The Denver Nuggets will be unexpectedly shorthanded against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night. Cameron Johnson and Alpha Diallo will be in the lineup, despite dealing with injuries, but the Nuggets made a last-minute addition to the injury report. They have ruled out sixth man DeMar DeRozan because of low back spasms just minutes before tip-off.

DeRozan must've tweaked his back while warming up for Wednesday's game, as he now misses the chance to face off against the franchise where he blossomed into a star. DeRozan spent the first nine years of his career in Toronto, and he seems to love playing against them ever since leaving.

In 21 games against the Raptors since being traded away, he has averaged 22.8 points, 5.3 assists, and 4.7 rebounds per game. It would've been great to see him potentially have his best game as a Nugget against his former team, but they will have to play without him.

Who will step up in DeRozan's absence?

The Nuggets have yet to play a game without DeRozan this season, as the veteran wing is averaging 25 minutes through the team's first six games, but they have a few guys who can step up in his absence.

Fortunately, the Nuggets are getting Diallo back in the lineup, who immediately helps fill DeRozan's absence, but he is not the only solution. We will likely see the Nuggets turn to second-round rookie Bryce Hopkins to get some extra run on Wednesday night. He has already started two games for the Nuggets, despite being signed to a two-way contract, but has fallen out of the rotation since Johnson returned from injury.

We will likely see the Nuggets roll with a second unit rotation of Tyus Jones, Diallo, Hopkins, Trevon Brazile, and Marvin Bagley III. David Adelman and his coaching staff could also see what Cam Whitmore can do off the bench, as they might desperately need more of an offensive boost with DeRozan sidelined.

It will be interesting to see what the Nuggets do without DeRozan to run the second unit on Wednesday night, especially considering they did not have much time before tip-off to game plan for his absence.

The Raptors are also without star forward Kawhi Leonard, who the franchise acquired in the 2018 DeRozan trade, so neither star involved will touch the floor on Wednesday night.