Is Nikola Jokic playing tonight in the Nuggets' NBA Cup opener?

The Denver Nuggets will start their NBA Cup campaign on Friday night in New Orleans when they take on the Pelicans. The Cup started on Tuesday night, but the Nuggets were idle, so they will open up Group C Play in the Western Conference on Friday.

The Pelicans had high hopes going into the season, but things have unraveled quickly. This is starting to feel like a “season from hell” situation as the injuries keep piling up and they’ve already sputtered to a 3-9 record in a loaded West.

Things aren’t looking up for the Pels either as they come into Friday night’s game with a laundry list of injuries. They’ll be without Zion Williamson, Herb Jones, CJ McCollum, Jose Alvarado, Jordan Hawkins, and Dejounte Murray.

That’s essentially an entire starting lineup worth of solid players that the Pelicans will be without on Friday night. It’s a total skeleton crew that will be facing the Nuggets in New Orleans, which should be good news for the red-hot 7-3 Nuggets.

Nikola Jokic listed as questionable for personal reasons

But the Nuggets have some concerns of their own on the injury report. They’ll still be without Aaron Gordon, who has a calf injury, but the bigger issue for this game may be the latest appearance on the injury report; Nikola Jokic is listed as questionable for personal reasons.

The personal reasons are unknown at this point, but hopefully, nothing is wrong and the team won’t be without their best player for an extended period of time. It’s particularly concerning because has been playing the best basketball of his career and largely carrying the Nuggets through the early part of the season.

The Joker has been averaging 29.7 points, 13.7 rebounds, and 11.7 assists on the young season - leading the league in rebounds and assists, while also being in the top 10 in points and steals. The team has been completely dominant while he is on the court, and they’ve suffered whenever he sits. 

Winning any game without Jokic will be a struggle, but this may actually be a perfect opportunity to give it a shot. The Pelicans are as banged up as any team in the league, and the Nuggets desperately need to get Jokic some rest.

At some point, the Nuggets are going to have to find a way to survive some minutes without Jokic. Maybe this is the chance they need and it can embolden some other players to step up and take on a bigger role. And if Jokic does end up playing, ideally they can take care of business early and get him some rest down the stretch.