Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon was able to return to action on Friday following a two-game absence, but the right calf injury he has been battling for much of the season continues to cast a murky cloud as the postseason nears, per Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. Gordon, who has also been dealing with a left ankle sprain recently, has missed a total of 27 games thus far in 2024/25.
“You’ve gotta remember, and I think about this all the time, there’s a big difference between, ‘Hey, Aaron can go out there and play,’ and, ‘He can go out there and play effectively,'” head coach Michael Malone said. “So I think most of the times when he’s not available to play, it’s because — calf strain, ankle, whatever it may be — it’s been, ‘I can’t go out there and do my job.’
“Obviously, we know what Aaron means to this team. And every chance he’s had a chance to play, he’s played really well for us. But it’s just been a very up-and-down season in terms of availability, and that’s been really frustrating for him.”
Gordon was a game-high plus-16 in Friday’s victory, finishing with 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a block in 31 minutes.
Here’s more on the Nuggets:
- Durando describes Friday’s comeback victory over Los Angeles as an “awful night” for the Nuggets, who needed another Jamal Murray game-winner to emerge victorious against a Lakers team missing LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Dorian Finney-Smith, Rui Hachimura and Jaxson Hayes. Three of the last seven meetings between the two teams have been capped off by game-winning shots from Murray, Durando notes. “This isn’t a beauty pageant,” Malone said. “We don’t get rated on our wins. It’s a win.”
- Third-year forward Peyton Watson struggled in his limited playing time during Sunday’s loss at Oklahoma City, but he enacted revenge by scoring 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting and playing strong defense in Monday’s victory over the Thunder, according to Durando of The Denver Post. “I was fired up to play today,” Watson said after the game. “I knew I was going to get another chance. And this is how I respond to things like this, when I’m being challenged by my coach or my team.”
- Malone talked extensively after last year’s playoffs about trying to find ways to get his rotation regulars more rest ahead of another potential postseason push in 2025. However, with only two games separating Denver, Houston, Memphis and the Lakers as they jockey for positioning behind the top-seeded Thunder, Malone said finding an ideal balance between rest and winning will be “really hard, if not impossible,” as Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette relays (via Twitter).
The Nuggets need to get rid of Murray and Gordon in the offseason. Both are overpaid and have been ghosts since they won that championship.
Murray yes. Gordon is their second place player and they are terrible without him. That’s who Jokic looks for all the time and he’s by far their best defender.
His defense doesn’t really make a difference anymore. They are terrible even when he’s out there. He can’t create his own shot to save his life and can’t even rebound.
You’re entitled to your opinion about Murray’s paycheck, but this season he’s playing the most minutes/gm and scoring the highest ppg in his career at 21.5, and is above his career avgs in all of his counting stats.
This is crazy. Gordon got off to a hot start this season and his body just broke down. He needs an off-season to recover. Murray was terrible to start the season but offensively, while inconsistent, he’s still good and needed. The most overpaid, and I like him, is MPJ. Watson is a frustrating player. Zeke at times too lately. Why is Braun suddenly inconsistent?
Knecht with 32 pts ….. Lakers can get value for Knecht next yr. They should be happy to have him back.
Nothing in this article about whether Gordon is felling better enough to play in the next game. Lingering calf issues are dangerous, he could end up missing an extended period and there’s only 15 games left in the reg season.