Some great efforts from guys like Jamal Murray and Peyton Watson have largely masked a lot of the Nuggets’ shortcomings recently without Nikola Jokic. But with Jokic and his backup Jonas Valanciunas, both missing in action, the disadvantage that Denver is facing at the center position on a nightly basis is starting to cost them.
The biggest issue has been on the glass, where the Nuggets are getting dominated in the rebounding department. Per Bennett Durando of the Denver Post, in the 11 games without Jokic and Big Val, the team is getting outrebounded by 11.5 boards per game. Their rebounding rate in that span is a measly 44.9%, which is worst in the league, and they also have a league-worst 8.1 second-chance-points margin per game.
There’s no way to sugarcoat it; without their two centers, they are getting decimated down low. Following Tuesday night’s disappointing home collapse to the Lakers, in which the Nuggets were outrebounded by 21, David Adelman was asked about the possibility of signing someone to a 10-day contract and said that’s something the team has considered.
He emphasized that, especially with another back-to-back coming up, they “have to get creative” in terms of patching holes on the roster while players are injured. The schedule hasn’t been forgiving, and it’s not going to slow down until the All-Star break in mid February.
Nuggets may be getting a center back in short order
While Adelman did acknowledge different possibilities in terms of the roster, like a 10-day contract or another two-way contract, help may be on the way as Valanciunas was upgraded to questionable for Thursday night’s game in Washington.
Even if he doesn’t play, that means JV is obviously getting close, which goes along with Adelman’s most recent injury update in which he indicated that Valanciunas was close and would likely be the starting center for a period of time before Jokic can return.
Obviously, this isn’t the big man that Nuggets fans are most anxiously anticipating the return of, but this will help a lot. Valanciunas is a capable NBA starting center who can bang down low with the best of them. He’ll immediately help solve a lot of the rebounding issues, potentially as soon as the next game.
As the Nuggets consider creative options, they have a few different buttons they can push. However, the most practical and likely option at this point is simply to simply ride it out. They’ve already gone 11 games without both centers, and now Jonas is due back any day. You’ve weathered the storm this long. There’s no need to panic with the cavalry on the verge of returning.