gold in 2008.
On Oct. 18, the Nuggets will head to Portland to play the TrailBlazers, a team expected to vie with Denver for the Northwest Division title this coming season. After the game against Minnesota, the Nuggets will travel to California for a pair of games against the defending-champion Lakers — Oct. 22 in Anaheim and Oct. 23 in San Diego.
Alas, unlike last year, all of the Nuggets’ preseason games will be indoors.
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
