Time is ticking, and Spencer Jones is giving the Nuggets a whole lot to consider before the clock runs out.

“What he’s done with his chance is put every thought in our heads that it’s going to be hard not to play him,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said after Wednesday’s practice at Ball Arena. “But once we get fully healthy, there’s going to be a lot of tough decisions, especially on the back end of the rotation.”

When injuries sidelined Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon for an early stretch of the season, Denver’s first-year head coach turned to a 24-year-old who started the season with 125 minutes of NBA experience. Jones has already played more than 300 minutes this season and made the case for even more playing time.

“I’ve proven that I’m a pretty good defender, and I can handle my own against some of the star players. I’ve now proven you can’t really leave me alone and have to respect my jumper,” Jones said.

“I think those are the main things we need, especially for the playoffs, for this team – guys who can defend and guys who are going to stretch out the defense. … I feel like that’s all I’ve needed to prove, and I feel like I’ve done that.”

There’s only one problem. Jones is currently ineligible to participate in the postseason given his contract situation. Players on two-way contracts are limited to being active for 50 regular-season games, and Jones has been in uniform for all of Denver’s first 23 contests. Adelman said Tuesday it’s unlikely Gordon or Braun return for Denver’s Christmas game against the Timberwolves, which likely means Jones will be active for at least the first 30 games of Denver’s season.

“In those limited opportunities or when you get the chance to, you’ve got to go in there and make something happen and show your value to the team. That’s something that Spencer’s done,” teammate Peyton Watson said. “He’s come in to work with his hard hat on every day. I feel like everybody says the same thing about him, which is that he comes in here and he does what’s asked of him. You can never underestimate that or knock that.”

In the last few weeks, the second-year professional has flexed his defensive versatility by guarding all-stars, whether it’s guards like Devin Booker and James Harden or forwards like Pascal Siakam and Zion Williamson. The trend will continue against Sacramento’s DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine, a couple of meetings with Houston and Kevin Durant and one more against Orlando’s Paolo Banchero over the next four games. Offensively, Jones is shooting 57.1% from the field and 45.2% from 3-point range.

“My only expectation is to keep our win streak, keep our record going. Typically, if you do that, everything else follows,” Jones said. “I don’t really put too much stock into stats and stuff like that, but I will take my assignments as a personal challenge and really push to see how good of a defender I can be and how much I can fit in offensively and make things easy for other guys.”

There’s one factor working in Jones’ favor. The Nuggets started the season with an open roster spot and have maintained flexibility to start the season, even with two starters and Julian Strawther unavailable for significant stretches. As long as that’s the case in a couple of months and Jones keeps producing, there’s a spot for the former Stanford Cardinal.

“I try to think of it as little as possible. (My) agent will just remind me and stuff like that to have everything ready for negotiations or whatever,” Jones said.

“I still got halfway to go before we’re even at that decision. For me right now, it’s just taking advantage of the opportunity I have until AG and CB get back. Then, we’ll see where my role is after that and just keep going from there.”