David Adelman Praises Peyton Watson's Growth as Nuggets Prepare to Face Wizards

The Denver Nuggets (28-13) will look to keep their hot streak going when they host the Washington Wizards (10-30) on Saturday night at Ball Arena.

Denver has proven to be one of the more resilient teams in the league this season, and they have done it without their best player for most of the past three weeks.

Head coach David Adelman spoke to reporters at Friday's practice about how his team has managed to stay afloat despite a wave of injuries, and he had nothing but good things to say about the breakout play of fourth-year forward Peyton Watson.

The 23-year-old has stepped up big since three-time MVP Nikola Jokic went down with a left knee bone bruise, and his growth has been one of the bright spots during a stretch that could have easily sent the Nuggets spiraling down the standings.

Watson recently earned his first Western Conference Player of the Week honor while averaging 13.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.8 assists on the season.

He has also been shooting a strong 41.3 percent from three-point range, which has helped open up the floor for his teammates when defenses collapse on the paint.

His play during the team's injury-plagued stretch has given Adelman something new to think about moving forward, and it looks like Watson could have a bigger role in the offense even when Jokic returns.

"The proudest I am of Peyton is that he's done this in the flow," Adelman said Friday. "It hasn't been like I'm just loading him up with plays. He's creating offense for himself and for other people on his own."

Watson joined Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant as the only players to post more than 125 points, 15 combined steals and blocks, and 15 made three-pointers while shooting 60 percent from deep over a five-game span since the 2001-02 season.

Durant even gave Watson a shoutout on Instagram after he reached that mark, which meant a lot to the young forward who grew up in the Los Angeles area watching Bryant and modeling his game after Durant.

The Nuggets have gone 6-4 in their last ten games while dealing with injuries to nearly every key player on the roster, including Jokic, Jonas Valanciunas, Christian Braun, Aaron Gordon and Cam Johnson at various points.

That kind of record would be impressive for any team, but it is especially notable for a group that has had to rely on players who were not expected to carry such a heavy load this season.

Jamal Murray has been carrying the load since Jokic went down, and he is making a strong case for his first All-Star selection by averaging 25.6 points and 7.5 assists on the season.

He has been shooting 48.2 percent from the field and an impressive 44.8 percent from three-point range, which are both career-best marks for the ninth-year guard out of Kentucky.

In the games without Jokic, Murray has been even better by putting up big numbers while leading the team to several quality wins over top opponents like the Boston Celtics.

He dropped 22 points and dished out a career-high 17 assists in that win over Boston, and he followed it up with a 33-point night in a victory over the Dallas Mavericks earlier this week.

Adelman credited his team's mindset earlier this month when talking about their resilience during a tough seven-game road trip where they went 3-4 despite losing a player to injury in almost every game.

Jokic, Braun, Johnson and Valanciunas were all ruled out of Saturday's game against Washington.

Murray, Gordon and Bruce Brown are listed as probable, which should give the Nuggets some much-needed firepower against a struggling Wizards team that has lost four straight games and is coming off a 128-115 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Friday night.

The Nuggets depth has been tested throughout the season, but players like Watson, Zeke Nnaji and Jalen Pickett have all stepped into bigger roles and delivered when their names were called.

Nnaji has been solid on both ends of the floor, while Pickett exploded for 29 points in an overtime win over the Philadelphia 76ers earlier this month.

That kind of team-wide effort has kept Denver sitting in third place in the Western Conference despite all their injury issues, and it has shown that Adelman can get the most out of his roster no matter who is available on any given night.

Saturday's tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. MST at Ball Arena in Denver.