Jokic, Murray questionable as Nuggets visit Rockets' No. 2 offense

Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray are questionable as the Denver Nuggets (5-3) visit the Houston Rockets (7-3) on Monday night, facing the NBA's second-ranked offense with four other regulars also questionable.

Houston scores 116.6 points per 100 possessions. Denver allows 113.1, 21st in the league, so a thin Nuggets lineup would meet a Rockets offense at full strength.

The glass tilts the same way. Houston grabs 31.6% of its own misses, sixth in the league, while Denver ranks 22nd in defensive rebounding. Second chances should be there for the Rockets.

Houston's frontcourt has holes. Steven Adams and Clint Capela are out, along with two other Rockets, which leaves Alperen Sengun to carry the middle. He leads the team in points, rebounds and assists, at 21.5 points and 7.8 assists a game. Kevin Durant blocks 1.4 shots a game.

Denver's offense travels when it is whole. The Nuggets rank seventh with an offensive rating of 115.2 and fourth in effective field goal percentage at 55.3. Houston's defense ranks eighth at 107.6.

That end runs through two names on the report. Murray averages 24.3 points, and Jokic averages 10.1 rebounds and 9.1 assists. Both are questionable.

Christian Braun, the team's steals leader, is among four more Nuggets listed as questionable. Julian Strawther is out, with an expected return of Sunday, November 29.

The teams arrive moving in opposite directions. Denver has won two straight, including a 114-102 win at Indiana. Houston has lost two in a row, 102-99 at Phoenix and 117-107 at home to Minnesota.

Neither will push the tempo. Both rank among the five slowest teams in the league.

Tip-off is at 8:30 p.m. ET in Houston. Sportsbook prices give the Rockets a 75% chance to win; Keel's projection has them at 73%, by 7.3 points.