{"id":695757,"date":"2026-03-31T21:56:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T21:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/695757\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T21:56:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T21:56:13","slug":"denver-nuggets-still-searching-for-steady-rotation-to-close-regular-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/695757\/","title":{"rendered":"Denver Nuggets still searching for steady rotation to close regular season"},"content":{"rendered":"

The revolving door of available players continues to turn for the Nuggets with only two weeks left in the regular season.<\/p>\n

Bruce Brown is the only player who\u2019s appeared in all 76 of Denver\u2019s games. Tim Hardaway Jr. (75), Jamal Murray (71) and Spencer Jones (64) are the only others who have played more than 60 games.<\/p>\n

After missing Sunday\u2019s win over the Warriors with a calf issue, starting power forward Aaron Gordon returned to practice Tuesday ahead of Wednesday\u2019s game in Utah.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019AG\u2019 looked good today. His comfort level seemed like it was in a good place with the calf. I\u2019m hoping he\u2019ll play (Wednesday),\u201d Nuggets coach David Adelman said after an admittedly light practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was good to see him out there for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cam Johnson, who left Sunday\u2019s game with back spasms, also practiced. He said the back issues subsided in time where he could\u2019ve returned to Sunday\u2019s game, but Denver\u2019s dominant third quarter had the win secured by the time he felt like he could return.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey just kind of popped up on me, maybe after a little bit of contact or something,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cI\u2019m fine now, though. It goes away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Golden State Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski, right, drives to the rim as Denver Nuggets forward Cameron Johnson defends in the second half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)<\/p>\n

Peyton Watson provided another positive. He\u2019s yet to play more than 23 minutes in four games since returning from a right hamstring strain. The hope is that changes against the Jazz.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been tough. It\u2019s been frustrating with the minutes restriction, but it is what it is. It probably was best for my health. I think we\u2019re looking to ramp me up here in the next game,\u201d Watson said. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jones and Zeke Nnaji appear to be headed in the opposite direction. Jones left Sunday\u2019s game with a hamstring issue, while Nnaji dealt with a hip issue. Neither forward practiced Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to be day-to-day, see how they react,\u201d Adelman said.<\/p>\n

The Nuggets head into Tuesday\u2019s slate of games still in fourth in the Western Conference, 1.5 games behind the Lakers for third. Staying in the top four would provide the Nuggets a prolonged stretch in Denver between the end of the regular season and Game 3 of an eventual first-round series. The Nuggets would secure a top-six finish with a Suns loss to the Magic on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re trending upward in terms of highlighting what we need to do to get better to finish the season strong and get ready for playoffs. That\u2019s the bottom line, man,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t just say, \u2018We\u2019ll do better in the playoffs.\u2019 You can\u2019t do that. We\u2019ve got to do it now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Golden State Warriors guard Gary Payton II, left, drives to the rim as Denver Nuggets forward Spencer Jones defends in the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, March 29, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski)<\/p>\n

If Jones can\u2019t play in Utah, it will leave Denver with five games to settle the playoff rotation. That\u2019s a luxury Adelman hasn\u2019t had for most of his first full season in charge. It hasn\u2019t impacted the offense even with Nikola Jokic missing a month, the longest absence of his NBA career. Denver\u2019s league-best offensive rating of 120.7 is a full point better than the second-best offense, Boston. The defense has been sturdy in stretches and quite the opposite at other times. Denver\u2019s defensive rating, 116, ranks 21st, the worst of any team that could consider itself a contender.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like we\u2019ve played a lot of different ways defensively out of necessity. I would say being connected defensively means that you\u2019re completely bought into doing it for a whole game, and you\u2019re not waiting for your offense to win the game. We\u2019ve done that a lot this year,\u201d Adelman said. \u201cThere\u2019s a reason why the rating offensively is so high, but for us to win big, to win games of consequence at the end of the year, we have to be more consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n

A fully healthy rotation to close the regular season would help.<\/p>\n


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