Voltar
Coming off a loss to the Houston Rockets, the Denver Nuggets are heading into a road matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night, and they are obviously looking to bounce back after a disappointing performance.
The Grizzlies started the season with six consecutive wins, but have since lost three of their last four as they come down to earth. Regardless of the Grizzlies' hot start, though, the Nuggets are heading into a favorable matchup where they will have clear advantages, including being the healthier team, which does not happen often for Denver.
The Nuggets have been banged up this season, but they are as healthy as they've been in a long time heading into Wednesday's game, listing just one player on their injury report: Julian Strawther. The Nuggets have yet to see Strawther touch the court this season, and that will continue for their tenth game. Denver's full injury report:
Julian Strawther - OUT (left knee sprain)
Obviously, the Nuggets would love to get Strawther back on the court, but him being the only player with an injury designation for Wednesday's game is enough to get this team excited. Cameron Johnson, DeMar DeRozan, Spencer Jones, and Alpha Diallo have all already dealt with injuries this season, and before Denver's last game, the entire starting lineup was dealing with hiccups.
The Nuggets had this exact group available in their loss to the Rockets, and ended up going with a primary bench rotation of Tyus Jones, DeMar DeRozan, Spencer Jones, Trevon Brazile, and Marvin Bagley III, while two-way rookie Bryce Hopkins got some limited run as well. We will likely see a very similar rotation for Wednesday's game in Memphis.
While the Nuggets are nearly at full strength, the Grizzlies have a couple of injuries to worry about. The Grizzlies' bench unit could be shaken up with injuries to Scotty Pippen Jr. and Isaiah Stewart, but Memphis has been surprisingly deep this season, so it might not impact them too much. The Grizzlies' full injury report:
Isaiah Stewart - QUESTIONABLE (right knee bone bruise)
Scotty Pippen Jr. - OUT (lumbar disc herniation)
Quinten Post - OUT (concussion protocol)
Richie Saunders - OUT (right knee surgery)
The Grizzlies have been mostly led by Ty Jerome this season, averaging 26.7 points per game, while third-overall pick Cameron Boozer has been making an immediate impact to start his NBA career. The Grizzlies are a much more talented team than many have given them credit for, and their 7-3 record through their first ten games has certainly proven it.
The Nuggets will not have an easy task against this Grizzlies team, who are coming off a road win over the Toronto Raptors. This is obviously a winnable, and even favorable, game for the Nuggets, so we can hope they do not fall flat in Memphis.
The Nuggets and Grizzlies are set to tip off at 6:00 p.m. MT in Memphis.