Chicago Bulls vs Denver Nuggets: Injury Report, Predicted Lineups and Starting 5s - November 19th, 2021 | NBA Season 2021-22

The Chicago Bulls will finish their exacting West coast road schedule against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets on Friday at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. Billy Donovan’s team looked haggard in their loss to Portland after huge wins over the two L.A. teams. They will have to get back to their best against the the team featuring the reigning MVP.

Chicago was leading for most of the first half before the Blazers turned on the jets starting the third quarter. The Windy City team simply could not match their energy and succumbed to a close loss. If they can get back the same energy and hustle that they displayed throughout this season, they should have a good chance against the Denver Nuggets.

Nikola Jokic continues to be an unsolvable riddle for opposing teams playing the Denver Nuggets. However, the rest of the team has to punch their own weight to keep their team afloat until they get back some of their key players. Against the also undermanned Philadelphia 76ers, they had plenty of open looks but failed to make their shots.

The Denver Nuggets are not going to have the same luxury of open lanes and spaces against a well-coached and defensively solid Chicago Bulls team. Denver can't afford to finish the game with just three players in double-figure scoring. It’s a surefire recipe for a setback against an opportunistic Chicago defense led by Alex Caruso and Lonzo Ball.

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Chicago Bulls Injury Report

The Chicago Bulls’ two best big men continue to be sidelined. Nikola Vucevic is still under the health and safety protocols of the NBA while Patrick Williams continues to recover from a left wrist injury. Alex Caruso and Javonte Green are listed as probable. The former has a wrist contusion while the latter has a left ankle sprain.

Devon Dotson is not traveling to face the Denver Nuggets as he has been assigned to the G-League.

Player:	Status:	Reason:
Alex Caruso	Probable	Injury/Illness - Left Wrist; Contusion
Devon Dotson	Out	G League - Two-Way
Javonte Green	Probable	Injury/Illness - Left Ankle; Sprain
Nikola Vucevic	Out	Health and Safety Protocols
Patrick Williams	Out	Injury/Illness - Left Wrist; Ligament Tear

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Denver Nuggets Injury Report

Jamal Murray, the Denver Nuggets' budding star and second-best player, still has no defined time frame for a return. Michael Porter Jr.’s poor start has been compounded by a back issue that will keep him out for the foreseeable future.

Zeke Nnaji will also be sidelined with a right ankle sprain for the third straight game.

Player:	Status:	Reason:
Jamal Murray	Out	Injury/Illness - Torn ACL; Rehab
Michael Porter Jr.	Out	Injury/Illness - Back; Soreness
Zeke Nnaji	Out	Injury/Illness - Right Ankle; Sprain

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Chicago Bulls vs Denver Nuggets:

Predicted Lineups

Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls have been playing great despite injuries to key players [Photo: NBC Sports]

The makeshift Chicago Bulls lineup without Vucevic and Williams has been great. Billy Donovan will likely stick to that starting unit. Lonzo Ball and Zach Lavine will comprise the backcourt. DeMar DeRozan will slide back into his normal small forward role as Alex Caruso will take on the power forward duties.

Tony Bradley starts at center.

Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets provisional first unit will most likely be the same as well. It starts with the amazing all-around skills of Nikola Jokic in the middle of the lineup. Flanking him in the two forward slots will be Aaron Gordon at power forward and Jeff Green at small forward.

Will Barton will be the shooting guard to complement the point guard skills of Monte Morris.

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Chicago Bulls vs Denver Nuggets:

Starting 5s

Chicago Bulls

Point Guard - Lonzo Ball | Shooting Guard - Zach Lavine | Small Forward - DeMar DeRozan | Power Forward - Alex Caruso | Center - Tony Bradley

Denver Nuggets

Point Guard - Monte Morris | Shooting Guard - Will Barton | Small Forward - Jeff Green | Power Forward - Aaron Gordon | Center - Nikola Jokic

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