Another day, another painful injury report for the Denver Nuggts. Now it’s Aaron Gordon who has fallen victim, as he sprained his hamstring on Friday night. He’ll be out for Sunday’s game against hte Grizzlies, and he’s without a timetable for return.
It’s incredibly frustrating after AG pushed to play on the second night of a back-to-back despite the rest of the starters and vets getting the night off, and despite him recently returning from an extended absence with, you guessed it, a hamstring injury.
Gordon said he was feeling better than ever, but still, he has been dealing with these soft tissue ailments for years, and at this point, it’s clear they need to be managed. Having him play, regardless of how he felt, was foolish at the time, and looks downright irresponsible now.
Hopefully, this isn’t a bad sprain, and he’ll be fine after a few games off, but either way, it’s annoying, and it was extremely avoidable.
Nuggets may be rolling out another skeleton crew on Sunday
Gordon certainly isn’t the only Nugget on the Sunday injury report. Nikola Jokic, Cam Johnson, and Christian Braun remain out as well. On top of that, Jamal Murray, Peyton Watson, and Jonas Valanciunas are all listed as questionable to play.
Those three were absent on Friday night, but played on Thursday and were most likely getting a night off to rest amidst a brutal schedule. Murray was looking fatigued, and David Adelman said he’s dealing with knee, ankle, hip, and hamstring issues. Finding ways to balance getting him rest with winning games will be crucial going forward.
Watson appeared to injure both of his ankles in Thursday night’s win over Washington, but returned both times and finished the game. Friday’s absence may have been a precaution, but P-Wat may need more time off for his ankles to fully heal.
Big Val was returning from an 11-game absence with a calf injury on Thursday night. He started, but was on a minutes restriction, playing just over 21 minutes in the victory. Friday night was likely just injury management as he didn’t appear to suffer any setbacks. With any luck, his much-needed, massive presence in the paint will be back on the floor for the Nuggets.
Even with the injuries, the Nuggets have won two straight and seven of 10 overall. They’re 31-15 on the season, sitting solidly in third place in the Western Conference, just a half game back of the Spurs for second. They’ll look to maintain their winning ways on Sunday at 1:30 PM MT in Memphis against a reeling Grizzlies squad.