For the first time this season, the Nuggets were without some key weapons on Saturday night, as Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon sat out the second night of a back-to-back. But Nikola Jokic and the boys were more than up to the task against a decimated Pacers team, winning 117-100 in Ball Arena, led by the Joker’s 32 points, 14 rebounds, and 14 assists.
This was Jokic’s sixth triple-double in nine games, and the 170th of his career. Peyton Watson and Jalen Pickett moved into the starting lineup, both playing well. Watson had a season-high 16 points and 7 rebounds while Tim Hardaway Jr. and Julian Strawther combined for 29 points off the bench.
Denver improved to 6-0 at home on the season, where they’ve barely been tested, and 7-2 overall with a three-game road trip to Sacramento, Los Angeles (Clippers), and Minnesota looming.
Nuggets need to get role players going
While it’s never good to see Murray and Gordon sitting, it’s good to know that’s precautionary, and it’s important to remember that this was a big part of the plan when revamping the depth in the offseason. Now, Denver has the luxury to rest their star players without the team falling off a cliff, as evidenced on Saturday night.
Murray and Gordon have each gotten off to excellent starts to the season, as has Jokic, of course, but many of the role players have gotten off slowly out of the gates. This game was exactly what the Nuggets needed: to see some of these guys get going.
We’ll see if it carries over with the rest of the starters back in tow, but either way, it’s great to see guys like Watson, THJ, and Strawther stepping it up and carrying the mail with multiple starters out of the lineup. This will keep the team afloat throughout a long regular season, even when the regulars need a night off here and there.
They should be much better suited to sustain a competitive attack on a nightly basis and ensure they don’t fall down the standings if a key player misses a couple of weeks here or there. There’s also still plenty of room for improvement, as Christian Braun and Cam Johnson continue to struggle, combining for just 20 points on 8-19 shooting.
All in all, the Nuggets have started the season in really good form and seem to be well-positioned to hang at the top of the West standings all year. On top of that, there’s plenty of room to improve, and an attainable ceiling that feels extremely high.