Mile High Tape · Morning

Portland Is Short Two Guards, and Denver's Real Test Is Its Own Return Dates

Portland arrives 4-1 and without two guards, but Monday turns on how many of Denver's injured wings are actually back.

By the Nuggets Nightly Desk · Sunday, November 1

Denver is 3-2 after winning at Phoenix, where Jamal Murray scored 39 points and Christian Braun 31. Portland is 4-1 with a +10.1 net rating over five games, and Ja Morant and Shaedon Sharpe are listed out.

Nuggets Nightly artwork — Illustration by Hoops Nightly.

A hot visitor with a thin backcourt

Portland is 4-1 and, according to ESPN, brings a road win streak to Denver. The Blazers score 118.0 points per 100 possessions and allow 107.9, five games in. Deni Avdija leads them at 23.0 points and 5.6 assists. Morant, who was averaging 5.5 assists in four games, is out with a hamstring injury, and Sharpe is out with a knee injury. Portland also plays its second straight road game on one day of rest. Denver has had two.

Which Denver gap matters more?

Denver's ratings this season are 112.4 on offense and 114.1 on defense, a net of -1.6. That is five games, so treat it as a sketch. Even so, the defensive number sits beside Portland's 118.0 offense, and it is the one Denver cannot hide behind Murray's 25.8 points a night.

What the return dates are worth

Spencer Jones and Alpha Diallo both carry estimated returns of November 2. Jones averages 22.1 minutes when healthy, and those minutes go to someone else until he is back. By our count, both day-to-day players on this club missed their next game, so an estimate is not a promise. Denver has lost 561 minutes to injury since opening night, 15th most of the 30 teams.

Does the five get a second night?

Cameron Johnson was cleared October 30 and has played two games. The starting five of Gordon, Jokic, Murray, Johnson and Braun has barely had time to prove it is a unit. Monday asks whether it stays whole, and whether the wings behind it are back to give it rest.

When do the Nuggets play the Trail Blazers?

Denver hosts Portland on November 2. The Nuggets are 3-2 and the Blazers are 4-1.

Are Ja Morant and Shaedon Sharpe playing against Denver?

Both are listed out for Portland, Morant with a hamstring injury and Sharpe with a knee injury.

By the Nuggets Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.