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GAME INFO
Ball Arena | 9 p.m. | TV: NBCSW | Radio: The Team 980 & Wizards App
The Wizards open a six-game road trip on Monday night, taking on the Nuggets at 9 p.m. in Denver. Washington is coming off a Friday loss to Utah while the Nuggets defeated the Spurs 127-112 in their last outing.
INJURY REPORT
WIZARDS: Thomas Bryant (left ACL injury recovery – out), Rui Hachimura (return to competition reconditioning – out), Kyle Kuzma (health and safety protocols – out)
NUGGETS: Will Barton (non-COVID illness – questionable), P.J. Dozier (left ACL surgery – out), Aaron Gordon (low back pain – questionable), JaMychal Green (right ankle sprain – doubtful), Jamal Murray (left knee injury recovery – out), Michael Porter Jr. (lumbar spine surgery – out), Austin Rivers (health and safety protocols – out)
STORYLINES
Wizards open longest road trip of the season
Monday night’s game opens what will be Washington’s longest stretch of consecutive road games this season – a six-game trip comprised of matchups with Denver, Sacramento, Phoenix, Utah, Brooklyn and New York. The road has presented a challenge for the Wizards this season. They’ve gone 7-8 in their first 15 road games compared to 8-4 at Capital One Arena, but are looking at the trip as an opportunity at a time when they need a spark.
“Any time you’re on the road, it’s your group and that’s it,” Wizards head coach Wes Unseld Jr. said. “It’s kind of this us-against-the-world mentality. I’m hoping that we pull together and find a way to attack these road games with the right mindset. They’re winnable. We have some tough opponents – there’s no doubt. But we’ve played against high-level opponents and we’ve played well, so there’s no excuse for us to not approach it that way. It’s a good opportunity for us.”
“We’re going to play a lot of great teams,” said Daniel Gafford. “This is the league so every team we go out and play, they’re going to have guys that are going to come out on the floor and try to put us away early. We just have to come out and play night-in and night-out.”
Unseld Jr. makes his return
Washington’s arrival in the Mile High City will carry extra significance for Unseld Jr., who was hired as the Wizards’ head coach this summer after spending the previous six seasons in Denver. After time with the Magic, Warriors and an early stint with the Wizards and Washington Mystics, Unseld Jr. was hired as an assistant coach with the Nuggets ahead of the 2015-16 season, where he ascended to associate head coach during the 2020-21 campaign. Denver finished 10-plus games over .500 four of the six seasons Unseld Jr. was on the bench and qualified for the postseason in each of the last three seasons.
MVP Jokic continues elite play
Nikola Jokic, the NBA’s reigning Most Valuable Player, is coming off a dominant performance Friday night in San Antonio and is playing some of his best basketball of his career. Against the Spurs, Jokic totaled 35 points, 17 rebounds, eight assists and a pair of blocks – making if three of the last five games he’s scored at least 32 points. Jokic has recorded double-digit rebounds in each of his last nine games and a triple-double in three of his last four.
TICKETS
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