Michael Porter Jr. had 20 points and nine rebounds in 25 minutes against Oklahoma City on Sunday. The Nuggets forward said he’s still recovering from the ankle injury that sidelined him during the preseason.
“My ankle is just starting to feel better. I’m starting to feel more balance in my shot,” Porter told The Denver Post’s Bennett Durando. “And then I didn’t play all preseason. I didn’t really get to finish training camp, so it’s just being out there and getting the feel for it again.”
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, no stranger to Defensive Player of the Year trophies, says he feels stronger than ever and believes that with the athletes around him, Minnesota can have the best defense in the league, per Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “We have size. We have guys that can move their feet. We have guys that are dogs, competitors,” Gobert said. “Those three things, you put them together, why wouldn’t you want us to be the best defensive team in the league with all those weapons?”
- Jaden McDaniels will make his debut against Atlanta tonight, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic tweets. The Timberwolves forward has been dealing with a left calf injury. He signed a five-year rookie scale extension a week ago.
- Jazz rookie Keyonte George is getting acclimated to the NBA game, including back-to-backs. He admitted he was “gassed” after playing on consecutive nights, he told Sarah Todd of the Deseret News. “I’m honest with myself and yeah, I was kind of gassed,” George said. “So now that tells me I’ve gotta get more into shape…(Coach Will Hardy) wants us to play extremely hard but the goal is to not be tired. If you’re not tired, you don’t come out of the game and you can impact winning.” The 16th pick of the draft is averaging 19.3 minutes per game.
I remember seeing guys running in the 90’s with parachutes on a football field. Maybe that would help George’s wind, both literally and physically. =)