Last-Minute News, Rumors, Reports before Denver Nuggets Portland Trail Blazers Game

The Denver Nuggets have won two straight games, and in the process, Jamal Murray has dropped 39 points recently in Phoenix, Christian Brown went for 31 on 11 of 16 shooting, and the team's net rating is still just 19th in the league. So are the Nuggets actually rolling, or are they catching the right nights? Tonight gives us that real answer, because the Portland Trail Blazers are 4-1. They have the third best point margin in the NBA, they are very real, and they're doing it without Jamal Murray. This is the pregame, what is working in Denver, why Portland is good, the updates, and why tonight matters more than most November games do. Now obviously the NBA playoffs and the finals are a ways away, but the NBA Cup is fully in action right now. And as of today, Kalshi has the Nuggets at a 46% chance to win their NBA Cup West. And guys, I do want to thank Kalshi for sponsoring this video because on Kalshi, you are trading directly against other users, not the house like traditional sportsbooks. You're buying yes or no contracts on the outcomes of events across sports, politics, and even the weather. For example, the Nuggets winning their NBA Cup group where You can trade $25 and get a nice payout for yourself on Kalshi. And guys, if you are interested in trying out Kalshi, make sure to click the link in our description down below. It's also in the pinned comment and sign up for Kalshi using code DIGESTNBA and you can 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 let's get back into the video here because let's start with where this Denver Nuggets team really was. They were 1-2 after a 96-84 loss at Oklahoma City, and then a 134-114 home loss against Golden State, the window where everybody was panicking. Since then, there's been two wins, a 104-91 win in New Orleans and a 127-120 win in Phoenix. The reason is simple. Murray and Brown got hot. Murray scored 39 points on seven threes in Phoenix. Over five games, he's at 25.8 points per game. And in his last four, he's gone from 42, 19, 23, and 39. And Brown, 31 points, 11 of 16 shooting with seven threes. The desk says nobody in NBA history had 30 points, 60% shooting on 10 or more attempts, and seven threes in the same game. He is the first player to do that. Look at that Phoenix shooting night. Murray and Brown each hit seven of their nine threes. That is 14 of 18 between them. 77.8%. That's not going to last. And I will tell you that now, but also that is the exact profile that this offense is built to get, especially when Brown is playing well. One of you, LL, I will it. Said in August that Brown has to play better than ever so he could justify that $25 million per year that he's playing on. And through five games, he's making the case right now. And then there's Nikola Jokic. 21 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 9.2 assists per game so far, and two triple doubles in the first five games. And those stats are actually kind of low for him. In Phoenix, he had 18 points on 8 of 13 shooting and 10 assists. Only one of nine players to ever do that. The honest question is the supporting cast. In Phoenix, DeMar DeRozan had three points in 24 minutes. Marvin Bagley had zero points in 10 minutes. And Tyus Jones had three points in 10. Aaron Gordon had a quiet 15 points and five assists. The Stars carried it, and that works until a night where they can't. And Cam Johnson came back from his ankle sprain in Phoenix with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists. The team is getting its pieces back at the right time. But now they need the pieces to fall together against a very good Blazers team. That is a great litmus test for how good the Nuggets really are right now. With Portland, this is not a fluke for them. They are 4-1. They beat Phoenix by 41 points. They're 124-83 when they beat Phoenix, and they won at Sacramento, and then at the Lakers, 136-129. Their only loss was to Memphis, and the night Morant got hurt, and they went to Utah and then won by 22. The margin is the story. Plus 11.4 points a game, third best in the NBA. The Nuggets are at a minus 1.2. That's a 12.6 point gap. Now, here's how they do it. The Desk has them first in the league in this share of shots from above the break three. 40.5% of their attempts. They're first in spot up possessions at 28.6 and third in points per possession on the pick and roll ball handler plays at 1.04. The flip side is they take almost nothing in the middle. 28th in shots at the rim at 21.8, and 30th in midrange at 3.9. It is just threes or the paints. A team that closes out in rebounds can certainly make them uncomfortable. Danny Avia is the engine. 23 points and 7 rebounds with 5.6 assists so far. Damian Lillard at 19.2 points. And Donovan Clingan is their anchor with 8.8 rebounds per game, being an excellent rim protector in the process. And Donovan Clingan really is a super talented player. He's underrated. I just want to mention that because I'm a big fan of his game. The Blazers of Portland at 21.2 points per 100. Better with Clingan on the floor. Early, a five-game sample, but very true. And one of you... Jack ZGB1232 said, the Nuggets are the only team in the second apron to have such a shallow roster. Tonight is where that depth gets tested because Portland's guards, they come in waves. There's a lot of them. Watch the Lillard factor too. He's at 19.2 points a game so far, but he had nine points on one of nine from three in the loss to Memphis. And then... 22 at Utah. He's the swing for how Portland's offense looks on a given night. And Robert Williams III is not on Portland's injury report tonight. So that rim is going to be covered for 48 minutes a night. The Nuggets cannot count on easy points inside. And there is another number you should know. The desk has the Blazers at 24.1 points per 100 possession worse with Scoot Henderson