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The Nuggets return home to take on the Utah Jazz

The Nuggets return home to take on the Utah Jazz

The Denver Nuggets return to friendly Ball Arena to host the Utah Jazz, but their attitude is not what it could have been. The Nuggets won two of three games on their road trip, but lost a double-digit lead late to Minnesota, turning what would normally be a successful trip into a frustrating one. Combined with Jamal Murray's concussion protocol, the Nuggets have little time to shake off the mood of yesterday's loss to the Timberwolves and refocus on defending the home court against winless Utah. The 5-0 Jazz lost by 18 to the San Antonio Spurs on Halloween and have more rest than Denver, but that's about the only category in which they are rated higher. They have the worst offense in the league and have suffered several key misses and are in pole position for the Cooper Flagg Draft sweepstakes. Denver needs to get healthy against its division rival in a worst-case scenario – this is not the time to allow the Jazz their first win of the season.

The essentials

WHO: Denver Nuggets (2-3) vs. Utah Jazz (0-5)

When: 8:00 PM MDT

Where: Ball Arena, Denver CO

How to watch/listen: You know where. KTVD Channel 20, Altitude TV (one of Fubo or Altitude+), Altitude Radio 92.5, NBA League Pass for those not in the Denver market, bring some sage and say you were hired to run the place to deface and get rid of the early season bad mojo

Injury report: Aaron Gordon – LIKELY (right knee contusion), Jamal Murray – DOUBT (concussion protocol), Da'Ron Holmes – OUT (Achilles), Vlatko Cancar – OUT (right ankle sprain); Isaiah Collier – OUT (right hamstring strain), Taylor Hendricks – OUT (right fibula fracture), Lauri Markkanen – OUT (lower back spasms), Jordan Clarkson – OUT (plantar fasciitis)

The (two) things

What you should pay attention to: Who plays point guard?

Julius Randle collided with Jamal Murray on a play that left Murray holding his face as he walked back to the locker room, and he was later ruled out with a concussion. This protocol means he was tested for a concussion, but we don't know if he was diagnosed with a concussion. If so, he would miss today's game – players are not allowed to return to training or games within 24 hours of their injury – and possibly more. If not, he will have to pass a series of further tests before being allowed to play tonight, so his status is currently uncertain.

If he can't play – and at the time of writing I'm assuming he won't – then that opens up time for both Julian Strawther to play point guard and as a two-way rookie Guard Trey Alexander. Russell Westbrook will likely join the starters, as Malone has often done so in previous seasons with backups Bruce Brown and Reggie Jackson when Murray couldn't be there. Aaron Gordon could play more on the bench to give them another passer and ball-handler, especially given the struggles that big backup Dario Saric is going through early in the season. The roster turnover begins when Jamal is out, but considering how many games he missed even in “healthy” seasons, the Nuggets need to have a plan for that. Implementing it soon would give them a chance to evaluate it and make changes, as this has been a problem since Denver decided to use an ineffective second-year point guard and a rookie with no experience as options at third point guard.

Here's what you should remember: The Nuggets are still figuring things out

Denver’s starters seem to be figuring it out. They outplayed Minnesota's starters with ease – until the lack of consistently effective point guard play became clear in the final minutes. Denver's bread and butter in the Jokic era was the 1-5 pick-and-roll, and without Jamal Murray they had to move away from that. The glaring lack of effective plays and the fact that Jokic is swarmed by a team that isn't afraid of anyone on the court definitely shows that they need other options when they no longer have Old Reliable to fall back on.

However, figuring out the roles and usage of Denver's backup players is crucial to long-term success, and Denver is far from getting this right. The Utah Jazz are, in theory, the perfect team to find out. Without Lauri Markkanen, the Jazz have exactly zero scoring threat that Denver should focus on and should be able to play standard defense. Keyonte George and Collin Sexton aren't exactly the 2024 Celtics, and this is a great game to plug those defensive holes, even if they have to fight for rebounds against the Jazz, who smash the glass hard. It's not easy when the Nuggets work on their rotations and usage in a back-to-back, but this is the best squad in the league for that.

Of course, Denver's only two wins this year were overtime slugfests that could easily have resulted in losses to vastly inferior teams. Playing down to the opponent's level has long been a stumbling block for the Nuggets, and even though Utah is the worst-shooting team in the league from both 2-point and 3-point range, the Nuggets will have to face theirs tonight Getting your mojo back. Julian Strawther needs to find a role where he excels and stops fouling every 2 minutes. Peyton Watson needs to at least remember how to play defense. Russell Westbrook needs to figure out how to help his teammates when he has the ball in his hands, rather than simply playing so fast that no one can get a hold of either end of the court. Can Denver find a big replacement to fill the immediate void? This game against the Jazz isn't really about the Jazz for Denver, it's about proving itself. Hopefully Jamal's status will focus the team on working on the little things they haven't gotten right this year and they can have a good game at home after a stressful trip.

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