Denver Nuggets forward Peyton Watson has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 strain in his left hamstring and is expected to miss a significant stretch of games, according to league sources cited by Tony Jones of The Athletic.
The 23-year-old was hurt late in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s road loss to the New York Knicks. Head coach David Adelman told reporters after the game that Watson would undergo an MRI; the imaging later confirmed the Grade 2 injury.
“You see this so much this year,” Adelman said postgame, noting the string of injuries that has hit Denver’s locker room. “It’s deflating when you keep seeing people go down around you when you’re trying to build toward something.”
Watson was enjoying a breakout fourth NBA season, averaging 14.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.0 steal on .496/.417/.727 shooting in 49 appearances (30.7 minutes per game). Since Jan. 1, he had raised those numbers to 21.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.6 BPG and 1.1 SPG while playing 36.1 minutes a night.
The injury comes at a pivotal time for Watson, who is set to enter restricted free agency this summer. He becomes the second Denver forward dealing with a hamstring issue; Aaron Gordon is already sidelined for several weeks after re-injuring his right hamstring. Forward Cameron Johnson remains out with a right knee bone bruise suffered on Dec. 23.
Denver has weathered additional absences this season. Nikola Jokić (knee), Christian Braun (left ankle sprain) and Jonas Valančiūnas (calf strain) have all missed extended time but are currently available.
Source: Hoops Rumors
