With Nikola Jokić already out, the Nuggets lose backup center Jonas Valančiūnas to a calf strain

The Denver Nuggets, to use a clinical phrase, are going through this moment.

In November, the team lost starting guard Christian Braun to an ankle strain, then starting forward Aaron Gordon to a hamstring strain. Last week, starting forward Cam Johnson joined them on the shelf with a bone bruise in his knee.

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Then MVP favorite Nikola Jokić suffered a hyperextended knee that will keep him out for at least four weeks. Oh, and the team’s only remaining starter, Jamal Murray, is currently dealing with a sprained right ankle, but remains probable for Friday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Somehow, the situation just got worse.

Jokić’s replacement, Jonas Valančiūnas, will be out for at least four weeks with a right calf strain. according to Shams Charania of ESPN.

This is the backup the Nuggets least want to lose. Valančiūnas is the fifth-highest paid player on the team after joining Denver in the offseason via a trade with the Sacramento Kings.

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Any game plan with Jokić out would likely result in copious minutes for the Lithuanian, as rookie DaRon Holmes and Zeke Nnaji are the only players left on the roster who resemble a center.

In the Nuggets’ first full game without Jokić, Valančiūnas scored a season-high 17 points on 5-of-6 shooting, plus 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks, in a 106–103 win over the Toronto Raptors. It was in that match that he suffered a calf strain after 23 minutes of play.

The good news for Denver is that while both of its rotation centers are out, coach David Adelman said last weekend that Gordon and Braun could both return during the team’s current seven-game road trip, which lasts next Wednesday. The next few weeks will likely still be a challenge for a team currently third in the West with a 23-10 record.