Is Nikola Jokic Playing Tonight? (Injury Update, Betting Impact for Nuggets vs. Rockets)

The Denver Nuggets may be short-handed on Monday night when they take on the Houston Rockets and Kevin Durant.

Denver has listed Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Cam Johnson, Christian Braun and DeMar DeRozan as questionable for Monday's matchup. Jokic is listed with an elbow injury after he played in the first eight games of the regular season for Denver.

Nikola Jokic (elbow) listed questionable for Monday.
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) November 8, 2026

The Nuggets may be listing all of these players as questionable because of the travel issues they had after playing a game in Mexico City on Saturday.

According to ESPN's Anthony Slater, the Nuggets had "major plane delays" to get out of Mexico City and were hoping to leave on Sunday night. That certainly makes it tough on the team to play Houston on Monday, and the Nuggets may not want to push some of their best players in an already tough road matchup.

The Nuggets have had major plane delays getting out of Mexico City, per sources, but hopeful to get out tonight. They are listing Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Cam Johnson, Christian Braun and DeMar DeRozan questionable tomorrow in Houston for various minor ailments.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) November 8, 2026

Jokic rarely misses games -- he still played in 65 last season despite a major knee injury -- so it would be shocking to see him sit out. However, the Nuggets likely listed all of these players as questionable so they have a potential reason to sit them if their travel plans don't go well.

This season, Jokic is averaging 22.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game while shooting 48.3 percent from the field and 22.9 percent from 3. The shooting hasn't been nearly at the level that we expect from Jokic, yet the three-time league MVP is still nearing a triple-double just about every night.

Jokic has dealt with an elbow issue in the past, so it's possible that has caused some of his poor shooting early on in the 2026-27 season.

Oddsmakers at DraftKings have set the Nuggets as 8.5-point road underdogs in this matchup, which is a sign that they're bracing for at least one player to miss this game. Denver has been favored in seven of eight games this season and was only an underdog in its season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Nuggets were just 7.5-point underdogs on the road in that game, so these odds suggest that the team will be at less than full strength against Houston.

The SI Betting team will update this story with the latest odds and Jokic's status once Denver releases a more concrete injury report ahead of Monday night's Western Conference clash.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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