After going down with yet another hamstring injury on Friday night, Zach Lowe has doubled down on his stance, talking about how Aaron Gordon and his health are the biggest x-factors in the NBA title race. Lowe has been beating this drum for a while, stating that at full strength, he believes the Nuggets are just as good as the Thunder and called them a “juggernaut hiding in plain sight.”
In another earlier episode, Lowe was raving about the Nuggets and how well they were playing without Nikola Jokic and others, and mentioned how he thought Gordon’s legs were the most important factor in the championship race. He explained that when AG is available, he perfectly brings out the best in the team’s offense and defense, with his synergy bringing them to a higher level.
Gordon returned from a hamstring injury in early January after more than a month off and was starting to get back into a great rhythm, even saying he felt better than ever. But, of course, he went down on Friday night with yet another hamstring issue and has gone right back to the sidelines for who knows how long?
Lowe doubles down on AG’s legs as x-factor
And on his latest podcast episode with Mo Dakhil, Lowe went right back to that well, expressing, now for a third time that Gordon’s hamstring is the single biggest variable in the championship race and he reiterated, “Because if he’s healthy, and they’re all healthy, this team is as good as any team in the NBA, including Oklahoma City, and they have the best player.”
Dakhil wholeheartedly agreed, and considering the Thunder’s recent struggles, the Western Conference looks a lot more open for the taking. The positives have been obvious and plentiful for the Nuggets, but the unfortunate reality is that it’s hard to even imagine this team at full strength.
We’ve just seen one injury after another, practically all season long. They’ve weathered the storm, and guys have stepped up and emerged, which has been huge, but at some point, we need to actually see the players who are going to be out there in the biggest games play together and build some chemistry.
Hopefully, Jokic will be back in the next few days, and with any luck, Cam Johnson shortly after. But we still have no update on Gordon or Christian Braun. There’s time, but it’s getting late early. It would be massive to see this team for at least a month or so at full strength, so they can get a chance to click before starting their first playoff run as a unit.