Nuggets coach Brian Shaw is working on trimming his rotation and homing in on the players who will be on the court the most during the season.

“I’m going to start playing our starters a little bit more, and our rotation guys a little bit more to get them,” Shaw said before Denver’s exhibition game Thursday night vs. Golden State in Des Moines, Iowa. “To get them in the kind of shape they need to be in and to get them more accustomed to the type of minutes they are going to be playing for us. And then the other guys, not so much. I’m going to start playing these games a little more like the regular games.”

J.J. Hickson and JaVale McGee have yet to play in a preseason game as they recover from injuries suffered last season. Randy Foye injured his wrist during practice Wednesday and didn’t play Thursday against the Warriors. Danilo Gallinari and Nate Robinson were rested Thursday after playing the previous two preseason games. They are working themselves back into action from knee injuries.

The injuries have given Shaw an opportunity to get additional looks at Alonzo Gee, among others, to solidify a final roster slot. Thursday against Golden State, Shaw wanted to see how well Gee fared guarding Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry.

Christopher Dempsey: cdempsey@denverpost.com or twitter.com/dempseypost