Is Nikola Jokic playing tonight? Nuggets Jazz injury report for March 9th

The Denver Nuggets have had a day off to bask in the glow of their impressive home victory over the 48-14, Eastern Conference-leading Boston Celtics. Saturday night they’ll be back in action to take on the floundering Jazz at home.

The Nuggs enter this one at 43-20 on the season. They sit in third place in the Western Conference, just half a game back of the Timberwolves, and a full game back of the Thunder for the one seed. The Jazz are 28-35, currently holding the 11 seed, but they are 6 games back of the 10 seed and the final spot in the play-in tournament.

The Jazz were having a surprisingly good season and holding down a spot in the play-in tournament until the trade deadline. But the team decided to continue building for the future, trading rotation players Kelly Olynyk, Ochai Agbaji, and Simone Fontecchio.

The trades added draft picks and created opportunities for younger players to get more minutes, but they also seem to have tanked the team’s playoff chances. They’ve gone just 2-11 since the deadline, and essentially fallen out of playoff contention.

All signs point to a big Nuggets win, but they’ll have to avoid a letdown game after a massive win on Thursday night. There is, however, one big name on the injury report that could throw a wrench into things.

Nuggets injury report

That name, of course, is the one and only Nikola Jokic. The current MVP favorite and reigning Finals MVP is coming off a 32/12/11 triple-double against the Celtics, but he comes into Saturday’s game on the injury report. 

Don’t panic, Nuggets fans, he is listed as ‘Probable’ with an arm injury and is expected to play. There is a chance he could sit out for precautionary reasons, or just to try and steal some extra rest against a team that has been slumping lately. 

But with Denver battling tooth and nail for the one seed, the big Serbian ironman will likely suit up as long as he feels up to it. He's only missed two games all season. He’ll officially be a game-time decision. Vlatko Cancar remains ‘Out’ with a knee injury.

Jazz injury report

Utah’s injury report is considerably longer and more concerning (at least for their fans hoping for a win). Their best player, Lauri Markkanen is ‘Out’ with a quad injury that has kept him out since March 2nd.

Taylor Hendricks is also ‘Out’ with a toe injury and Otto Porter Jr. - who came over in the Olynyk/Agbaji trade - hasn’t even joined the team. Promising young big man Walker Kessler is ‘Questionable’ with a foot injury. He hasn’t played since February 27th. The Nuggets are listed as 12.5-point favorites.