The Denver Nuggets have won four of their last five games to find some rhythm after a rocky start, but are now heading into one of their toughest matchups of the early season. Despite travel problems making it difficult to leave Mexico City after Saturday's win over the Indiana Pacers, the Nuggets are heading to face the Houston Rockets on Monday night.

The Rockets have been one of the league's best teams this season, winning seven of their first eight games before dropping their last two. This is obviously a tall task for the Nuggets, and to make matters worse, they could be severely shorthanded.

The Nuggets' loaded injury report

How often does an NBA team list all five of their starters on the injury report? Well, the Nuggets are likely doing something very rare ahead of Monday's game. Headlined by their star duo of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, the Nuggets could be without all five starters against the Rockets and sixth man DeMar DeRozan. Denver's full injury report:

Christian Braun - QUESTIONABLE (left calf contusion / illness)

DeMar DeRozan - QUESTIONABLE (low back spasms)

Aaron Gordon - QUESTIONABLE (lower body injury management)

Cameron Johnson - QUESTIONABLE (lower body injury management)

Nikola Jokic - QUESTIONABLE (right elbow sprain)

Jamal Murray - QUESTIONABLE (left shin / tibia contusion)

Julian Strawther - OUT (left knee sprain)

It's already feeling like last season for the Nuggets. Last year, they had several of these games where it was up to the deep-bench players to step up because the starters were injured, but we can hope this will not be one of those games. They have already dealt with enough injury problems in their first eight games, so they could use a break.

Injury Report ahead of tomorrow’s game against the Rockets:

QUESTIONABLE:
Christian Braun (Left Calf
Contusion/Illness)
Aaron Gordon (Lower Body Injury
Management)
Cameron Johnson (Lower Body Injury
Management)
Nikola Jokić (Right Elbow Sprain)
Jamal Murray (Left Shin/Tibia… pic.twitter.com/TiUqRElhtR

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) November 8, 2026

The Nuggets are likely listing all of these players as questionable in case their travel issues cause problems for them, as the last thing they want to do is risk further injuries. It would be surprising to see all six of them downgraded to out, but this could be a situation where the team plays it safe for guys like Gordon and Johnson, who have more extensive injury histories.

Rockets injury report

Unlike the Nuggets, the Rockets are actually healthy for Monday's matchup. They are likely licking their lips while looking at Denver's injury report, but of course, no win is free in the NBA. Even if the Nuggets are missing their entire starting lineup, these upsets happen all the time across the league. Still, the Rockets have an obvious health advantage. Houston's full injury report:

Steven Adams - OUT (right soleus strain)

Clint Capela - OUT (right ankle sprain)

The Rockets have been largely led by Alperen Sengun and Kevin Durant this season, but guys like Amen Thompson, Jabari Smith Jr., and Fred VanVleet have all stepped up to help Houston have the league's second-best offense and a top-ten defense.

With or without their starters, this will be a challenging game for the Nuggets, but we can hope they at least have a chance to win with Jokic, Murray, and company suiting up.

The Nuggets and Rockets are set to tip off at 6:30 p.m. MT in Houston.