Good news, Nuggets fans; the NBA All-Star break is over and your team is back in action tonight. Denver will host the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday night at 7 PM MT in their first game of the league's unofficial “second half” of the season.
The Nuggets caught some scheduling luck as the Hornets started their second half on Wednesday night in LA, making up a game that was rescheduled due to the wildfires in Los Angeles. The Hornets got a hard-fought win over the Lakers, but they’ll be traveling to Denver to play a well-rested Nuggets team at elevation on short rest.
That’s not exactly a recipe for success for the now 14-39 Hornets, but it’s a very soft landing for the 36-19 Nuggets to get ramped up for the stretch run. Denver is currently riding a league-high eight-game winning streak that has vaulted the team to within half a game of the two-seed in the Western Conference.
Making this winning streak even more impressive, the Nuggets have been doing it without several key players. The team has been battling a variety of injuries for almost the entire season, but it seems like they are finally starting to get healthy at just the right time.
Russell Westbrook set to return from hamstring injury
The Nuggets practiced on Wednesday and Michael Malone had some great news for the assembled media. Russell Westbrook is completely off the injury report and ready to return from a hamstring injury that caused him to miss the last seven games.
Malone also said that everyone was able to practice in some capacity, which means Peyton Watson and Vlatko Cancar should be able to return relatively soon. It also surprisingly means DaRon Holmes was back at practice. Holmes tore his achilles in the first Summer League game and was ruled out for the season.
He’s still not expected to return, but the fact that he’s already practicing leaves the door open. His presence would be a massive boon for the Nuggets’ frontcourt depth. Even if he can’t return this season, it seems like he is making great progress in his rehabilitation and recovery.
Aaron Gordon (calf), Jamal Murray (knee), and Michael Porter Jr. (hamstring) all appeared on the team’s injury report, but all three are listed as probable and expected to play after a week off.
The Nuggets are playing their best basketball of the season and getting close to full strength. Everything is coming together for a big close to the regular season and hopefully a nice long playoff run in Denver.