The last few weeks have seen the Denver Nuggets struggle with injuries to some of the bigger names on their roster, most notably Nikola Jokic’s hyperextended knee. The Serbian’s absence was certain to be a huge miss for the Nuggets’ offensive system, given that he is averaging 29.6 points and an NBA-leading 11 assists per game.
The three-time MVP isn’t the only starter for Denver to be out with an injury, as Cameron Johnson, Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, and Aaron Gordon have all missed some time recently due to various ailments. Despite the ongoing injury crisis for the Nuggets, they’ve still managed to hold a firm grip on a top seed in the Western Conference, sitting with a record of 23-10, which is good enough to put them at the third seed.
One of the reasons for their solid performances has been the contributions of veteran center Jonas Valanciunas, who received a bigger portion of game time following Jokic’s injury. Across the 33 games that the Lithuanian has appeared in this season, he is averaging 8.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
However, it appears the Nugget’s injury luck is set to worsen, as the 33-year-old is going to miss some time following a recent report. As stated by ESPN’s Shams Charania, Valanciunas will be reevaluated in four weeks after he suffered an injury on Wednesday night.
The injury came during a match against the Toronto Raptors in which the 33-year-old scored 17 points while recording nine rebounds and three blocks en route to a Nuggets’ victory.
Given this setback and the ongoing injury to the previously mentioned Jokic, Denver head coach David Adelman will have DaRon Holmes II and Zeke Nnaji to choose from to fill out the team’s frontcourt. The Nuggets’ next match comes on Friday night, when they’re slated to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers as their East Coast trip continues.
Tip-off against the Cavaliers on Friday night is slated for 7:30 p.m. EST.
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