TITLE: Jokic Nearing Return as Watson Shines, Hardaway Impresses for Nuggets
SLUG: jokic-nearing-return-watson-shines-hardaway-impresses-nuggets
CONTENT:
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic has resumed on-court workouts and is tracking toward a late-January return after hyperextending his left knee in late December, ESPN’s Shams Charania said Wednesday on NBA Today.
The three-time MVP was ruled out for four weeks on Dec. 30. If that timeline holds, he could be back on Jan. 27, which would limit his absence to 15 games and keep him on pace to meet the NBA’s 65-game threshold for postseason awards. Team officials are optimistic Jokic will suit up before the calendar flips to February.
Denver has gone 5-3 during Jokic’s recovery, logging road wins in Toronto, Philadelphia and Boston. The club enters Wednesday tied for the Western Conference’s second-best record at 27-13.
Watson’s breakout run
Fourth-year wing Peyton Watson has helped steady the Nuggets, averaging 24.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks over the past eight games while shooting .511 from the field and .442 from three-point range. The performance earned him his first NBA Player of the Week honor.
“It really means a lot to be recognized by the league,” Watson said. “It’s just more fuel to my fire. I don’t want that to be my first and only.”
Hardaway delivers on bargain deal
Veteran swingman Tim Hardaway Jr., signed to a one-year minimum contract last summer, is hitting career highs at 46.3 percent from the floor and 41.4 percent from deep. Teammate Jalen Pickett praised Hardaway’s mentorship, noting his consistent encouragement to “be aggressive, get in there, attack.”
Injury updates
Christian Braun (left ankle sprain) will miss his third straight game Wednesday in Dallas. Jamal Murray (left ankle sprain; illness) and Bruce Brown (right knee inflammation) are listed as questionable for the second night of a back-to-back.
Source: Hoops Rumors
