Playing at altitude is never easy for teams that are from cities near sea level, but the Indiana Pacers have one advantage heading into their game at the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night.
Indiana is rested.
The Pacers had Friday night off while Denver beat Golden State 129-104 at home in an NBA Cup matchup.
Saturday will complete the first back-to-back of the season for the Nuggets, who have won six of seven games since an opening-night loss to the Warriors.
Indiana has gotten off to a rough start following its second ever NBA Finals appearance.
The Pacers have dealt with injuries. Tyrese Haliburton (torn Achilles) is out for the season, T.J. McConnell (hamstring) has yet to play, and Bennedict Mathurin (big-toe sprain) and Andrew Nembhard (left shoulder strain) have not played since the first week of the season.
Nembhard, who sustained his injury in the first game, is listed as questionable against Denver and should return at some point on the four-game road trip.
The injuries led to the Pacers signing veteran guard Monte Morris on Friday and waiving former dunk champion Mac McClung. Morris practiced with the team ahead of Saturday’s game.
Morris played his first four-plus seasons in Denver before bouncing around the league, playing for Washington, Detroit, Minnesota and Phoenix. He is ready to contribute to his new team right away, and he will get his first taste in a familiar arena.
“I think it’ll be good,” Morris said. “This is the first team I’ve been on in the league with pace that I’m used to.”
Every opponent’s game plan against Denver is designed to stop Nikola Jokic, but that hasn’t been enough this season. He is averaging a triple-double, but others have stepped up, and Friday night it was Jamal Murray.
Denver’s second-leading scorer got hot in Friday’s second quarter, scoring 16 of his 23 points, which allowed Jokic to sit a little longer. Murray, in his ninth season, has yet to be named to an All-Star team but is playing to that level early.
Murray is averaging 22.8 points, second to Jokic, and is shooting 35.8% from 3-point range after Friday’s 5-for-7 night.
Denver’s easy win over short-handed Golden State allowed coach David Adelman to rest Jokic for the entire fourth quarter and go deeper into his bench so that his team would have fresher legs for Indiana.
One player who doesn’t need much time to be ready is Tim Hardaway Jr., an offensive spark on the reserve squad. Hardaway had 18 points in Wednesday’s win, but Denver didn’t need him as much on Friday.
Still, his play has given the Nuggets a valuable piece off the bench.
“I’m just trying to make an impact in any way I can,” Hardaway said. “I think I said it best after (Monday’s) game. With the guys we have coming off the bench, it could be any one of us on any night. … But when the opportunity is there, you have to just go after it and take it.”
