As the Denver Nuggets compete for a top-six spot in the West, some key reinforcements could help tip the odds in their favor for the final few weeks of the season.
Most notably, ESPN’s Shams Charania announced an important development for Peyton Watson, who has been out since February 4th with a strained hamstring. He’s set to return for tomorrow’s game against the Trail Blazers, making the Nuggets even stronger during a stretch that could make or break their season.
“Denver’s Peyton Watson is expected to return Sunday against the Portland Trail Blazers after missing 6+ weeks due to a hamstring strain,” reported Shams on X.
Watson confirmed the update on his Instagram story, posting screenshots of the posts to share the good news.
The Nuggets have been banged up all season, with injuries to practically everyone on the team (including Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon). They haven’t been at full strength for months, leading to subpar play that has them tied for fifth in the standings (43-28).
Watson’s absence, in particular, has hit them hard. While he’s no star (like Murray or Jokic), he’s still an important role-player who helps stabilize the team on both ends of the floor. Besides providing length on the wing to contest offenses and block shots, he adds exceptional scoring as a skilled shot-creator off the dribble. This season, in 49 games, he’s averaging 14.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 0.6 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game on 49.6% shooting from the field and 41.7% shooting from three.
While his return may not seem consequential in a Conference with the Spurs and Thunder dominating, it could be just what the Nuggets need to spark a last-minute run and move into the top four in the West. They are only 2.5 games behind the Lakers with 11 matches left to play, meaning there’s still plenty of time to secure home-court advantage for the first round.
Still, even coming off an impressive win over the Raptors, the path ahead is anything but easy for Denver. After the Blazers tomorrow, four of their final 10 games will be against teams that are currently within the top seven spots in the Western Conference. That includes three games against the Thunder and Spurs, who have been two of the NBA’s best teams all season.
As for what comes after, that much remains to be seen. As he plays out his $4.3 million player option this season, Watson is headed for an uncertain free agency, and how the Nuggets play from here could determine whether he comes back. The important thing for him is that he eases into action to prevent any risk for re-aggravation.
With Nikola Jokic playing some of the best basketball of his career, Peyton Watson knows what is at stake, and that’s why he’s so excited to get back and prove what his team can do. After helping them win it all in 2023, he can sense there’s something special with this group, but it’ll be up to the players to build on the chemistry and capitalize on a major opportunity.
