The Nuggets rallied for an impressive road win on Tuesday night, but now they must travel to Dallas to take on the Mavericks one night later, and it’s going to be tough to summon that same kind of effort. In fact, I’m not even sure it would be a good idea to try, as they may play it safe and choose to rest some of their ailing vets on the second night of a back-to-back.
Jamal Murray led the way in NOLA with 35 points and 9 assists, but is listed as questionable with an illness and an ankle injury. He had the same designation a night ago, but played through it. One night later, he should be fine, but is it really worth the risk? The Nuggets need to avoid putting too much tread on Jamal’s tires, so this may be a good opportunity to steal a night off, as the team has already vastly exceeded expectations without Nikola Jokic.
As for Jokic, he remains out for this game along with Cam Johnson, Christian Braun, and Jonas Valanciunas. It was reported that Jokic started doing on-court work on Wednesday, but he, Jonas, and Cam are still expected to be out until at least February.
The Braun situation is more concerning as he stayed back in Denver to rehab his ankle, which has now cost him 26 games this season. Aaron Gordon and Spencer Jones are both listed as probable and have been playing recently, but it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to give them a night off, especially the veteran AG, who has been dealing with a hamstring issue.
Bruce Brown was also added to the injury report and is listed as questionable with right knee inflammation, which reeks of veteran rest.
Nuggets’ strong play has earned them rest
The Nuggets have now gone 5-3 without the Joker, including four wins in their last five. They’ve overachieved, and while many expected them to slip in the standings, they’ve risen to a tie for second place in the Western Conference.
They can absolutely afford to let some of these veterans get an extra night of rest, and lean into the young players who have been thriving lately on the road against a young, beatable Mavericks team that will be missing Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, and Dereck Lively II.
Guys like Peyton Watson, Jalen Pickett, Zeke Nnaji, and others have been crushing it lately, so maybe they get another extended look on Wednesday night in Dallas. All things considered, that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.