Nuggets’ playoff hopes take potential hit with late-game MPJ injury

For about 46 minutes, Michael Porter Jr. authored a riveting 2025 playoff bounce-back story … until one “stupid play” changed everything.

With the game knotted at 100 and under two minutes remaining, Porter Jr. snared a defensive rebound but fumbled the rock, looking to pass it ahead. He pounced toward the loose ball but landed awkwardly, with Kris Dunn diving onto his torso and tweaking his outstretched arm. Norman Powell collected the turnover and ultimately nailed a go-ahead three-pointer with 1:30 remaining.

Following the 105-102 loss, a potential MPJ injury serves as the painful exclamation point to his game-changing mistake. Now the Nuggets face serious questions about their playoff depth as the series shifts to Los Angeles.

Game 2 Redemption Preceded Porter Jr.’s “Stupid Play”

After a quiet Game 1, Porter Jr. responded emphatically on Monday evening, notching a 15-point, 15-rebound double-double on efficient 6-of-11 shooting. MPJ repeatedly crashed the offensive glass, creating second-chance opportunities that kept Denver in the game. When the Nuggets desperately needed a bucket after a chaotic sequence, Porter drilled a clutch game-tying three with under five minutes remaining.

Unfortunately, that will not be the lasting image we all have of the Nuggets’ 6’11” forward from the second game of this Clippers series. I’ll likely have nightmares of Porter Jr. sitting on the hardwood rubbing his shoulder in pain as Powell calmly splashed a decisive three over Nikola Jokic.

Here's what Porter Jr. said about the pivotal moment during his postgame interview:

"I made a stupid play after I got the rebound and tried to make up for it. And someone landed on my shoulder … I feel like it was on me with that turnover ... I thought I had someone streaking down (the floor). I was trying to advance it up. But I saw that I didn’t, so then I ended up turning it over. Just feel like that was the biggest turnover of the game."

Michael Porter Jr.

The sequence was painful to watch, literally and figuratively. The diagnosis: a sprained joint in his left shoulder. The only silver lining? Porter Jr.’s left shoulder suffered the injury, not his dominant right one. Not much of a consolation for a series now deadlocked at 1-1 heading to the Intuit Dome.

Equally painful, the MPJ injury raises huge questions about Denver’s depth, rotation and his availability moving forward. Perhaps most painful of all was seeing that MPJ went around the Nuggets locker room apologizing, taking accountability for the loss:

The Nuggets Need MPJ to Get Right

While he called it “not too serious,” the MPJ injury puts Denver in a difficult spot. Can MPJ play through the pain? If he’s limited or absent, who steps up in an already short playoff rotation? Only six players are averaging more than 15 minutes per game in the series right now.

If a Michael Porter Jr. injury lingers — or worse, sidelines him for any time — I’d guess we see a lot more Peyton Watson, a little more Jalen Pickett and maybe even a few Julian Strawther minutes. And Jokic and Murray will, of course, need to shoulder even more of the offensive burden.

No matter which course David Adelman takes, Denver’s playoff path gets rockier without Porter Jr. spacing the court and cleaning the glass. Time to see if Michael Porter Jr. can bounce back again or if his “stupid play” is the turning point in this series.