{"id":592317,"date":"2026-02-09T11:05:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T11:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/592317\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T11:05:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T11:05:09","slug":"nikola-jokic-is-available-for-clash-vs-bulls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/592317\/","title":{"rendered":"Nikola Jokic is available for clash vs. Bulls"},"content":{"rendered":"

Update: Nikola Jokic<\/a> is available<\/a> to play against the Chicago Bulls<\/a>, according to the Denver Nuggets<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Looking to end a three-game skid, the Denver Nuggets head east to take on the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night. Denver is praying Nikola Jokic will remain in the lineup<\/a>, with the three-time MVP remaining on the injury report five games after returning from a month-long hiatus. Here is everything we know about Nikola Jokic’s injury and his playing status against the Bulls.<\/p>\n

*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV (free trial<\/a>)*<\/p>\n

Nikola Jokic injury status vs. Bulls\"DenverRon Chenoy-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

While Jokic missed 16 games in January with a knee injury, he is listed on Saturday’s injury report<\/a> with an ankle sprain. Another injury is certainly concerning, but it is a good sign for the Nuggets that Jokic’s knee does not appear to be bothering him anymore.<\/p>\n

Jokic has not missed a game since returning on Jan. 30, and he has had three days of rest since the Nuggets’ last outing, giving him a solid chance to remain in the lineup. Denver needs him to remain in the lineup, with Aaron Gordon, Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones already ruled out. Christian Braun is also listed on the injury report with a minor ankle sprain, though he is likely to play.<\/p>\n

If Jokic suffers a setback, Jonas Valanciunas will return to the starting lineup. Valanciunas has two double-doubles in his last six games, including one with Jokic, but he played just 13 minutes in the Nuggets’ last outing against the New York Knicks on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

As full as the Nuggets’ injury report is, the Bulls are dealing with even more punishing absences. Leading guards Josh Giddey and Tre Jones remain out<\/a>, both dealing with hamstring strains. Starting forward Jalen Smith is questionable to play with a calf strain.<\/p>\n

The Bulls’ injury woes have led to a 1-6 drought in their last seven games. Chicago’s lack of guard depth led it to start Anfernee Simons in his first game with the team on Thursday. Simons went 6-of-13 from behind the arc to lead the team with 22 points in a loss to the Toronto Raptors.<\/p>\n

However, when it comes to Jokic’s injury status, expect him to play on Saturday, barring a setback in warmups.<\/p>\n

Nuggets injury report<\/p>\n

Tamar Bates, OUT \u2014 Left foot surgery<\/p>\n

Christian Braun, Probable \u2014 Left ankle sprain<\/p>\n

Aaron Gordon, OUT \u2014 Right hamstring strain<\/p>\n

Cameron Johnson, Questionable \u2014 Right knee bone bruise<\/p>\n

Nikola Jokic, Questionable \u2014 Left ankle sprain<\/p>\n

Curtis Jones, OUT \u2014 G League<\/p>\n

Spencer Jones, OUT \u2014 Concussion<\/p>\n

Peyton Watson, OUT \u2014 Right hamstring strain<\/p>\n

Bulls injury report<\/p>\n

Zach Collins, OUT \u2014 Right toe sprain<\/p>\n

Noa Essengue, OUT \u2014 Left shoulder surgery<\/p>\n

Josh Giddey, OUT \u2014 Left hamstring strain<\/p>\n

Tre Jones, OUT \u2014 Left hamstring strain<\/p>\n

Jalen Smith, Questionable \u2014 Right calf strain<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Update: Nikola Jokic is available to play against the Chicago Bulls, according to the Denver Nuggets. Looking to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":592318,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3781],"tags":[7,329,301,187,3943,6,14502,253,302],"class_list":{"0":"post-592317","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-denver-nuggets","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-chicago-bulls","10":"tag-denver","11":"tag-denver-nuggets","12":"tag-denvernuggets","13":"tag-nba","14":"tag-nba-injury","15":"tag-nikola-jokic","16":"tag-nuggets"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116040350655890674","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=592317"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592317\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/592318"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=592317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=592317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=592317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}