on the floor. Early again over five games. That is a small sample size and not a verdict on him. But it tells you where Denver should attack. when he is in the game, and Jrue Holiday just passed Mike Conley for 25th on the all-time assist list. 6,784 for his career. That's a veteran who knows how to take a game away in the fourth quarter, so this Blazers team is not just good, that you got some vets on there, and this team is ready to show something. Now, we do also have some updates before the game gets going, as Alfa Diallo is questionable with a right wrist sprain. Spencer Jones is out with a bilateral hamstring management, and his target return is for November 4th, so he should be back by next game. For Portland, Morant is out at least four weeks, and Williams is cleared. Shams reported the grade two hamstring strain. Lillard, Drew Holiday, and Scoot Henderson will be carrying the backcourt for right now. On the roster, the Nuggets declined Daron Holmes' option for 2027-28, a $5.5 million decision tied to tight cap. Then reports said Denver got his draft rights from Phoenix, sending out the rights to Ryan Dunn, the 56th pick in the 2024 draft, and two second-rounders. And the open 15th spot, Cam Whitmore reportedly does have the inside track for that role right now. And one more for the bench, as we've known for a little bit, Julian Strawther is out until December, which thins the rotation behind Murray and Brown, especially when it comes to ball handling, putting a lot of pressure on DeMar DeRozan to show up and show out. And one of you, Spoke1183, said about Holmes, That gives you a cannot. You can't develop a guy when you never give him a chance to play real minutes. That's a question, again, going on with the team. But right now with Trayvon Brazil, I just really would rather see Brazil play than Holmes at this point. Now, here's where this is actually bigger, much bigger than a normal November game. Portland is first in the Northwest Division at 4-1. Denver's third. A win puts the Nuggets at 4-2 and drops the Blazers at 4-2 as well. And these teams will play four times because they share the division. Tonight, then mid-December in Portland, February 1st in Denver, and March 11th in Portland. If the division comes down to a tiebreaker, tonight is one of those four chances, and these teams are close right now. Then the week gets busy. Toronto on Wednesday and Indiana on Saturday. And they walk into that stretch with real momentum, especially with Kawhi Leonard out. There's a good chance that they can win in Toronto, and also Indiana's been kind of spotty. Tyrese Halliburton's dealing with a hamstring. It does give Denver a chance to go on a real winning streak and show us all that this offense is real enough to carry this team quite far. And the ratings still need to catch up. Offense is 15th at 112.4, down from first at 121.2 last season, but it can definitely get back there. It was a slow start to the year. Turnover rate is 20th at 16.4% from second at 12.8% last year. Jokic has 21 turnovers in five games. That's the number to watch against the Portland team that gets out and transition really well and will make you pay for turnovers. So here's the recipe. Keep the turnovers under control. Let Jamal Murray and Christian Brown keep making threes. Set them up for success so Brown can show that he's on a bounce back here. Make Portland score in the half court without John Morant. If those three things happen, the Nuggets are not just rolling. They're finding themselves and they're finding their style once again. The matchup to watch is Jokic against Klingon. Klingon is the reason Portland's numbers look so good, and Jokic is usually the reason that Denver's do. If Jokic is getting Klingon into early foul trouble, which is the one real thing you can say about Klingon that he does struggle with, the whole Portland defense changes. And the other one is Avia against Aaron Gordon and Cam Johnson. Avia's at 23 points per game. Whoever's guarding him has to do it without help because Portland spaces the floor with their shooters, and I imagine that's a matchup that Aaron Gordon and Christian Brown will likely share for the majority of the game. Jokic is also chasing history, too. By our count, he has two triple-doubles so far, and August, our report had him at 11 short of Russell Westbrook's 209. So, by that count, he's about nine away. A good chance that he does get closer to that tonight. And guys, if you're enjoying this, please hit subscribe. We are at 4,086 subscribers, and every single one of you helps as we try to get to 5K before the year ends. And the comment of the day goes to TomWarded2697, who said, Brown is the Nuggets' best defender, and they cannot afford to have him leave. He just went for 31, so yeah, if that offense works and that defense works, guess what? He's kind of worth $25 million a year. So that's the setup. Denver's 3-2 with two straight wins and a lot of hot shooting. Portland's 4-1 with the third-best margin in the league and no John Morant. If the Nuggets win, they're 4-2 and level with Portland, and the story is real. If they lose, it's a reminder of the ratings and that the Nuggets really do have to find themselves before things get a little bit... problematic. And three things to watch are Jokic's turnovers because he's had that problem in Portland. So good in transition. Whether the threes keep falling, especially for Christian Brown, Jamal Murray, you can trust to be a good shooter most of the time. And who wins those minutes when Jokic and Klingon share the floor? Can Jokic bounce back to his full self? Get those three things right and the Nuggets are going to win this game. But tell me in the comments who leads in scoring tonight. Who do you think wins? Give me a score prediction, like this video, subscribe, turn on post notifications, have a great day. I'm losing my voice very clearly. I'll catch y'all on the next one.