All of a sudden the Denver Nuggets look up at the standings and find themselves in third place in the Western Conference. They’ve lost consecutive games; both at home, and scoring under 100 points in each. The last one was a pretty convincing wire-to-wire drubbing at the hands of the Timberwolves.
The Nuggets have excuses, as they’ve had starters in and out of the lineup and all over the injury report. They came out of the All-Star break and went 15-2, racing to the top of the standings. But they’ve clearly taken their foot off the gas a bit lately.
Mix that, with the injuries they’ve been dealing with, and the fact that we are so close to the end of the season and it makes sense. It’s only natural for the team to have one eye on the playoffs and another run at a championship.
But the Nuggets do need to make sure that they get everyone healthy, and ideally, you’d love to see the team play well and get in some kind of rhythm before the games truly matter. Maybe that will be the case on Sunday as they host the Cavaliers.
Nuggets injury report
Denver has legitimate injury concerns for both of their superstars. Jamal Murray has now missed four games in a row with ankle and knee injuries. He’s been listed as ‘Questionable’ for each game and that’s the case again on Sunday.
This team - and especially the offense - doesn’t look the same without Murray in the lineup. They need him to make a deep playoff run and it’s paramount that he gets healthy over the next week or so.
The other issue is with Nikola Jokic. The big man has been on the injury report with back and hip ailments, but last game seemed to be nursing a wrist issue as well. Coach Michael Malone even said he was surprised Jokic played because the injury was so bad.
“We deserved to be boo’d off the court in the first half” - Michael Malone reaction to the Wolves beating the Nuggets at Ball Arena. Coach also said he was surprised Jokic played tonight. @KKTV11Sports pic.twitter.com/q15SttxN3O
— Corey Rholdon (@Corey_RholdonTV) March 30, 2024
That’s a bit alarming, to say the least, but the Joker is listed as ‘Probable’ and expected to play yet again. Zeke Nnaji (adductor) and Vlatko Cancar (knee) remain ‘Out’ for Sunday.
Cavaliers injury report
The biggest Cavs injury news is who’s NOT on the injury report, as Donovan Mitchell is fully available to play. The Cavs have been hit hard by injuries all year, but their top four players are all finally healthy.
Caris LeVert (wrist) is listed as probable, Isaac Okoro (toe) is questionable, Craig Porter Jr. (illness) is doubtful, and Dean Wade (knee) and Ty Jerome (ankle) are out for the game.
Betting odds
The Nuggets are currently listed as 5.5-point home favorites over the 45-29 Cavaliers and the total is at 211.5 points.