The Denver Nuggets finally have a complete team around Nikola Jokic. However, their depth will be tested even further when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday night. 

Nuggets Lose Another Starter, Who Will Be Available For Christmas Night Affair?

Denver fell to the Dallas Mavericks 131-130 on the road last night, as its comeback came up short. Trailing by as many as 21 points early in the second quarter, the Nuggets took their first lead midway through the fourth quarter, though that was short-lived with the Mavs answering with an 11-5 run over the next three minutes. They did fight back down the stretch and had a chance to pull out a victory, but Peyton Watson’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer was off the mark. 

The Nuggets, already down two starters, lost Cameron Johnson to a sprained right knee early in the fourth quarter. Johnson, who has played a complementary role in his first season with the Nuggets, landed awkwardly on his right leg and grabbed his knee before limping to the locker room with 9:18 to play. He finished with eight points on 3 of 7 shooting, including 2 of 3 from deep, and three assists. 

Johnson will have an MRI in Denver today. But coach David Adelman seemed concerned when asked about the injury after the game. 

“It is very concerning,” Adelman told Denver Gazette’s Vinny Benedetto. “Imaging has yet to be done before anything else. It was not a fun sight to see, especially a guy who’s been playing so well, playing so well the last month. (He) has really found his way with our group.” 

“We had a lot of these moments this year,” Adelman continued. “It’s deflating, hopefully it’s better than it looked, because we know what Cam means to our team.”

Johnson projects to miss some time. How much will depend on the severity of the sprain. If it is a mild sprain (Grade 1), Johnson could miss two to four weeks. Otherwise, he will likely be out for months, with the worst-case scenario being that his season is over. 

Nuggets Will Be Shorthanded For Next Few Games

With Johnson’s prognosis not looking good, Denver should prepare to be severely shorthanded for the next week or so. 

Denver (21-8) enters its Christmas Day matchup against Minnesota (20-10) sitting in third place in the Western Conference. The Nuggets have lost two of their last three. The Nuggets, who have a  +8.7 scoring margin, have been better on the road than at home this year. They are just 9-5 at Ball Arena, though they are outscoring their opponents by nearly nine points there. 

Besides Johnson, the Nuggets don’t figure to have Christian Braun or Aaron Gordon against the Timberwolves. After last night’s game, Benedetto tweeted, “Sounds like the soonest the Nuggets will get Aaron Gordon or Christian Braun back is on the upcoming East Coast road trip.”

Braun has missed the last 18 games with a sprained right ankle. Meanwhile, Gordon has sat out 14 straight with a hamstring injury and 15 of 16 overall.  

After the Minnesota game, the Nuggets begin a seven-game road trip that starts in Orlando on Saturday and runs through January 7. The Nuggets also visit Miami. Toronto, Cleveland, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, and Boston during this stretch. 

Adelman has used just eight starting lineups this year. Lately, Adelman’s first five included Jamal Murray, Spencer Jones, Peyton Watson, Johnson, and Jokic. That unit is 8-4 in the games they have started. 

Watson and Jones have been playing well since moving to the starting lineup and figure to remain there until Braun and Gordon return. The big question is: who will Adelman replace Johnson with? 

Tim Hardaway Jr. is the most likely answer. Hardaway Jr. started for Johnson in the only game that he missed thus far. Hardaway Jr. averages 15.5 points in his two starts this year, which is a three-point increase over his production off the bench. More impressively, he is knocking down 52.9% of his field goal attempts and 3.5 threes a contest at a 63.6% clip.  

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