The starting five appears set. Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo has penciled in Earl Watson (PG), Kevin Durant (SG), Damien Wilkins (SF), Chris Wilcox (PF) and Nick Collison (C) as the starting five for Wednesday’s opener at Denver.

Both Durant and Jeff Green practiced on Tuesday and appear ready to go. Center Robert Swift (right knee bruise/tendinitis) also practiced but is doubtful for Denver, although he will be a game-time decision. Kurt Thomas (right hamstring strain) was injured in practice and will be a game-time decision.

“Kevin looked good,” Carlesimo said. “Again, if he feels good tomorrow, he’ll go for sure. He said he felt good, and he went through the whole practice.”

Carlesimo said he alternated Durant and Delonte West during practice at the shooting guard. And Jeff Green split time with Wally Szczerbiak with the reserve squad, and if all goes well should play on Wednesday.

Carlesimo went into more detail about the move of going with Watson at point guard after practice.

Carlesimo said Watson has had the most reps at point guard during preseason, so he believes starting with Watson is the correct move, and then allowing Luke Ridnour to fully recover from the broken nose and to get rid of using the mask.

“We know he’s going compete,” he said. “I think he’s done a good job running our break and pushing stuff. He sets a good tone for us in terms of how competitive he is, and defensively. And he’s made shots.”

Listen to the full conversation with Carlesimo here.

And Watson had this to say about getting the start against Denver.

“It’s not a marriage,” Watson said. “It’s not long-term. It’s just the way we’re starting out. And until it gets to that point where roles are settled, it’s just basketball.

“For me I’m just going to play very aggressive, play fast and get my teammates involved. My whole mindset has always been to make my teammates successful on the court. Make them better.”

Listen to Watson talk more about the game against Denver here.

Carlesimo said the matchup with Denver will be a tough one

“It’s good to get things going, for sure,” Carlesimo said. “But you don’t feel good with a matchup against Denver. They were one of the better teams last year, and they’re a very good team. They got two of the better players in the league, easy two All-stars for sure. And the other guys are good.”

Carlesimo went on to say Carmelo Anthony is one of the best players in the league, and presents so many problems because of his size and ability to not only score inside but score from the perimeter and drive off the dribble.

Wally Szczerbiak is looking forward to Wednesday’s game.

“We’re going to play hard,” he said. “Hopefully we play a lot more like we did the last three preseason games, as opposed to the first five, and I think we’ll be all right. But we have a lot of depth, and we’re going to be figuring out a lot of stuff. But at the same time you’ve got to go out there and play well.”

Listen to the full conversation with Szczerbiak here.

Looking to bone up on the Nuggets? Here’s a season preview from the Denver Post with capsules on each player. The Nuggets, who lost in five games to San Antonio in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs last season, have set a goal of winning 60 games this season.

And according to this article from the Rocky Mountain News, it looks like Allen Iverson (PG), Yakouba Diawara (SG), Carmelo Anthony (SF), Kenyon Martin (PF) and Marcus Camby (C will be the starting five for Denver.