Hola, fans de los Indiana Pacers! Esta noche el azul y oro se medirán ante Nikola Jokic y los Denver Nuggets en la Ciudad de México.

Translation: Hello Indiana Pacers fans! Tonight, the blue and gold will face Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets in Mexico City.

The Pacers take on the Nuggets in the first of three international NBA games during the regular season. (The other two will be played between San Antonio and New Orleans as the Spurs travel back to Europe for a two-game matchup in January). This will be a challenge for the Pacers as they face the three-time MVP Nikola Jokic and deal with the insane altitude in Mexico City. But there is good news for the blue and gold.

After missing the last two games, Kelly Oubre Jr. was upgraded from out to questionable on Friday's injury report. But Oubre wasn't the only player to be upgraded to questionable. For the first time this season, T.J. McConnell is listed as questionable, and the chances of him returning in Mexico City are very high.

Indiana enters tonight only having three guys officially ruled out: Tyrese Haliburton (not with team, left Achilles injury rehab), Ben Sheppard (not with team, torn meniscus injury rehab) and Johnny Furphy (ACL injury rehab). After 11 players set out on Monday, there is a good chance that list improves from 11 to 3 as the team gets healthy.

Here are three things to watch for in tonight's game.

Could T.J. McConnell Return?

For the first time this season, the Pacers backup point guard has been upgraded on the injury report -- which makes it very likely that he gets his first game action against the Denver Nuggets. A hamstring strain has kept the point guard sidelined and the team has desperately missed his leadership running the second unit. Not just from a point guard perspective, but from a guy who plays extremely hard whenever he is on the floor.

Thankfully, Indiana was able to find that competitive spirit this week --after the Super 6 lost to the Atlanta Hawks in a hard-fought game-- but McConnell brings this level of play every game and it is contagious. The moment he comes into the game the style of play shifts and he does a terrific job of getting into the paint and finding ways to open the offense up even more.

His return could be what eventually unlocks Oubre out of his slump. With McConnell's ability to breakdown a defense and put pressure on the backend, Oubre can thrive off weak-side cuts for easy baskets. McConnell is gifted as a scorer in the mid-range with his fading jumper (that we saw in the last two games from Braden Smith) but he is also a willing passer.

With Haliburton still sidelined, it would be a major lift to get their No. 2 point guard back. Expect a minutes restriction for the veteran and a little bit of rust, as this will be his first game action of the preseason or season.

Insane Altitude: Will Everyone Play?

Every year when the Pacers travel to Denver, one of the biggest talking points is how difficult it is to play at such a high altitude. Well, Mexico City is 2,069 feet higher than Denver, which means that it will be more of a challenge to play extended minutes without feeling out of breath.

In Indiana's win over Memphis, Coach Carlisle played all 12 available guys. I expect a similarly looking rotation with the high altitude. This will allow for the Pacers to not overload players with minutes, have fresher legs and lungs on the floor, and give them a better chance to win.

If Oubre and McConnell can also play in this game, it will be interesting to see what players will dress and which two will be held out. Braden Smith has started the last two games, and it wouldn't be suprising if he does again. It is advantageous for the offense to have two ball handlers on the floor at all times, and Smith has earned the minutes.

Nikola Jokic

The Serbian big man is a challenge to deal with because of his elite offensive skills. He can spread the floor and splash threes, is regarded as the best passer in the world, has a unique ability to score at will inside without using elite athleticism and is a terrific rebounder.

This season, Jokic has taken a slight stepback in overall production. He is averagaing 23.4 points per game (which is his lowest since the 2019-2020 season) on 50.4% shooting from the field and a career-low 21.9% from three. The rest of his stats are right around where you'd expect: 9.7 rebounds, 9.3 asssists, 2.1 steals and 1.1 blocks per game.

Ivica Zubac will have his hands full, and should be looking forward to stepping back onto the court after a rough return against Memphis. There is no such thing as stopping Jokic, but you have to find ways to slow him down. Denver is not the same team they were the year they won the title, but they still have several veterans that have given the Pacers problems in the past: Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, DeMar DeRozan and Cameron Johnson.

Where to Watch

The international game will be aired on NBA TV, the DAZN app, Direct TV and NBA League Pass.

You can also listen to the radio call on NBA League Pass and the Pacers flagship station, 93.5 and 107.5 The Fan.

The game tips off at 5:00 PM ET.

You can follow me on X @AlexGoldenNBA and listen to my daily podcast, Setting The Pace, wherever you get your podcasts.