Blessing in disguise: Nuggets game postponed on Sunday due to inclement weather

Shortly after 11 AM MT, the NBA announced that the Nuggets’ game in Memphis, scheduled for 1:30 PM on Sunday, is being postponed due to inclement weather. Much of the country is facing ice and snowstorms, with Memphis being no exception. No make-up date has been officially announced, but the game will be played at a later date.

Obviously, fans look forward to watching their team play, and not having a Nuggets game to watch is a drag, but honestly, this is a blessing in disguise. This team is beaten and battered. They were going to be without Nikola Jokic, Aaron Gordon, Cam Johnson, and Christian Braun for this one, plus Jamal Murray, Peyton Watson, and Jonas Valanciunas were all questionable.

Even if they gutted it out and played today, none of them are at 100%, and they could all use a couple of extra days off. For one of the most banged-up teams in the league, this should be a welcome respite as they’ll now get three consecutive days without a game, an extreme rarity during this busy part of the schedule.

The Nuggets should feel great that they were able to steal back-to-back wins on Thursday and Friday in Washington and Charlotte, and they should feel even better now, knowing they can steal more rest for all of their injured stars without having even to risk surrendering a game.

It’s a best of both worlds type of scenario for the Nuggets, and we’ll see when this game ultimately gets made up, but it’s hard to imagine the team could possibly be in worse shape whenever it comes.

Postponement could be crucial for Jokic All-NBA campaign

The other fun wrinkle here is that with Jokic on the cusp of being ineligible for honors and awards due to games missed, this buys him an extra one. The Joker should be back any day now, but he has already been absent for 14 games. That means he can only miss three more games before he’ll be unable to reach the 65-game played threshold that’s required.

Every game is going to count, and this thing could truly come right down to the wire, so going from a definite missed game to one that Jokic may now play in could make all the difference. Finishing near the top of MVP voting and making All-NBA certainly aren’t the be-all, end-all, but we all know he deserves to make it, and like it or not, those kinds of measures are constantly referenced in debates about legacies, resumes, and things of that nature.

If there’s a way for Jokic to be eligible without risking his health, that would be the best outcome for everyone. And this game being postponed definitely helps that become a reality. So, while it’s a drag that we don’t get to watch the Nuggets on Sunday, it’s probably for the best. Now you can focus fully on the AFC Championship game, anyway!