Jerami Grant scored the final eight points of Portland’s win over Minnesota on Friday to break open a tie game in the closing 100 seconds. Two days later, he will not be on the floor when the Trail Blazers face the Denver Nuggets in a game with direct playoff implications.
Grant was ruled out Today with left foot soreness, leaving Portland without its third-leading scorer for a road matchup against a Nuggets team that leads the league in scoring and offensive efficiency. The Blazers, now 35-36, have won three straight games and five of their last seven, and enter the afternoon tied for eighth place in the Western Conference with 11 games remaining. The timing of the injury is difficult to absorb.
What Portland is missing
Grant has been one of the Blazers’ most consistent contributors through a season that has been regularly disrupted by injuries elsewhere on the roster. He has appeared in 55 games including 36 starts, averaging 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists. He ranks second on the team in three-point shooting at 39% and has scored 21 or more points in 10 of the last 14 games.
Friday’s performance against the Timberwolves was among his best of the stretch. Grant finished with 26 points, five rebounds, and three steals, and personally accounted for the Blazers’ final eight points in the closing 100 seconds as Portland pulled away for a 108-104 win.
With Grant Today, Portland will also be without backup guard Vit Krejci, who has missed the last three games with a left calf contusion, and Shaedon Sharpe, who is dealing with a left fibula stress reaction serious enough that he could miss the rest of the regular season. Damian Lillard remains sidelined with a torn Achilles. Kris Murray, Matisse Thybulle, and Sidy Cissoko are among the players who could see expanded roles in the absence of multiple rotation pieces.
Deni Avdija, who scored 25 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and added five assists in Friday’s win over Minnesota, will need to carry a larger share of the offensive load.
What Denver brings
The Nuggets present a difficult matchup even at full strength. Denver leads the league in points per game at 120.7, tops the NBA in offensive rating at 122.3, and shoots 39.2% from three-point range. Their 49.3% overall field goal percentage ranks second in the league.
Portland sits at the opposite end of those categories, ranking 29th in field goal percentage at 45.1% and 29th from three at 33.8%. The area where the Blazers compensate is on the offensive glass, averaging 14.2 offensive rebounds per game, second in the NBA. If Portland can generate consistent second-chance opportunities, it could offset the shooting gap. If Denver limits those opportunities without Grant, the Blazers’ path to a win narrows considerably.
Nikola Jokic is the central factor in everything Denver does. He returned from injury earlier this month and has averaged 4.5 turnovers per game since, a figure higher than his season average of 3.5, partly because opposing teams have been placing wing defenders on him more frequently and forcing the Nuggets to get him the ball in tighter spaces. In Denver’s last game, a win over Toronto on Friday, Jokic finished with 22 points, eight rebounds, nine assists, and only two turnovers. Jamal Murray led that effort with 31 points, five rebounds, and six assists.
The Nuggets enter at 43-28 and sit fifth in the Western Conference, one position outside a home court advantage bracket spot in the playoffs. Forward Peyton Watson, who has missed 19 games with a right hamstring strain dating to February 7, was listed as questionable but expected to return Today.
What is at stake
For Portland, Sunday is one of 11 remaining chances to secure a favorable position heading into the play-in tournament. The Blazers are currently tied for eighth, a position that carries home-court advantage in the first round of the play-in. Every result from here matters, and playing the league’s top offense without three rotation players makes this particular game among the toughest remaining on the schedule.
Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. ET on NBA TV.
