The first of a five-game home series begins Monday.
Here’s a look at the injury report.
Denver:
Vlatko Čančar — OUT (left knee surgery)
Nikola Jokić — QUESTIONABLE (Low back pain/left hip inflammation)
Jamal Murray — QUESTIONABLE (sprained left ankle)
Zeke Nnaji — OUT (right adductor tendinosis)
Memphis:
Desmond Bane — QUESTIONABLE (Back Pain)
Brandon Clarke — QUESTIONABLE (Left Achilles Tendon Repair)
Luke Kennard — OUT (personal reasons)
John Konchar — DOUBT (Right heel pain)
Jake LaRavia — QUESTIONABLE (Illness)
Ja Morant — OUT (Right Shoulder Labral Repair)
Derrick Rose — OUT (recovering from right groin and lower back injury)
Marcus Smart — OUT (Right ring finger center slide tear)
Lamar Stevens — QUESTIONABLE (left adductor strain)
Yuta Watanabe — OUT (personal reasons)
Vince Williams Jr. — QUESTIONABLE (Left patellar tendinitis)
Ziaire Williams — OUT (hip flexor strain)
Denver faces the injury-riddled Memphis Grizzlies at home, who are 24-47 this season. Memphis was without its franchise superstar, Ja Morant, for all but 9 games, and other key rotation fixtures such as Desmond Bane, Marcus Smart, and Brandon Clarke also missed a good chunk of time.
The Nuggets enter Monday’s game with some injury question marks as well. Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray are both listed as questionable after missing Saturday’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers. Murray’s status this week is unclear…
Even without their stars, Denver found a way to win on the road in Portland, 114-111. That brought Denver’s record after the All-Star Game to 14-2, tied for the best in the NBA during that stretch. They enter Monday’s contest at 50-21 and are the first team to reach 50 wins in the Western Conference.
More importantly, their shorthanded victory in Portland helped Denver clinch first place in the West after the Oklahoma City Thunder lost 118-93 to the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday. Oklahoma City’s schedule is getting pretty tricky; they still have three back-to-back remaining and will face the Bucks, Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks, New Orleans Pelicans, Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks in their final 12 games. It’s a challenge of tough playoff opponents.
A win against Memphis would give Denver a full lead over the Thunder in the standings. Maintaining this advantage is essential; Oklahoma City holds the tiebreaker against Denver after winning the regular season series, 3-1.
The Nuggets are 28-6 at Ball Arena, the second-best home record in the NBA.
TO AGREE: Monday 7:00 p.m. MT, Altitude TV and Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM
