The Nuggets are back in action on Saturday night, and as has become the norm, the injury report reads like a CVS receipt. But on the bright side, it feels like we’re about to turn a corner and things are actually trending in the right direction on the injury front.
Nikola Jokic, Jonas Valanciunas, Cam Johnson, and Christian Braun all remain out for the Nuggets. The Braun situation is a bit concerning, but the other three all appear to be coming along at a good pace.
Even better? The Nuggets have nobody questionable for Saturday night, and Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Bruce Brown are all listed as probable and expected to suit up.
There was some thought that these guys would get some rest during the team’s road back-to-back in New Orleans and Dallas earlier in the week, but to the surprise of many, the Nuggets made a statement, going full bore, and winning both games.
Nuggets should be able to handle Wizards
Now, they’re back at home to face the lowly Wizards, and while we saw how much of a trap game this can be just last season, they come into Denver with the fewest wins in the NBA. They just traded away two of their best veteran players for Trae Young, who they’ve announced will be out until at least the All-Star break.
With a top-8 protected first-round pick owed to the Knicks this year, the Wizards are in full-on tank mode, happily playing all their young guys and racking up losses in the process. At 10-30, they’re coming to town on the second night of a back-to-back after losing on Friday night in Sacramento.
The Wiz have yet to submit an injury report as of the time of this writing, but along with Young’s absence, they’re likely to be without Khris Middleton, Bilal Coulibaly, and Tristan Vukcevic, who all missed the game against the Kings, plus Cam Whitmore, who was recently ruled out for the season.
Washington has some nice young building blocks who should be on the floor, like Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, Bub Carrington, Tre Johnson, and others, but this is an extremely young, inexperienced team that still badly needs organization and to learn how to win games.
They’re currently in the midst of a five-game losing skid and haven’t won a game since dealing away CJ McCollum and Corey Kispert in the deal for Young. All signs point to another Nuggets win on Saturday night, and as long as they show up ready to play, they should have no real issues.