Four Games, No Back-to-Backs: Denver's Week Tests Its Returning Wings
Denver gets a rested week and, if the estimates hold, two wings back, which is the first chance to see this rotation whole.
The Nuggets play Portland, Toronto, Indiana and Houston, with at least two days between games. The schedule is kind, so the open question is whether the rotation behind the stars can settle.
Monday: a good team arriving on one day's rest
Portland comes to Denver on Monday, November 2, 4-1 and carrying a one-game winning streak. Over those five games the Blazers have a 118.0 offensive rating and a 107.9 defensive rating, a net of 10.1. Denver, 3-2, sits at 112.4 and 114.1, a net of minus 1.6. Both samples are five games, so treat them as a sketch. Even so, the gap runs through the defensive end. Portland has had one day off and is on the second game of a road stretch. Denver has had two.
Who is missing from the Portland side?
Ja Morant is out with a hamstring injury and Shaedon Sharpe is out with a knee injury. Deni Avdija is the creator to watch, at 23.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists a night, with Damian Lillard at 19.2 points. Without Morant, the ball runs through those two. That is the kind of two-man pressure Jokic and Murray, who are carrying Denver at 21.2 and 25.8 points a game, usually answer on their own terms.
Two days off, then a long way from home
Toronto visits Wednesday, November 4, and then Denver has three days before it travels to Indiana on Saturday, November 7, on NBA TV, in the Mexico City game. Houston follows on Monday, November 9. Nothing in the week asks the starters to play on consecutive nights. Murray is averaging 38.2 minutes and Jokic 37.2, and the spacing in the schedule lets Adelman keep them there without an obvious cost. The risk is the stretch of road games that ends the week.
What the return dates are worth
Alpha Diallo and Spencer Jones both carry estimated return dates of November 2. Jones averaged 22.1 minutes before his hamstring injury, which is the sort of rotation minutes Denver has been filling from other places. Julian Strawther is out with a knee injury until about November 29. By our count, Denver has lost 561 minutes to injury since opening night, 15th most among the 30 teams, and both players who were listed day-to-day missed the next game. So an estimated date is only an estimate. The week's real test is whether the connections hold when the wings come back, not whether the stars score.
When do the Nuggets play this week?
Denver hosts Portland on November 2 and Toronto on November 4, then visits Indiana on November 7 on NBA TV and Houston on November 9.
Who is injured for Denver and Portland?
Denver has Alpha Diallo and Spencer Jones listed out with estimated returns of November 2, and Julian Strawther out until about November 29. Portland is without Ja Morant and Shaedon Sharpe.
