Valanciunas hurt, Denver takes another hit
Denver clearly didn’t need this. They’ll have to fight to stay near the top of the NBA. Already shorthanded, the Nuggets saw Jonas Valanciunas leave the floor with a right calf strain. Verdict: re-evaluation in four weeks, per Shams Charania for ESPN, quickly confirmed by the club. Another body gives out. Another rotation gets more fragile.
The injury happened in the third quarter of the win in Toronto. A stingier detail. Valanciunas started that night, a rarity this season, brought in to cover Nikola Jokic’s absence after Jokic sat out with a left knee issue. Instead of a night of responsibility, the Lithuanian pivot leaves with a setback and Denver — already missing four starters — has to improvise even more.
The rock begins to crack
Jonas Valanciunas isn’t the fragile type. At 33 he’s earned a tough-guy rep built on over a decade of consistency. Nine seasons with 70+ games. Even better, near-perfect availability in recent years: 82 games in 2023/24 and 2024/2025, 80 in 2024/25, 79 in 2022/23. Like clockwork.
This season his role shifted. Arriving this summer in a trade with Sacramento, Valanciunas isn’t the offensive anchor anymore but bench life insurance. Only 13.3 minutes per game, the lowest of his career, but a tidy return, no fuss: 8.5 points, 4.7 rebounds in 33 appearances. Solid. Reliable. Exactly what Denver wanted behind Jokic.
The gears are starting to jam. The roster isn’t infinite. For now, Jamal Murray is running the team, but the next opponent is Cleveland — brutal in the paint.
Another headache for Malone
His absence opens doors. Not always the ones you want. Young DaRon Holmes should see his minutes climb in the paint. Peyton Watson will get a bit more work inside than usual. It’s on them to step up, hold the paint, survive the messy minutes. Nothing glamorous, but vital. Bruce Brown, whose NBA rep is unquestioned, will do what he does best: be everywhere.
For the Nuggets the objective is simple. Hold firm. Limit the damage. Buy time until the vets return. Valanciunas was meant to be a safety net. He becomes, despite himself, another symbol of a battered start to the season. In Denver the winter looks long, and every injury carries more weight than the last.
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