Everything about the Nuggets’ Christmas Day performance in Phoenix was disappointing, down to the 110-100 loss to the Suns. The young players have not been stepping it up lately and provided little help in this one. Jamal Murray struggled mightily on both ends in this one as well. Even Nikola Jokic seemed a bit out of sorts, getting visibly frustrated on multiple occasions and looking less than engaged on defense at times.
The Jokic stuff is easily excusable and frankly, pretty understandable. He’s earned the right to have an “off night” - only putting up 25 and 12 - and his poor body language is fairly reasonable considering the state of his team at the moment. It seems like everyone agrees that the Nuggets need help, but nobody can quite pinpoint where that help is coming from.
But beyond the ugly loss and poor play on Wednesday night, the Nuggets may have suffered a far worse fate along the way. Not only are reinforcements not on the way, but Denver lost a key player to a nagging injury that can linger for a long time.
Aaron Gordon leaves game with calf strain and doesn’t return
Aaron Gordon, arguably the team’s best defensive player and second-best player overall has been a rock for the Nuggets since being acquired via trade, but this year he has been struggling to stay on the court. He has already missed 11 games with various injuries and he came out of the Nuggets’ Christmas Day loss in the second quarter and did not return.
Gordon was ruled out with a calf strain, an issue that has plagued him in the past and has had long lingering effects on various NBA players over recent years. It’s a scary body part to have injured because it’s not predictable and can be easily prone to reaggravation.
The Nuggets opted for caution earlier in the season when Gordon was dealing with a calf strain and I’m sure that’s the route they’d love to take again. But is that still a realistic option? Jokic’s supported cast is already weak enough, taking Gordon out of the mix for an extended period of time would be a massive blow.
Obviously, his health comes first and they won’t put him in harm’s way, but the team needs Gordon as badly as anyone other than Jokic. Nobody on the roster can defend like him, he’s the only capable big man on the roster other than the Joker, and his finishing and athleticism on offense are extremely valuable.
Frankly, the Nuggets just don’t have many good players and Gordon is one of them. Pulling him out means thrusting Peyton Watson into the starting lineup to play out of position. It weakens the starting lineup, it weakens the bench, and it weakens overall depth.
The Nuggets have mostly treaded water during a fairly disastrous season, but this injury could truly sink them. Hopefully, it was just soreness and Gordon will be back after a game or two, but an extended absence could lead to full-blown panic mode.