Los Angeles – Nuggets forward Eduardo Najera returned to action Saturday, and said he is prepared to play through the pain of a tibia contusion for the remainder of the season.
“It’s still sore,” Najera said Saturday. “But it’s coming down to the wire and I’m good enough now that I can go a little bit.”
Najera had played a total of just 22 minutes in the Nuggets’ previous nine games because of the injury and missed all of six games, including the past three. Coach George Karl wanted Najera to be available against a large Clippers front line.
According to Najera, who tried to play April 1 against Seattle, he said he couldn’t play the full game because “it got swollen. I think I had a setback. Not only my tibia, but my ankle and my foot got to the point where I couldn’t really stretch it or anything.”
While Najera has been out of the lineup, forward Reggie Evans has been called upon to play more minutes. Karl was satisfied with what he was getting from the rebound-savvy Evans, but was happy to have Najera back in the lineup.
Meanwhile, Najera said he will take it as cautiously as he can.
“I have confidence in the training staff,” he said. “I think it’s going to get better as I go along.”
No charity for A.I.
The free-throw line hasn’t been Allen Iverson’s best friend of late.
The Nuggets guard came into Saturday night’s game just 16-of-32 from the line in his past four games, which included an 0-for-4 performance April 3 against the Lakers.
Iverson is a career 76 percent shooter from the line. Karl said he hadn’t said much to Iverson about it as of yet. Overall, Iverson has shot 76 percent from the free-throw line in his time with the Nuggets.
Footnotes
Karl said his son, Coby, is doing well and that he is pointing toward being ready to play at the NBA predraft camp in Orlando, which begins June 4. “That’s the plan,” Karl said. …
Iverson played against the Clippers despite taking a nasty fall in Friday night’s game against Dallas, which caused him to place some doubt as to whether he would play against the Clippers.
