The Nuggets arrive in Phoenix on Friday with a chance to get back above .500, and the setup is pretty simple: this is the kind of game Denver should expect to handle. The Suns are 1-2, their offense sits 17th in the league, and their defense is last in the NBA. With that backdrop, a Denver loss would raise louder questions than any injury report can explain away.
Still, the Nuggets are managing a short list of absences and a couple of situations worth watching. Denver has Cameron Johnson listed as questionable with a right ankle sprain, while Spencer Jones has been ruled out with bilateral hamstring injury management. After being without Cameron Johnson, Alpha Diallo, Spencer Jones, and Julian Strawther for each of the last three games, the Nuggets could finally get some help back in the mix.
The team’s health has been trending in the right direction, and that matters here because the matchup offers real opportunity. If Johnson is available, Denver gets a needed boost to its three-point game.
If Diallo is able to return, that gives the Nuggets a chance to shore up some of the defensive issues that have been hanging around early in the season. Getting both players back would change the feel of this trip in a hurry.
Denver is still missing Jones and Strawther, so this is not a completely clean bill of health. But even with those setbacks, the Nuggets have enough to work with against a Suns team dealing with its own concerns. Phoenix remains without starting center Mark Williams, who has not played yet this season.
That absence has pushed young center Khaman Maluach into a larger role, and Friday brings a notable test for him: a matchup with three-time MVP Nikola Jokic. On paper, it is the kind of spot where Denver should be able to control the night.
The Suns also enter with some internal tension. NBA insider Chris Haynes reported, "There's some growing frustration within that locker room for the simple fact that that roster does not have a point guard that can organize that offense."
For Denver, the path is clear enough. A road win would move the Nuggets to 3-2, while a loss would make the start to the season look a lot shakier than it already has.
Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m. MT in Phoenix on Friday.
In Other News...
Suns Already Have A Defensive Problem They Can't Ignore
The early returns on defense have been rough enough to demand attention, and the Suns have spent recent practices trying to clean up the issues before they harden into a bigger problem. Through the first three games of the season, Phoenix has sat last in defensive rating and has allowed opponents to shoot the highest three-point percentage in the league, a troubling start for a team that knows it cannot afford to give away easy looks.
Jordan Ott and the players have made the focus clear: better effort, sharper communication and more physical play on that end of the floor. Dillon Brooks, Miles Bridges and Khaman Maluach have all acknowledged the need for improvement, and the timing matters with the Denver Nuggets up next, a matchup that will quickly show whether the Suns' defensive emphasis is starting to stick. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Have Reached A Devin Booker Debate Fans Dread
The Suns have reached the kind of uneasy place where even a star like Devin Booker can become part of the conversation around what comes next. With the team struggling and the locker room already described as unsettled, the noise around Phoenix has grown loud enough that outside voices are now floating ideas that would have sounded unthinkable not long ago. One of those came from Bill Simmons, who suggested on his podcast that a Booker-for-Bam Adebayo swap could help both Phoenix and Miami.
It is the sort of debate Suns fans dread because it forces a hard look at where the franchise stands right now and what kind of reset might actually make sense. Booker remains the face of the team, but the broader question is whether Phoenix can keep building around him as constructed, or whether the pressure around the roster has reached a point where even a player of his stature gets dragged into trade speculation. For now, there is no official move or confirmation, just a conversation that says plenty about how far the Suns have fallen into uncertainty. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Get A Needed Frontcourt Boost Against Denver
The Suns will get a needed frontcourt lift against Denver, with center Oso Ighodaro set to return after missing two games because of a right oblique strain. Coach Jordan Ott said Ighodaro took part in most of practice and has been trending in the right direction, a welcome sign for a team that has felt his absence on the glass and on the defensive end.
Phoenix has been looking for more stability inside, and Ighodaros availability comes at a good time as the Nuggets bring a physical front line. The Suns have struggled with rebounding and defense without him, so his return gives them a chance to tighten up a problem area and see whether the frontcourt can hold up better in a matchup that tends to expose soft spots. [Read more 🡒]