On Monday, David Adelman said he had "no idea" about how close Peyton Watson is to returning to the Denver Nuggets' lineup. The coach added that he hopes the forward will be back "within the week."
As encouraging as it is to know that Watson could at least play on Sunday when Denver hosts Portland, Adelman's initial response raised a red flag. Fans can only hope that was just the coach not wanting to give too much away, though he did technically know when the forward could return, or else he wouldn't have mentioned anything more than that.
When asked how close Peyton Watson to returning, David Adelman started with “I have no idea.”
— Adam Mares (@Adam_Mares) March 16, 2026
Said he’s hoping by the end of the weekend.
The mix of confusion and uncertainty isn't what fans needed at this point in the season. Luckily, Watson is the only Nugget who is still working to come back from injury, as every other player on the roster has already been through that process at least once. At least, it's felt that way.
Denver getting to full health before the playoffs start would be a miracle after the injuries it's dealt with this season.
Peyton Watson may or may not return this weekend
Watson was on a tear before he got hurt almost six weeks ago at MSG in a loss to New York. His recovery timeline was projected to be 4 to 6 weeks, so if he returns this week, he will have gone just a little over.
He began traveling with the team on road trips last week and was seen scrimmaging 3-on-3 at the end of Monday's practice. It's hard to take that as anything besides Watson being on the right track, but Adelman managed to cast doubt that fans didn't need to hear.
They're already on edge, as Aaron Gordon returned from his first hamstring strain of the season, only to re-aggravate his hamstring after nearly three weeks, resulting in another month out. If a similar situation were to happen to Watson, he could miss the entirety of the playoffs.
Given the leap he's made this season as a scorer and creator, on top of the defense they desperately need, not being able to turn to him in the postseason would be a tough blow. It'd be nice for him to have some time to get his legs under him first. The Nuggets have 14 games left on their regular-season schedule, so there is still time for that to happen.
Let's hope that Adelman didn't want to let on too much about Watson's status in hopes of not jinxing anything.