It wasn’t a pretty loss for the Denver Nuggets on Friday night in their first NBA Cup game of the season.
The Nuggets lost to the New Orleans Pelicans without Nikola Jokic in the lineup. They’re hoping to bounce back from that in Memphis. Today is the first of two matchups against the Grizzlies. The second will be an NBA Cup matchup. Can the Nuggets get back on track?
Let’s delve into the Memphis Grizzlies matchup:
Denver Nuggets @ Memphis Grizzlies
Projected Starting Lineups
Denver: Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Peyton Watson, Michael Porter Jr., Nikola Jokic
Memphis: Scotty Pippen Jr., Desmond Bane, Santi Aldama, Jaren Jackson Jr., Zach Edey
Key Bench Players
Denver: Russell Westbrook, Julian Strawther, Hunter Tyson, Zeke Nnaji/DeAndre Jordan/Dario Saric I guess?
Memphis: Luke Kennard, Jaylen Wells, Vince Williams, Jake Laravia, Brandon Clarke, Jay Huff
Notable Injuries
Denver: Nikola Jokic – QUESTIONABLE, Aaron Gordon – OUT, Vlatko Cancar – QUESTIONABLE, DaRon Holmes II – OUT
Memphis: Ja Morant – OUT, GG Jackson – OUT, Marcus Smart – DOUBTFUL
Key for the Nuggets – Will Jokic play or not?
Nikola Jokic remains questionable for this matchup due to personal reasons. He missed last game against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night, but there’s no telling whether he will be available for Sunday or not.
If Jokic is able to make it back to the team in time, the entire complexion of the game changes. Expect the Grizzlies to start big and try to match Jokic’s interior dominance with size of their own. Zach Edey is the new biggest player in the league, and this would be an incredible matchup to watch if he and Jokic face off.
Even Jay Huff, former Denver Nugget now carving out a role in Memphis, would be a fun matchup against Jokic and the Nuggets.
If Jokic doesn’t play, expect the Grizzlies to overwhelm the Nuggets with their size and interior scoring.
UPDATE: NIKOLA JOKIC OUT TODAY.
Important Matchup – Christian Braun vs Desmond Bane
With no Ja Morant available for the Grizzlies, Bane will be tasked with being the leading playmaker today. Scotty Pippen Jr. has certainly shown he can handle some point guard duties, but Bane will be the trusted option most often. The veteran wing came off the bench in his return from injury last game against the Golden State Warriors, but he played 27 minutes and appears ready to handle more time.
Braun (and Peyton Watson) weren’t fully able to shut down Brandon Ingram on Friday. In some ways, Desmond Bane is just as dangerous, mixing in more off-ball action and smart movement to free himself and his teammates. Braun will have to attack Bane on both ends and make him uncomfortable. If Braun can limit Bane’s space offensively without fouling, Denver has a pretty good chance today.
Number of the Day – 86.3
That’s the Nuggets current offensive rating without Nikola Jokic on the floor. It’s an impactful number regardless of if Jokic plays or not. If Jokic plays, the minutes when he rests become the opportune time for opponents to attack Denver. If Jokic sits, then there’s 48 non-Jokic minutes opponents get to salivate over.
Murray’s offensive rating without Jokic? 102.9.
Porter’s offensive rating without Jokic? 91.9.
Westbrook’s offensive rating without Jokic? 92.9.
Dario Saric’s offensive rating without Jokic? 87.3.
Zeke Nnaji’s offensive rating without Jokic? 72.3.
However it happens, the Nuggets have to fix their bench offense. It’s pitifully bad.
Nugget who should have a good game: Michael Porter Jr.
Michael Porter Jr. has a double-digit scoring streak of nine games. He’s scored 16+ points in eight straight contests. The last time he did that was actually a prolonged stretch in the 2020-21 season after Jamal Murray suffered his season-ending knee injury. Porter scored 16+ points in 33 out of 34 games to end the 2020-21 season. He was an absolute metronome for Denver then.
It seems like he’s figuring some stuff out now. He’s now as athletic as he once was, but he’s a smarter basketball player. He finds his spots on the court in a more prepared manner and is able to score because of the reps he’s put in. Before his third back surgery, Porter was in a situation where his natural-born talent was enough to make him one of the most consistent NBA scorers at just 22 years old.
I see him returning to at least a piece of that reality right now. He’s in a good place, and the Nuggets need that scoring consistency more than ever.