So many of the Nuggets’ recent issues have been waived away and dismissed as non-issues once Aaron Gordon returns. He’s expected to come back and solve the reeling defense. He’s expected to come back and solve the disastrous crunch-time offense. He’s expected to come back and make everything gel just in time for the team to come together and make a championship run.
It’s a heck of a lot to pin on one guy. A lot of it is a testament to AG, and what a great player he is, but a lot of it is unfair to any one player, and seems like an unreasonable amount of weight on a single guy when the team has a healthy Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.
But the big issue with having so much riding on Gordon is that, sadly, even when he is back, we are never going to be able to trust his health again. Now 30 years old, Aaron has been battling nagging hamstring issues for the last few seasons, and he admitted earlier this season that it may be something he has to manage for the rest of his career.
This is already the second big chunk of missed time with a hammy injury this season for Gordon, so how can anyone be confident it won’t happen again? It’s not a fun way to watch the team, but it’s the reality. At what point does Gordon become a ticking time bomb, with it only being a matter of time until he comes up lame?
We have no idea what version of Gordon we’re getting
Gordon has played in just 23 games all season, and he hasn’t made an appearance since January 23rd. He’s on the verge of a comeback, but it’s not fair to expect a guy who has battled soft tissue injuries for years to step right back in and look himself immediately.
Unfortunately, the Nuggets aren’t exactly going to have a long runway for AG to ramp up. They are going to need him, and need him to play at a high level for a lot of minutes. He’s going to be thrust into a massive role in an absolute gauntlet of a Western Conference playoffs, and no matter the matchup, even the first round series looks like it’s going to be a bloodbath against a very good team.
No matter how he looks, and how the team handles it, the risk of re-injury is always going to exist with Gordon. The bottom line is that they need him worse than ever right now, and they can’t really afford to ease him in.Â
That’s scary to think about, but that’s the reality of the situation. As amazing a player as he is, Mr. Nugget has become a bit of a liability and someone difficult to count on going forward. Hopefully, he can defy the odds and make it through four rounds, but the situation is going to be a sweat to the bitter end.