NFL
By Jason Gulden
Hello again, Denver Nuggets fans. Long time no talk. Wow, has it been crazy since the last Nuggets article I wrote?
When things looked like they were going to be bad for our boys, we treaded water and stayed afloat within the Western Conference.
After Jokic went down, Jonas Valanciunas left the next game against the Raptors with a strained right calf. After the injury, the Denver Nuggets would be without five players, four of whom were starters. They were already without Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, and Cam Johnson before Jokic went down. With the addition of Valanciunas, the situation appeared significantly less promising.
Losing Jokic and Valanciunas hurts cause the Nuggets have no proven big man healthy until Gordon came back.
The Nuggets had the mentality of next man up following the injuries, and that is exactly what they did. It was now Jamal Murray’s time to lead this Nuggets team. That’s exactly what he did. He has averaged 28.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 8.7 assists since Jokic went down, leading the Nuggets to a 7-5 mark.
Jamal has been playing at an All-Star level, which could potentially earn him his first All-Star Game appearance this year. We will know more next week when the game’s reserves are announced.
Hopefully, he joins Nikola Jokic, who was voted a starter, in Los Angeles come February 15th.
Currently, the Nuggets are 29-15 and are in 3rd place in the Western Conference. The same spot they were in when Jokic went down with the injury.
In years past, when Jokic wasn’t playing, Denver Nuggets fans were worried about the non-Jokic minutes. This year has been different, with us finally having a deep bench and players who can produce when their number is called, under coach David Adelman.
Players who were missing are starting to come back. Gordon has played in 8 of the last 10 games, and Braun came back for 3 games before missing the previous 6 games cause his ankle wasn’t feeling right.
Other players had to step up for this team. Where would the Nuggets be without Spencer Jones, who has averaged 8 points and 4 rebounds per game since Gordon got injured? Spencer Jones is currently on a 2-way contract and, according to NBA rules, can only be on the active roster for 50 games. Spencer has been active for 39 games so far this season. The Nuggets will soon have to decide on Jones.
With the Nuggets having a roster spot available, Spencer has earned the opportunity to take that spot and turn his 2-way contract into a full NBA contract. We will know more by early February on what the Nuggets decide to do with him.
Peyton Watson has become even more of a star since this injury bug has hit the Nuggets, averaging 14 points and 5 rebounds per game this season. He also earned the Western Conference player of the week for the week ending January 11th. During that time, he averaged 24.5 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. Tim Hardaway Jr has been killing it from the 3pt range. He is ranked 34th in 3-point percentage at 40.1% this year.
We have finally seen what 2024 first-round draft pick DeRon Holmes II can do when given the chance to play. DeRon is averaging 4.6 points per game in limited action this season.
Speaking of seeing what players can do when they get a chance to play, how about the 8-million-dollar man, Zeke Nnaji? He has had to step up and produce, and he has done just that. He is averaging 12.2 points and 6.6 rebounds since Jokic got injured. That’s more like an 8-million-dollar man compared to the 2 points that he was averaging when Jokic was active.
Well, Nuggets fans, I know it’s been rough the last couple of weeks without our big boys. Things will get better soon, and as my friends have told me, it’s better to deal with this now than mid-April to Mid-June, when we are trying to win our 2nd championship in franchise history.
Until next time, Nuggets fan. Take care, enjoy some basketball, and hopefully cheer the Nuggets on to victory.
GO NUGGETS!!!!!
