Denver Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon injured his calf four minutes into Monday’s win over the Raptors. Now, the 29-year-old is expected to miss multiple weeks with a calf strain, per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
With Gordon unavailable, Peyton Watson started the second half on Monday. With a season-high 31 minutes, Watson finished with 16 points, three rebounds, two steals, two blocks and one assist (29.25 FPTS). Following this performance, Watson should start as Gordon’s replacement in the Nuggets’ starting five going forward.
Nikola Jokic’s numbers should also see a boost with Gordon on the shelf. With the forward essentially out for the whole game Monday, Jokic erupted for a triple-double of 28 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists (72.5 FPTS). With Gordon off the floor the last two seasons, Jokic’s usage rate has risen 4.4 percentage points to 34.1% and he has produced a whopping 1.9 FPTS per minute. Furthermore, Jokic averages 31.6 points, 13.9 rebounds and 10.4 assists per 36 minutes with Gordon off the court over that same sample.
From a team perspective, the Nuggets have slipped to 20th in defensive efficiency and their defense should become even weaker with Gordon sidelined. His absence will be a major loss on that end.
For their first matchup sans Gordon, the Nuggets host the 7-0 Thunder on Wednesday. Denver is a five-point underdog for this tilt on DraftKings Sportsbook.
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