The Nuggets limp into the farmhouse in Indianapolis on Wednesday night with seemingly more injuries than players. The vibes are off after disappointing losses to inferior competition have made the blistering 9-1 run in November seem like a distant mirage.
There’s no better time for the Nuggets to play the Pacers, then, who lost 13-14 to open the season. Indiana has won 2 of its last 3, though, including a narrow win over a Bulls team that gave the Nuggets more than they could corral recently. The good guys handled business on November 8th (117-100), but that was back when I was arguing on The Dig they might actually be able to stay within two games of OKC in the West until February. Seems like a lifetime ago.
The Basics
Who: Denver Nuggets (14-5) vs Indiana Pacers (4-17)
When: 5:00 PM MT
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana, Heartland, U.S.A.
How to watch/listen: Altitude/ + / Radio / squinting out of one eye from between your fingers
Rival Blog: 8Points9Seconds
Injury Report: Nuggets: Nikola Jokic – probable (wrist); Jamal Murray – questionable (ankle); Aaron Gordon – out (hamstring); Julian Strawther – out (back); Christian Braun – out (foot)
Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton – out (Achilles); Obi Toppin – out (foot); Aaron Nesmith – out (MCL sprain); Kam Jones – out (lower back); Quenton Jackson – out (hamstring); Johnny Furphy – questionable (ankle)
The Three Things
The thing to watch for: Can Spencer Jones continue to make himself indispensable?
In the last five games where Spencer Jones has played 22 minutes or more, he’s averaging 11.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.0 3PM while playing aggressive, physical defense—one of the few Nuggets who have consistently competed on D since Gordon and Braun went down. After Monday night’s 28-point, 4 3PM explosion, it’s impossible to argue that Jones isn’t a more valuable rotation player than Hunter Tyson with significantly more upside and should be signed to the 15-man roster.
The Nuggets will lean on him heavily again tonight as they continue to patch together a defensive scheme while missing their two most valuable starters on that end. The shot certainly isn’t pretty (it’s almost more of a circus contortion), but the Nuggets don’t need beautiful basketball right now. They need healthy, hardworking players who produce. Spencer Jones has been filling that need and then some.
The thing to remember: The Indiana Pacers are a professional basketball team
Yes, they are a shell of the team that was three quarters away from beating OKC in the Finals last year. Yes, they are even more injured now. Yes, they have only won 4 games all year in a bad Eastern Conference. And yes, the Nuggets beat them a month ago by 17 points.
But Siakim and Nembhard are still a formidable first and second gear, and Bennedict Mathurin has come on strong when healthy, adding 21 PPG for a team desperately in need of additional firepower. The Pacers always compete and have a great homecourt that will fuel the inevitable runs that Denver’s leaky defense will make available to them.
The thing to bet: Jokic rebounds (over)
The Pacers are small after losing Turner to the Bucks in the off-season and often playing without a true center. Jokic and PWat should feast on the glass in this one, as there should also be plenty of bricked jumpers to feed the rebound stat lines. Take Jokic over on boards if you need to feel something on a snowy Wednesday in December.
