The Denver Nuggets (10-6) take on the Detroit Pistons (3-15) in Denver. These teams are at opposite ends of the spectrum starting this season. Detroit hasn’t had the start they have been looking for and Denver looks about as good of a team in the league. Both teams will play without their best player tonight, Cade Cunningham and Nikola Jokić respectively. With all the injuries Denver currently has, playing Detroit right now is definitely appreciated.
The Essentials:
Who: Detroit Pistons (3-15 0-10 away) @ Denver Nuggets (10-6, 5-5 home)
When: 7:00 p.m. MST
Where: Ball Arena, Denver Colorado
How to watch/listen: NBA League Pass and AltitudeTV for non-Denver markets. 92.5 FM Altitude Sports Radio
Rival Blog: Detroit Bad Boys
Expected Starting Lineups:
DET: PG Jaden Ivey, SG Killian Hayes, SF Bojan Bogdanovic, PF Isaiah Livers, C Marvin Bagley III
DEN: PG Bruce Brown, SG Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, SF Michael Porter Jr., PF Aaron Gordon, C DeAndre Jordan
Injuries:
DEN- Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray are both doubtful (H & S Protocols), Aaron Gordon (Illness) is now questionable, Collin Gillespie (Leg) out, Ish Smith (Calf) out, Jeff Green (Knee) out, and Bones Hyland (Hip) is probable.
DET: Cade Cunningham (Shin) out, Saddiq Bey (Ankle) questionable, Cory Joesph (Hip) probable, and Isaiah Stewart (Toe) out.
Three Things to Watch for:
Will Bojan Bogdanovic stay the “Nugget killer” on a new team?
Bogdanovic has always played his best versus the Nuggets over previous years, you would have to go all the way back to April 3, 2018, to find the last game where he did not have 15 points against Denver. In that same time frame, he has also dropped 48 points, 36 points, and 35 points. Bojan was traded to Detroit this offseason, will his play against the Nuggets falter at all?
How will Denver’s bench players maintain larger minutes?
In the game versus Dallas on Sunday, Coach Malone played 3 players for 35 minutes or more. He also played a few players over 30 minutes. Denver was barely able to squeak a win out with this lineup against Dallas, fortunately, Detroit is not on the same level of team Dallas is. The Nuggets bench should be able to hold up, if Bruce Brown and KCP can step up a little more from the last game, Denver should win.
Escape tonight with no injuries.
The Nuggets have been struggling with injuries for what seems like an eternity now. As soon as someone gets back from injury someone else gets injured. Currently, the Nuggets are missing 2 of their best players and will potentially miss their 6th man tonight as well. Joker and Murray were upgraded from out though, so they should play the next game. Regardless of the outcome of this game, I think all Nuggets fans will be happy if tonight no injuries happen.
