One of the biggest concerns this offseason for the Denver Nuggets and their fans was how Aaron Gordon's health would be entering and during the season. The "glue guy" of the team is probably the most important member of the roster outside of Nikola Jokic. So far, so good. Gordon had said prior to the start of training camp that he was "ready to go," and from the sound of it, he's already in form.
The Nuggets kicked off their first practice of training camp up in Boulder, and according to head coach David Adelman, Gordon was one of the stars of the day when he was asked who really stood out.
"Aaron Gordon. Aaron was really good," Adelman said with zero hesitation. Obviously, it's very early in training camp, but hearing the good news should help everyone feel better and optimistic that this is the season AG puts the injury issues that have plagued his past two seasons behind him.
The Nuggets had Gordon get loose earlier this year
Last season, Gordon missed 46 games in the regular season and three in the playoffs due to soft tissue injuries. Keeping Gordon healthy and stretched out for the entire season will be key for the Nuggets. So they tried something different this year.
Instead of Gordon getting ramped up later, closer to training camp, the team revealed during media day that they had Gordon playing pickup games much earlier. That's kind of an old-school approach.
That's one of the reasons, outside of team building, of course, that the Nuggets took an offseason trip to Puerto Rico. Gordon was able to start ramping up with his teammates weeks before training camp opened. And from the sound of it, it's paying off.
Gordon will adjust his training habits to stay on the court
Gordon said during his press conference to the media that "availability is the best ability." If he sticks to the training regimen that he discussed, getting to the gym earlier and staying later so that he can stay healthy, he should be fine. Gordon knows now that as he's aged, it's not the same as when he was younger. Something something wiser with age, right?
Clearly, one of the major focuses for the Nuggets is making sure that Gordon is in full health all season. He doesn't have to have a 50-point explosion on opening night again to prove he's back at full health (it would be nice, though), but showing some explosive moves with a nice dunk would be great. Just be sure to stretch out after the game, Mr. Nugget.
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