Game 46: Denver Nuggets (31-14) vs. Houston Rockets (28-16) - 3:30 PM ET

[ducler]

Read on Twitter

[Manolito]

No Harden tonight. Must win, otherwise they beat the tiebreaker

Sent from my Moto G (5S) Plus using RealGM mobile app

[Manolito]

Is the game going to be suspended??

RIP Kobe, devastating

Sent from my Moto G (5S) Plus using RealGM mobile app

[NuggetsWY]

Capela's a handful for anyone. Jokic can't cover him and cover a roll man. Pick-n-roll is a staple of the Rockets even without Harden. But I wouldn't count on Harden not playing. He tends to play no matter what (although not always, so ...)

If the Nuggets hustle on defense and have lots of motion on offense; we should win no matter which Houston players are playing.

[NuggetsWY]

Is the game going to be suspended??

RIP Kobe, devastating

Kobe was a great player and his death is tragic, especially for a young man; but I just don't see any reason games should be canceled. I think every game should do at least a short tribute for him. I certainly expect the Lakers to put together a solid tribute - and they're good at doing that (Tinsel Town and all).

[skywalker33]

Another good win even if HOU was without Harden !! Shows we can weather the storm without Murray and Millsap, Jokic was Joker again with a TD. Grant putting up 25pts, feels like he's getting more comfortable as the starting PF. MPJ has another strong all-around game with 17/9, near double-double.

Sad to hear about Kobe, RIP Black Mamba !

[THE J0KER]

So sad day for NBA. True legend is gone.


We really need this win despite three important players are out, and I guess everyone is in shock. after news from LA comes right before the start of this game. But Harden was out too, otherwise it would be the mission impossible, because Rockets also wanted this win.

Malone put Jokic 38+ minutes on the court and that was the key. Grant was really great today, Morris too. The only complaint is MPJ's unnecessary shorted minutes. But even 23 minutes was enough for another notable 17-9 game (including 4-6 for 3pt). Since this month my complaints about MPJ not playing enough is not connected anymore with his development. MPJ is already the 3rd best player of this team, and 2nd best when Murray is out! In a such important game in which Millsap, Plumlee, and Juancho didn't played he gets just 23 minutes!?

[NuggetsWY]

Again, we played to the level of the competition - lost the 1st quarter but won the other three, so that is good. But there just wasn't enough hustle IMO - well, with a couple of exceptions. But our guards seemed to think the best defense against Westbrook was to see if the rim would block his layups.

Malone has had to try to find lineups that would work through these injuries and starting Craig isn't necessarily a bad idea. But I saw no reason for Craig to get 31 minutes in this game. The past few games he's played less than half the game as a starter and his defense in this game did not justify the lack of offense. The biggest problem with starting Craig is that neither he nor Harris are scoring and Grant's not usually a big scorer. Other teams only have to worry about Jokic & Barton in our starting lineup - that is not good.

Compare Craig's 7 pts, 2 rebounds
with Porter's 17 pts, 9 rebounds and Porter had only 2/3 the minutes of Craig.

Jokic was Jokic and that's impressive.

Grant had a great night on offense but not so many boards. It sure seems like he's ready to be a starter because he usually gets the boards and an occasional night like this is quite acceptable. I'm not convinced he's better than Millsap, but I still believe he'll be the starter by the end of the year.

Morris also had a great night. He doesn't typically get the credit he deserves because he doesn't do spectacular plays too often but he is very consistent. He earned those 35 minutes tonight - and yes, he had more minutes than the starting guards of Barton & Harris, deservedly so.

Sure, Porter is still learning defense but playing 24 minutes and getting 17 points & 9 rebounds --- he absolutely should be getting starter minutes.

Based on tonight's game, our starting lineup should have been Jokic, Grant, Porter, ???, and Morris. Not saying that's always the case but we only had four players that held the team together. Those question marks at SG? What about Dozier? He didn't have an impressive stat-line but he's the only Nugget that dove on the floor for a loose ball. I like his hustle and he's had some nice games. Is he ready? Perhaps not but if the guys getting the minutes aren't hustling ...

[psimanic1]

Did you guys know about Dozier's injury history?

Watch on YouTube