Denver Nuggets Injury Report (Nov 20th): Latest update on Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray’s status
The Denver Nuggets (9-4) will be playing their second night of a back-to-back when they face the Detroit Pistons (2-12) on Monday (Nov. 20.) Denver has lost their last two games, falling to the Cleveland Cavaliers and New Orleans Pelicans, respectively.
At the time of writing, Nikola Jokic is expected to suit up for the contest against the Pistons. However, the Nuggets continue to be without Jamal Murray, who is dealing with a hamstring issue. Vlatko Cancar is also set to miss the game as he continues his recovery from knee surgery.
Murray's absence has hit the Nuggets hard. Reggie Jackson has done an admirable job of stepping into the starting rotation and providing impact from the guard position. However, Murray is an All-Star talent and his absence is noticeable.
Nevertheless, the Nuggets should have more than enough talent within their roster to overcome a rebuilding Pistons team that is still trying to figure out their best rotations and combinations.
Still, Monty Williams has his roster playing a physical brand of basketball, along with using their length to muck things up on the defensive end.
Jokic will need to continue his hot start to the season if he wants to give his team the best opportunity to halt their slide and get back into the win column.
The Denver Nuggets usually play well against the Detroit Pistons
Being based in different conferences means that the Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons only play each other two times a year - once on their home court and once on the road. However, over their last five games, spanning back to 2021, the Nuggets have secured four wins.
On May 15, 2021, the Nuggets beat the Pistons 104-91. On January 24, 2022, they won 117-111. Two days later, Denver secured another win over the Pistons, securing a 110-105 victory.
On November 23, 2022, the Pistons secured an impressive 110-108 win over the Nuggets, and on March 16, 2023, Denver won 119-100.
As such, Mike Malone's team will be heading into the contest against the rebuilding Pistons full of confidence, knowing they have the talent and experience to secure another win over Detroit.
Monty Williams has also been navigating some injury issues, with Jalen Duren, Isaiah Livers, Joe Harris, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Monte Morris all missing the team's blowout loss to the Toronto Raptors on Sunday (Nov. 19.)
As such, it will be interesting to see how many members of the Pistons rotation will be missing in their game against Denver, and how that affects their ability to remain competitive.