Last-Minute News, Rumors, Reports before Denver Nuggets vs Houston Rockets Game

The Denver Nuggets just flew out of Mexico City on a plane delay after every single one of their starters was put on the injury report. And tonight, they walk into Houston to face a 7-3 Rockets team. That has trap game written all over it, but it's actually a trap game for the Houston Rockets. And here's why I'm not scared. Denver has won two straight. Of its last five games, they've won four games. And those last two wins came by 19 points and by 12 points. And Houston, the team that everyone is picking, has lost two in a row. It tips off at 8.30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, 6.30 Mountain Time at Toyota Center. Denver's 5-3 and 9th in the Western Conference. Houston is 7-3 and 6th. Both teams have just three losses, and Houston has two more wins. A win tonight closes that gap. So, is this Denver team really turning the corner, or did it just beat Toronto and Indiana? I'll show you the numbers, who's actually healthy, and one thing about Houston that will decide tonight's game. And guys, right now on Kalshi, the Denver Nuggets are still not expected to be NBA champions with just a 3% chance. And, of course, right now, they are 5-3. They're finding momentum, and we're starting to see that this is one of the best offenses in basketball once again. So, if you want to take that chance, Kalshi is the place to be. And, guys, on Kalshi, thank you for sponsoring this video because when you are on Kalshi, you're trading directly against other users, not the house of traditional sportsbooks. You're buying yes-or-no contracts on real events like this game, for instance, and the Denver Nuggets to win the 20. 27 NBA Finals. If you trade $25 on it, you have a great chance to get an excellent payout if you believe in the Denver Nuggets. And guys, when you are signing up for Kalshi, make sure to click the link in our description and use code digest NBA and you will get $55 when you trade your first 25. It's a great deal for you. It helps the channel out a bunch as well. And diving into this video, taking a look at why this is a trap game for the Rockets. Let's talk about it. Now guys, I do want to make sure you guys are subscribed and tell me in the comments who's going to win tonight in your opinion. The Nuggets or the Rockets? Type Nuggets or Rockets or N or R and I'll read some of your answers out on the next video. But starting with the offense, Denver scoring 115.3 points per game and shooting 48.5% from the field and 36% from three Houston's defense allows just 107 points a game, so something has to give here. And it starts with these two. Jamal Murray is averaging 24.3 points a game and is hitting 49.2% of his threes. Nikola Jokic is averaging 22.9 points per game, 10.1 rebounds and 9.1 assists, shooting 48% from the field. Murray is shooting nearly 50% from three on real volume, and he's not missing. This... This offense, man, it is cooking right now. And the last two games, Denver beat Toronto 128-109 on Wednesday, and they beat Indiana 114-102 in Mexico City. In that Indiana game, the Nuggets led 64-37 at halftime after a 15-0 run in the second quarter. And here's the stat that I like most from that game. Denver turns it over just... Three times. Indiana turns it over ten times. And the Nuggets bench scored 43 points, which we've been waiting for. And one of those bench guys was Spencer Jones. He played 21 minutes, scored 13 points, and won five for six from the field, including three for three from three. Remember where this season started. Denver lost at Oklahoma City on opening week, then got hammered 134-114 by Golden State at home on October 26th. And now... They were just 1-2 at the time. Since then, since that Golden State loss, they're 4-1. They've found their traction. They've locked in. And they've won away from home. Denver's 2-1 on the road with wins in New Orleans, 104-91. And Phoenix, 127-120. And at home, they beat the Pelicans 141-135 in overtime. In Mexico City, the role players showed up too. Cameron Johnson had 18 points on 8-for-12 shooting. We've been waiting for that. DeMar DeRozan had 11 points on 5-of-9 and also put up 5 assists, being a Swiss Army knife and showing he can be a true kind of faux point guard for this team. Yes, it's kind of an oxymoronic way to say it, but it still does matter. And guys, Jamal Murray had 8 assists to go with his 16 points. Johnson has played just five of them. But he's shooting 48.8% from the field and 40% from three when he's out there. If he's healthy tonight, he's the shooter that makes Jokic's job easier. And Christian Brown is the quiet part of this team, scoring 13.5 points per game, 51.9% shooting and playing 34.3 minutes. He went two for eight in Mexico City with a sore calf, so a bounce back tonight would help a lot. But it is good to see Christian Brown looking like his old self once again. Now let's flip it to Houston. Yes, they are 7-3. They average 116 points per game and allow 107, a plus 9 point differential. Denver's at plus 2.2. The gap is real, but look how the last two games went. Houston lost 117-107 to Minnesota, then lost 102-99 at Phoenix. In that Phoenix game, Alper and Sengun came alive in the fourth quarter, but only really came alive in the fourth. And here's the bigger problem. Steven Adams and Clint Capela are both out tonight for them. That leaves Houston with no backup center behind Sengun. Capela is only playing 14 minutes a game, but he grabs 5.2 rebounds in those games. That's a lot of rebounding to lose against a Denver team with Jokic, Aaron Gordon, Trayvon Brazil, all guys who run the ball well. And that brings me to a comment from Nikola Vucevic. Bitch. 