When the Denver Nuggets take on the Houston Rockets, they may have an entirely different look compared to the team that took the floor against the Indiana Pacers in Mexico City. That's because the injury report, with all five starters plus DeMar DeRozan on it, sent fans into the "Sunday Scaries," but it has a perfectly good explanation behind it. Travel woes, again! At least the bench could be ready to put up a fight.
The Nuggets were forced to spend an extra night and day in Mexico City after they experienced issues with their team plane, according to Nuggets broadcast announcer Katy Winge. She detailed that the Nuggets left the arena after the 114-102 win over the Pacers at 7:30 P.M., sat on the plane until 3:25 A.M., and didn't get back to a hotel until 5 A.M. Brutal. They finally landed in Houston 16 hours late, and it prompted the Nuggets to put out the crazy injury report.
The injury report is just a way to cover for a lack of rest
All five starters are listed as questionable, along with DeRozan, with various ailments. Injury management and bruises are the common ailments, but notably, they list a "right elbow sprain" for Nikola Jokic, which does raise some underlying concern given the lack of his three-point shot falling.
Of course, these "injuries" are most likely just a cover for a lack of sleep and rest. None of the six players showed any concerns after the game, and it's understandable that the Nuggets wouldn't want to risk anything going wrong after a couple of poor days of travel.
But it does set up the Nuggets for a potential test of their bench if the team does decide to punt the game against a stout 7-3 Rockets team.
The bench unit has held its own so far
The Nuggets' bench has been much better this year, anchored by Marvin Bagley III at center and rookie Trevon Brazile, who's been a big surprise and a huge boost on defense. The non-Jokic minutes are just a -4.2 net rating in 101 minutes with Jokic off the floor, and they're actually a tick better on offense at 119.1 with Jokic off the court vs. 117.1 with him on per 100 possessions.
The bench just got a big boost by getting Spencer Jones back, who looked spectacular against the Pacers. And as a unit, they helped to increase the lead in the game from 8 to 19 points with Jokic off the court in the second quarter.
The Nuggets probably won't punt the game
But in the end, the Nuggets just played their cards right by taking precautions against the team getting poor rest and recovery before the game. Most likely, once they get to the arena, the players will get to decide how they feel, and it wouldn't be surprising for some of them to play if they finally got some ample rest.
But what a wild trip that turned out to be!
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