Nuggets wing Peyton Watson is out for at least four weeks with a right knee injury, the team announced Monday morning.
Watson, 22, sprained his knee during a collision late in the fourth quarter against Philadelphia on Friday. He traveled with the team to Charlotte for the last game of its road trip but did not play, as the Nuggets planned to reevaluate him after returning to Denver. Their win over the Hornets on Saturday was the first game he has missed all season.
Now Denver will have to fend without Watson for a minimum of 12 more games, based on his new reevaluation timeline. Zeke Nnaji filled his spot in the rotation against Charlotte, but 2023 second-round draft pick Hunter Tyson is another option Michael Malone has turned to this season when in need of additional depth.
Malone said he didn’t initially expect Watson’s injury to sideline him for such a long period of time, but that’s why he felt it was important to have Watson examined by team doctors back in Colorado. “Obviously it’s never great news when you don’t have a guy like Peyton available. … But that’s part of it,” Malone said. “So we’ve just gotta find a way to hold down the fort until Peyton can get back.”
As one of Denver’s eight players consistently in the rotation, Watson is averaging 8.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game in his third NBA season. He ranks 13th in the league in total blocks despite playing limited minutes off the bench. At 6-foot-7, he has emerged as one of the best rim-protecting wings in the NBA.
Starting power forward Aaron Gordon was also ruled out Monday due to injury management, landing Nnaji in the starting lineup against the Pelicans.
“Zeke was incredible (in Charlotte), and I told him today, then going back and watching the film over and over and seeing his defensive performance, he was outstanding on that end of the floor,” Malone said. “He really was. Just very, very proud of a young man who has not played a lot this year, has been out of the rotation. But his positive mindset allowed him to go out there and play at that level. … What a great opportunity for Zeke Nnaji to go out there and take advantage of (Watson being out).”
Gordon has now missed 22 games this season stemming from a calf strain that first hindered him in early November. Malone attributed his absence to the team’s back-to-back in Philadelphia and Charlotte. Gordon played in both games.
“I think it’s just something that we’re probably going to be dealing with, probably for the remainder of the season,” Malone said.