4-6-5-5. He wrote, they need offensive rebounding to win. Well, Denver beat Indiana 51-45 on the glass. And tonight, Houston's frontcourt is down to one true center. And another comment from MJA4WP said, get Brazil more involved and develop him now. Trayvon Brazil is averaging 7.4 points and 6.1 rebounds in just 21 minutes, shooting 53.5% from the field. Against a thin Houston frontcourt, those minutes are going to matter big time. And Houston's good at home. The Rockets are 4-1 at Toyota Center this year, and the one loss was to Minnesota on Wednesday. This is not an easy building to walk into and grab a win. And the shooting is close to even. Houston, they shoot 48% from the field and 37.6% from three. Denver shoots 48.5% and 36%. Houston's real edge is on defense. Where it allows 107 points a game to Denver's 113.1. Houston's threes, they come from Jabari Smith Jr., who's at 47.5%, and Shangun, who's hitting 50% in his eight games. Amin Thompson is just at 22.2% from three. If the Nuggets have to pick who to choose, they're going to pick Amin, who that has always been the real one issue in his game. And obviously, we can't forget about Kevin Durant. He's averaging 20.8 points and 5.7 rebounds and three assists on 50.8% shooting, and he's played all 10 of Houston's games. Denver has to find a way to make him work for every look, probably draping Aaron Gordon on him for the majority of this game. And now, the part that could ruin all this. On the injury report, all five starters are listed. Jokic has a right elbow sprain. Jamal Murray has a left shin contusion. Aaron Gordon and Cam Johnson both have lower body injury management. And Christian Brown has a left calf contusion, as we mentioned earlier. All five are targeting a return tonight. Demar DeRozan, who had lower back spasms, is also expected to be back. And remember, this team was stuck on the tarmac in Mexico City on the way out. This is not a group as rested as we'd hope. So what happens if Nikola Jokic does sit? Denver's bench has been good. The Nuggets bench scored 43 points against Indiana, and Marvin Bagley added 10 points in 12 minutes. But let's be honest, no one in the NBA, let alone the Nuggets bench, can replace what Nikola Jokic does. If Jokic can't go, the Nuggets lean on Jamal Murray, who plays 36.6 minutes per game, the most on the team. Marvin Bagley and Trayvon Brazil would eat Jokic's minutes and would have to rebound collectively as good as Jokic does, if not a little bit better, to make up for, they're not only making up for Jokic, but then they also still to do what they do on a regular basis. Now, what worries me is Denver gives up 113.1 points per game and the Nuggets plus 2.2 point differential is the lowest of any team in the top nine of the Western Conference. Jokic is shooting just 22.9% from three. Gordon is at 41.3% from the field. DeRozan is at 18.2% from three. If Jokic is playing through that elbow, then the jumper is the first place it could show up. So the argument for Denver isn't that it's the better team on paper. Houston is the better team on paper. The argument is that Denver has the best player on the floor and Houston is down to one center. And also, Houston is expecting a win right here because of all the things working against the Nuggets, leading this to being a trap game for none other than the Houston Rockets. And if Jokic plays, we see the clear matchup of the game. Alperen Sengun is averaging 21.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 7.8 assists, shooting 51% from the field. Jokic is at 22.9, 10.1, and 9.1. Houston's center is good. Denver's center is the best center in the league. Houston has more than Sengun, though. Kevin Durant scoring 20.8 points on 50.8% shooting. Jabari Smith Jr. is having the best season of his career, putting up 17.3 points and 47.5% from three. And Amin Thompson is at 15.6 points and 6.5 rebounds while being an excellent defender. Houston starters are carrying heavy minutes. Jabari Smith is at 35.1 minutes a game. Sengun's at 34.6 and Durant is at 34.1. With no Adams or Capela, that load could climb tonight. So how does Denver win? First, we gotta take care of the ball again. Three turnovers against Indiana is the model. Second, keep the glass. And third, Jamal Murray has to just keep being Jamal Murray this season. And watch the first quarter. In Mexico City, Jokic scored 10 of his 19 points in the first quarter. If he starts like that again, Houston is in trouble. And why does this game matter so much? Well, if Denver wins, they're six and three. Houston falls to seven and four. That puts Denver ahead of the Rockets by winning percentage. With a three-game winning streak. And they play Houston again on November 20th in Denver on Amazon Prime Video. Get ready. I am going to be streaming that game, doing a play-by-play, so you will want to make sure to tune into that. And if Denver loses, it's 5-4 and Houston is 8-3. And the whole is-this-a-real-run conversation ends. That's what the stakes really are at the end of the day. This game does matter a lot for a November basketball game. So I do want to hear what your guys' thoughts on the game is going to be, what your game prediction is going to be, because by call, I think as long as Denver stays offensive the way they have and runs through that offense, has its ball security and its bench, and they keep this close, and Houston having no backup center, it gives the Nuggets the glass. But it all comes down to who plays. If Jokic and Murray both play, I do think the Nuggets will win this game. If one of them misses, I do not think they will win. Here's the bottom line, though. This is not a must-win game in November. It's a statement game. Be the top six team on the road, on the back of a trip to Mexico, with a banged-up roster. And you've told the West, hey, we started a little bit slow, but we're coming. Before I go, the comment of the day is from JohnHouston650, who wrote, Jokic doesn't care anymore. Well, in Mexico City, he had 19 points, 13 rebounds, and 8 assists in 36 minutes. That does not look like a guy who doesn't care to me. So my last question is, Who is the bigger night tonight? Jokic or Murray? Comment J or comment M in the comments, and I'll talk to you guys once the game ends.