The Nuggets and Clippers are tied at two games apiece with the series swinging back to Denver for a critical Game 5 on Tuesday night. All things considered, the Nuggets are in a pretty good spot with home-court advantage and the best player in the series.
But beyond that, things have gotten fairly grim for Denver. Russell Westbrook missed Game 4 with a foot injury, Michael Porter Jr. is playing with one functioning shoulder, Jamal Murray is nursing an ankle injury, and Aaron Gordon is dealing with a nagging calf issue.
To make matters worse, the Nuggets have no playable depth off the bench, so David Adelman is essentially playing five players, several of whom are playing at far less than 100%. Still, the team was able to eke out a thrilling last-(mili)second victory to even the series on Saturday.
However, there was a nerve-racking moment in Game 4 late in the first half when a bit of a scuffle broke out, starting with James Harden and Christian Braun around midcourt. There was some pushing and shoving and multiple technical fouls handed out, but in the moment, nothing more.
If you go back and watch the replay from another angle, you can see the Nuggets bench in the background, and you can clearly see MPJ, who was not in the game, start to walk onto the court, making it to the free throw line before coaches restrained him and dragged him back to the bench, stopping him from joining the fracas.
It was fairly innocuous at the time, but according to NBA rules, if any player leaves the bench and comes onto the court during a dust-up, they face a one-game suspension. We’ve seen the league drop the hammer on this one before, infamously suspending Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for a huge playoff game against the Spurs, which may have swung the series.
Porter Jr. lucky to avoid suspension; will play in Game 5
Given that information, and having witnessed similar suspensions in recent years, it felt like a foregone conclusion that the NBA would follow the letter of the law and the precedent they have set, and suspend Porter Jr. for one game, which would have been Tuesday night’s gargantuan Game 5 showdown.
But luckily, and somewhat shockingly, cooler heads have prevailed and sources confirmed to The Athletic on Tuesday morning that MPJ will not be suspended and will not face any discipline for his actions. It’s incredible news for the Nuggets, who would have been comically shorthanded without MPJ, who played 43 minutes with his bad shoulder in Game 4.
It’s unclear why the league made this decision. All in all, what Porter Jr. did was harmless, and he went back to the bench before getting close to the incident, but in the past, that hasn’t mattered. It’s good to see that the NBA doesn’t want to get involved and put a damper on what has already been an amazing series, and it will be interesting to see if this is the new precedent going forward.
Either way, it means the Nuggets will have their full starting lineup available for Game 5, a near-must-win game in Ball Arena. Mike may not be close to 100%, but he’s infinitely better than any other option the team has, and with him on the floor, they at least have a chance to pull off another victory on Tuesday night.