Denver Nuggets will be without Jokic, Murray, Porter Jr. and Caldwell-Pope against Suns

Apr 1, 2023 - 1:35 AM

The Phoenix Suns will face a very undermanned Denver Nuggets team Friday night at Footprint Center.

Denver, which holds the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference with a 51-25 record, will not have four starters for the game. Starting center and MVP candidate Nikola Jokic (right calf tightness), starting point guard Jamal Murray (left knee injury management), forward Michael Porter Jr. (left heel injury management) and guard Kenatavious Caldwell-Pope (non-COVID illness) are all out.

The Nuggets will also not have guard Collin Gillespie due to a lower right leg fracture.

Those absences will give the Suns, who are the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference with a 41-35 record, a huge perceived advantage in the game. Phoenix does not have any players listed on its injury report, which is a first for the team this season.

The Suns returned starting forward Kevin Durant Wednesday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves after he missed three weeks due to a left ankle sprain. It gave them a fully-healthy starting lineup with seven regular-season games left, which they will need to maximize before they begin the postseason.

Bright Side of the Sun will have an open thread and live updates in which you can interact with tonight’s game.

Below is Suns’ coach Monty Williams pregame press conference.