The Toronto Raptors travel to Denver to face the Nuggets tonight without star forward Kawhi Leonard, who remains sidelined by injury, leaving a roster already thin on depth to contend with one of the league’s top offenses.
Toronto enters the matchup with a 4-3 overall record and a 2-2 mark in road games. The team built high expectations after trading for Leonard, but he has yet to provide consistent availability. The Raptors are 2-0 in games Leonard has played this season, winning those two contests by a combined 53 points, underscoring the gap between the team with and without him.
Without Leonard, Toronto’s rotation of Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett and Scottie Barnes remains capable, but the bench behind them is limited, a problem compounded by the roster changes made in the Leonard trade. Center Jakob Poeltl is listed as day-to-day and has not played since Oct. 30. Poeltl’s minutes are typically modest, but his absence would leave Toronto with few answers for Denver center Nikola Jokic.
Denver’s Depth Advantage
The Nuggets still have Jokic, and a healthy Jamal Murray gives Denver a second major scoring threat that opens up space for Jokic to operate. After Denver’s 2023 championship run, the team lost much of its bench depth and has not returned to the Finals since. This season’s roster additions have reportedly strengthened that depth, with Christian Braun, Cameron Johnson and Aaron Gordon rounding out the starting group, and DeMar DeRozan, Tyus Jones and Marvin Bagley III forming a bench trio capable of carrying stretches when Jokic rests.
Denver is 3-3 on the season and coming off a loss, but the Nuggets have not lost back-to-back games this year. Toronto’s perimeter defenders, Quickley and Barrett, are not seen as strong matchups for Murray, and Barnes would likely be tasked with guarding Jokic if Poeltl sits out — a matchup that still favors Denver.
Betting markets list Leonard as questionable for the game, though he is confirmed out. The Nuggets are favored by 4.5 points.
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