Julian

Strawther

Watson has been out since straining his hamstring during a February 4 loss to the Knicks. After Monday’s 3-on-3 session, there is hope that he’ll be available to play sometime this week. While games on Tuesday and Wednesday may not be in the cards for Watson, he may be available toward the end of Week 21. His return will affect the playing time of Spencer Jones and Julian Strawther, neither of whom has done enough to remain on the radar in most fantasy leagues.

Watson is out for Saturday’s game, but he could return to action at some point next week. His eventual return likely affects Julian Strawther and Spencer Jones more than anyone else, as those two have seen their opportunities increase since Watson strained his hamstring in early February.

While Johnson is dealing with back spasms, the probable tag suggests that he’s on track to play Wednesday night. If he’s unable to go, Julian Strawther is the most likely replacement in the starting lineup.

Murray exited Friday’s loss to the Knicks during the second quarter with a sprained left ankle. While he was officially considered questionable to return, the Nuggets’ star point guard did not, as the game had gotten out of hand. Jalen Pickett and Julian Strawther are the players most impacted by Murray’s availability. While the former is a point guard, the latter could be the starter if Murray sits, with Denver leaning even more on Nikola Jokić’s playmaking.

At long last, the Nuggets will have their preferred starting five on the court. Johnson (ankle) and Gordon (hamstring) are back from injury and will start, but both are under minutes restrictions. Julian Strawther and Zeke Nnaji have returned to the bench after starting Thursday’s win over the Lakers.

Injured on March 1, Johnson is good to go for Friday’s game. He will be under a minutes limit on Friday, which may leave Julian Strawther in the starting lineup. Fantasy-wise, Johnson has been a disappointment in his first season with the Nuggets. More important for him is to be healthy and playing well going into the postseason.

Both Gordon and Johnson have a chance to return to Denver’s lineup, but Gordon’s minutes could be managed after such a lengthy absence. Julian Strawther, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Bruce Brown could all see reductions in playing time if Gordon and Johnson are available.

Gordon has been sidelined since Jan. 23 with a strained right hamstring, and while he’ll remain out for Thursday’s game against the Lakers, he could return against New York in Denver’s final game of the week. Julian Strawther has had some success as a starter in place of AG, but he’ll likely return to a reserve role when Gordon returns, eliminating his streaming upside.

Gordon aggravated his strained right hamstring during Denver’s January 23 win over the Bucks, and he was given a re-evaluation timeline of four to six weeks. According to ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel, there’s hope that Gordon will be able to return to game action within the next seven to ten days. Once he’s able to play without restrictions, Gordon will likely bump Julian Strawther from the starting lineup, but that won’t happen during Denver’s three-game Week 19.

Strawther is set to play after initially being listed as probable. Due to injuries, he has recently started alongside Jamal Murray, and his production has been solid enough to make Strawther a streaming option in deep leagues.