Lakers Injury Report: Denver May Be Missing 2 Starters Vs LA
A key driver in the Denver Nuggets' success over the past two seasons has been a combination of health and chemistry, as they possess arguably the league's best starting 5 that offers a perfect combination of everything.
As the Lakers know better than any team given last year's Conference Finals, a combination of Jamal Murray's shot creation, Nikola Jokic's wizardry, Aaron Gordon's two-way ability and connectivity, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Michael Porter Jr.'s league-pacing three-point abilities formulates one of the best 5-man groups in recent memory.
If any of their five starters sit, however, the negative impact is noteworthy, and tonight, two of them are questionable: Jamal Murray and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Murray (ankle) suffered the injury in a win against Miami on Thursday, exiting the game. The injury doesn't seem too severe, but playing on a less-than-48-hour turnaround seems a bit unlikely.
That said, if he was planning on sitting out, there'd be more buzz around that idea, so there's little clarity on whether to expect him or not.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (personal) is also questionable. Little is known about the situation he is dealing with, but most personal matters typically take a bit of time to subside, as whether it's a family or individual matter, him getting back on the floor within 24-48 hours of the initial report seems unlikely.
Accounting for all factors, it'd be surprising if both sat, but one doing so seems plausible. Either way, Denver losing any piece of their well-oiled machine gives LA a huge advantage that they desperately need.
