The Nuggets Finally Have a Real Starting Lineup Again

After weeks of treating their injury report like a CVS receipt, the Denver Nuggets are finally putting a real basketball team on the floor.

According to Underdog NBA, Denver is officially starting Jamal Murray, Christian Braun, Johnson, Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Jokic on Saturday.

"Lineup alert: Nuggets will start Murray, Braun, Johnson, Gordon, Jokic on Saturday."

For anyone trying to build a daily fantasy roster or bet a simple player prop, this is the equivalent of waking up from a fever dream. You no longer have to guess which two-way contract guy is going to accidentally play 34 minutes and ruin your slip.

The fact that this specific group is upright at the same time is a minor medical triumph. Aaron Gordon has been dragging around a right hamstring strain, and Christian Braun has been dealing with a left ankle sprain that temporarily turned the wing rotation into a nightly guessing game.

When the actual starters play, the math gets very simple. Jamal Murray is currently torching people for over 25 points and five assists a night, while Braun is chipping in 11 points and seven boards when his ankle actually works.

Giving Nikola Jokic his actual supporting cast instead of a rotating group of understudies is objectively terrifying for the rest of the league. It turns the MVP from a guy having to do everything into a guy who just gets to pick you apart for fun.

The Denver Nuggets take this fully armed lineup into Saturday night against the Indiana Pacers. Assuming nobody trips on a stray basketball during warmups, Denver is about to remind the Western Conference exactly what their ceiling looks like.