Injured fourth-year wing Peyton Watson will miss his ninth consecutive game for the Denver Nuggets on Thursday as he deals with a recurring hamstring injury. After sitting out the final six games of the regular season, Watson missed the first two games of the Nuggets vs. Minnesota Timberwolves first-round playoff series.
However, there is growing optimism that he will return at some point in the playoffs.
Ahead of Thursday’s Game 3 between the Nuggets and Timberwolves, ESPN’s Anthony Slater provided a positive update on Watson’s injury rehab.
“Peyton Watson getting some court work after Nuggets shootaround this morning in Minnesota,” Slater wrote, while sharing a video of Watson at shootaround.
“Remains out tonight with a hamstring injury, but Denver hopeful to get him back in this Minnesota series. Swing factor.”
Peyton Watson Injury Update
As Slater aptly noted, Watson could be the “swing factor” in a tight battle between two evenly matched teams facing each other in the playoffs for the third time since 2023. While the Nuggets won this year’s regular-season series 3-1, they were widely expected to be in a playoff dogfight with their familiar rivals. Two games in, those analysts were proven right, with the Timberwolves already stealing home-court advantage.
After the Timberwolves tied up the series in Game 2, Jaden McDaniels called out several Nuggets players as “bad defenders,” identifying Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Cam Johnson and Tim Hardaway Jr. by name.
“They’re all bad defenders,” McDaniels said, via ESPN. “They don’t got people who can defend the rim. Even if [Jokic] is there, we’re more athletic than them.”
Peyton Watson Return Timeline
Many analysts believe Peyton Watson, arguably Denver’s best 3-and-D player this season, would provide a significant boost on the wings against the Timberwolves.
So, when can Watson realistically return?
The UCLA alum will get his next opportunity in Game 4 on Saturday or Game 5 next Monday. The series will conclude with a Game 7 (if necessary) on May 2.
Nuggets head coach David Adelman is still confident that his team will get Watson back at some point in the first round, per ESPN’s Anthony Slater.
“Adelman said that the hope is to get Watson back in this series at some point but that he will remain out for Game 3.”
Watson missed 19 consecutive games in February and March after being diagnosed with a grade 2 hamstring strain. Upon returning in early April, he re-aggravated the injury against the Utah Jazz. Before his injury, he averaged 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.1 blocks on 49/41/73 shooting splits.
As a starter, Watson averaged 17.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.2 blocks while draining 1.9 threes per game at an excellent clip of 43%. A restricted free agent this year, the 23-year-old Watson is expected to attract a lot of suitors.
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