Denver gets a few extra days of rest, but its preseason was messy. The Nuggets dropped their preseason opener at CU Boulder to Utah, 109-97. Jokic barely shot, going 1-of-1 for 3 points with 7 assists, and threw a behind-the-back cross-court pass that David Adelman called something only he can make. Jamal Murray sat that game for personal reasons, and Tyus Jones started in his place.
Denver's biggest absence is Julian Strawther. He led the Nuggets with 14 points in that preseason opener, then was diagnosed with a left knee sprain and won't be re-evaluated for 6 weeks. That takes a shooter out of a bench Adelman was still sorting out. DeMar DeRozan is confirmed as the first man off the bench, and losing Strawther puts more of the second unit's scoring on him. Spencer Jones is day-to-day with a hamstring issue but was back at practice Sunday.
Oklahoma City's injury list is longer. Otega Oweh is out for the year after Achilles surgery. Nikola Topic (back), Thomas Sorber (knee) and Jaylin Williams (heel) are all day-to-day after missing the preseason game against Houston. With Dort, Joe and Wiggins already gone, that's a lot of the Thunder's depth either nicked up or brand new. Their starting 5 holds up against anybody. Whether the bench can protect a lead while Gilgeous-Alexander rests is a real question.
So the matchup is Jokic running the Denver offense against the best collection of perimeter defenders in the league, now with Wallace, a Second Team All-Defense guard, getting starter's minutes. The board has Oklahoma City as a big home favourite, which makes sense for the champs-in-waiting at home. The parts worth watching at 8:30 PM CT are the bench minutes on both sides and whether Holmgren is out there to deal with Jokic.