What a welcome sight it was for Nuggets fans to see Aaron Gordon back in action on Sunday afternoon. AG had missed the team’s previous nine games after leaving the Christmas Day game with a calf injury. This was his second extended absence of the season due to a calf strain and the longer the injury lingered, the more concerning it became.
Luckily, Gordon was finally able to return on Sunday in Dallas, coming off the bench to play 18 minutes in his long-anticipated return. While that’s obviously far from his typical role and playing time, he hadn’t played in almost three weeks and according to Michael Malone, trainers have been concerned about a recurrence of the injury.
Most importantly, Gordon was able to make it through the game unscathed and seemed no worse for the wear. When he was out there, he looked like his usual self and was able to chip in with 13 points and 6 rebounds in the Nuggets’ 112-101 win over the Mavericks.
Gordon’s contributions to winning cannot be overstated
Gordon’s stat line may not jump out of the box score, but it’s hard to quantify everything he does for the Nuggets. Fans around the league may look at his stats over the last few years and fail to see all that AG brings to the team, but Nuggets fans fully understand.
He does all the little things that nobody else on the team can replicate. He battles on defense against post players and bigger wings alike, leading the team on that end of the floor. He plays out of the dunker spot with a mastery that few can replicate and flies around with energy and strength on both ends.
Without him, the Nuggets are not the same team. On Sunday, though Gordon played just 18 minutes, the team was +23 in that timespan. This was a game that Denver easily could have - and should have lost. They were down by as many as 17 points in the first half before the Gordon-led bench sparked a big comeback to nearly erase that deficit.
Then in the second half, the same situation played out; the Nuggets got down by 18 points before the bench unit brought the team all the way back for what eventually became a comfortable victory. Peyton Watson also played magnificently (he was a team-high +30) and his size and versatility combined with Gordon’s proved lethal.
This game was a great reminder of everything Gordon brings to the Nuggets and how important his role is. He has missed more than half the season and the team is still in a great spot, sitting at 23-15, 4th in the Western Conference.
As much as it has been a frustrating season and fans are yearning for a trade, we still haven’t seen this team together at full strength for any long stretches. Let’s remember how good they can be and hopefully, we can get a good look at this squad over the next few weeks before making any major decisions ahead of the February 6th trade deadline.