Wolves Vs Nuggets Injury Report: Is Rudy Gobert Playing Tonight vs Nikola Jokic & Co?

In what will be their first of three matches in the coming months, the Denver Nuggets will face the young and flamboyant Minnesota Timberwolves This evening. For fans, the sequence starts at the ideal time since the two teams are tied for second place in the conference (47-21). However, the upcoming match poses significant challenges for Wolves. Multiple questions hover around the possibility of Rudy Gobert appear in court.

Gobert missed the Wolves’ back-to-back games against the Jazz due to a rib injury and will most likely miss the action against the Nuggets. Additionally, Karl-Anthony Towns, due to a meniscus injury, will remain out, leaving a vulnerable frontcourt for the Wolves. Backup center Naz Reid has taken on a lot of imposing duties of late. However, he left Monday night’s game with a hand injury. With this, his availability for the next match is at stake.

Additionally, other concerns exist for Minnesota besides the uncertain clouds over all of their centers. Anthony Edwards, a few seconds later, making noise for his emphatic dunk, dislocated his finger. With that, necessary updates also await to dictate his participation against Denver.

In turn, the game could provide ample room for Nikola Jokić to operate on the pitch. Jokic is currently Denver’s leader in points (25.9), assists (9.1) and rebounds (12.2) while also being the favorite in MVP conversations. Given that Wolves will host the defending champions in the back-to-back second leg, an injury report is expected soon. Either way, with the odds stacked against the home team, it looks like Denver could bring their ball and hoop to the game.

The first clash of Jokic and Rudy Gobert this season

The Nuggets and Wolves first faced each other early in the season, as Minnesota handed the defending champions their first loss of the campaign. The game saw Anthony Edwards post a team-high 24 points on 50% efficiency, followed by Karl-Anthony with 21 points and eight rebounds. Additionally, even though Rudy Gobert failed to make a dent in the scoring, he did pull down 12 rebounds (2 offensive).

The Wolves’ victory came thanks to a dismal outing in Denver, mostly on the shooting front. With the team shooting less than 40% from the field, Nikola Jokić had a double-double of 25 points and ten rebounds. While Jamal Murray struggled from the floor (5-15 on shots), no other player on the team scored more than 6 points.

Nonetheless, Denver is now a top-10 defense in the league and has won 11 of its 13 games last month. Moreover, far removed from their November 1 match against the Wolves, they are now the 7th best offensive team in the league. With that and the Timberwolves’ potential struggles, Denver could finish the game closer to first place than the home team.

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