The Nuggets travel to Dallas on Sunday for a pivotal Western Conference showdown. Both teams are fighting for seeding and playoff positioning in the very crowded standings. Denver has won two straight and comes in with a 22-15 record, currently 4th in the conference. The Mavs have also won two straight and come in with a 21-15 record, good for 5th place.
These teams both have championship aspirations as the last two winners of the Western Conference. The Nuggets won the title in 2023 while the Mavs lost to the Celtics last year on that stage; both teams are hoping to get back in 2025.
This game is part of a short baseball series where the two teams will play back-to-back games in Dallas on Sunday and Tuesday. These could be huge for the longterm playoff picture and if either team sweeps the series they’ll be above the other in the standings.
Both squads would love to come into this game with full health, but that’s not the case at all. The Nuggets have been dealing with some issues recently with their best players, but things have been much worse than that for the Mavericks.
Status of Jokic, Murray, Gordon still up in the air
The Nuggets have been struggling to stay fully healthy all year. Recently it has been Aaron Gordon, who has been out since Christmas with a calf injury. He seemed close to a return, but then Nikola Jokic missed two games with an illness, and now Jamal Murray left the team’s last game with a knee injury.
The good news is that the Joker returned on Friday and looked good against the Nets. He is officially listed as probably and as long as the illness hasn’t gotten worse, he should be able to suit up on Sunday.
Gordon has gone from out to doubtful in recent games and has now been upgraded to questionable for Sunday’s game. He may or may not suit up, but he’s clearly getting very close to a return to action; a welcome sight for Nuggets fans.
The Murray situation is the new one to watch. He left the game after playing just 16 minutes on Friday and was ruled out. He is listed as questionable with knee inflammation. Hopefully, it’s just soreness and he won’t miss any time, but this would be a massive bummer as Jamal has finally started to get it going in recent games.
Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving both Out for Mavericks
The Mavs make the Nuggets look like a picture of health. Doncic suffered a calf strain that has kept him out for over a month now. His leg has been wrapped and he’s been wheeling around on a scooter. A return doesn’t seem imminent.
Kyrie went out last week with a bulging disc in his back, which apparently sounds worse than it is. He should be reevaluated in a week or two, but the Nuggets are going to miss both of the Mavericks’ superstars in this miniseries.