Well, the last matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies didn’t go so well.

Nikola Jokic didn’t play on Sunday, and the Nuggets looked worse for wear, losing 105-90 in a game that really wasn’t that close. Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. struggled mightily, and the Nuggets offense simply couldn’t keep up without the extra pressure Jokic often applies to all areas of opposing defenses.

Now, the Nuggets play the Grizzlies again, this time in an NBA Cup game. Denver lost their first NBA Cup game on Friday against the New Orleans Pelicans. If they lose tonight, they can officially kiss goodbye an opportunity to compete for the NBA Cup championship in Las Vegas.

Does anyone care? Maybe?

Let’s delve into the Memphis Grizzlies matchup:

Denver Nuggets @ Memphis Grizzlies, Part 2

Projected Starting Lineups

Denver: Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, Michael Porter Jr., Dario Saric

Memphis: Scotty Pippen Jr., Desmond Bane, Jaylen Wells, Brandon Clarke, Jaren Jackson Jr.

Key Bench Players

Denver: Russell Westbrook, Julian Strawther, Hunter Tyson or Vlatko Cancar, DeAndre Jordan or Zeke Nnaji

Memphis: Luke Kennard, Jaylen Wells, Vince Williams, Jake Laravia, Santi Aldama, Jay Huff

Notable Injuries

Denver: Nikola Jokic – QUESTIONABLE, Aaron Gordon – OUT, DaRon Holmes II – OUT

Memphis: Ja Morant – OUT, Zach Edey – OUT, GG Jackson – OUT, Marcus Smart – QUESTIONABLE

Key for the Nuggets – Is Jamal Murray still capable of volume scoring?

This is a pretty difficult question to ask 12 games into the regular season. Through nine games, Jamal Murray is averaging 17.3 points per game on just under 40% shooting efficiency. He’s shooting 30% from three-point range, averaging the second lowest usage rate of his career, and maintaining the lowest true shooting percentage of his career.

The ball just isn’t going through the hoop for Murray, but it would be one thing if he was still maintaining the usage rate of a star player. He’s not. He’s at a 22.3% usage rate right now. That ranks 68th in the NBA, nuzzled in between the four of Dennis Schroder, Bam Adebayo, Jerami Grant, and Malik Beasley. That’s insultingly low and highlights a serious mentality shift for Murray. He’s no longer looking for his shot, and it manifests in poor possessions for the Nuggets where he gets nowhere off the dribble and passes to another perimeter player hoping they can do something better.

Is he still a star scorer? He hasn’t shown the capacity for it so far.

Important Matchup – Michael Porter Jr. vs Grizzlies defense

Porter was bad against Memphis on Sunday. He looked uncomfortable, took just 12 total shots, and had four points heading into the fourth quarter. He finished with 10 in the end, but that’s far too few if the Nuggets don’t have Jokic and if Murray is a fundamentally different level of scorer than expected.

Porter must be diligent about creating his own looks while riffing off of Dario Saric. The fill-in at starting center for Jokic is capable of seeing the floor and making creative passes to cutters and floor spacers. That’s probably Denver’s best halfcourt setup at the moment, a two-man game between Porter and Saric.

The Grizzlies also know this. They’re going to try and take away Porter’s air space. The versatile scoring forward must leverage that against Memphis tonight and cut into open space rather than force perimeter jumpers.

Number of the Day – 0.383

That’s the Nuggets win percentage in games that Nikola Jokic doesn’t play since the 2015-16 season when Jokic first began playing. It’s only 47 games. That number in it of itself is insane. Jokic’s commitment to the Nuggets over the years as a player with incredible durability has been impressive.

It’s no wonder that the Nuggets often struggle whenever he doesn’t play.

Jokic is questionable again for tonight due to personal reasons, but that’s probably leaning toward doubtful. If there’s anyone in the league that’s earned the paid time off for their current organization, it’s Jokic. He’s been accruing those extra vacation days since he entered the league.

Nugget who should have a good game: *Shrug*

I have no idea who plays well tonight. Christian Braun will probably be extremely competitive. Michael Porter will probably have a bounce back after I jinxed him yesterday. Peyton Watson’s playing well overall.

Beyond those three, it’s a roulette wheel.