How much can an NBA team miss a guy who had played nine games and averaged four points a game?
Answer: plenty.
At least if that team is the Nuggets and the player is Chucky Atkins.
The Nuggets were excited about getting Atkins for the bargain-basement price of two years and $6.6 million. They felt like he was an upgrade over Steve Blake, that his steady ballhandling and three-point shooting would add an extra dimension to their offense.
The time has come to file it all under What Might Have Been. Because Atkins is facing surgery to repair a sports hernia, a procedure that figures to end his season virtually before it began.
It’s too bad. Another Nuggets player who could have contributed gone for the long run. It’s not like Atkins is the first. The Nuggets have been among the most injury-prone teams in the league in recent years.
Kenyon Martin’s knee problems have ensured that he’ll never be the player the Nuggets thought they were getting for $90 million. Nene is back on the court, but, given his injury history, you have to wonder how long he’ll stay there.
Will the Nuggets ever have a relatively injury-free season? In the immortal words of every Cubs fan that ever was, maybe next year.
Follow Jim Armstrong’s daily sports commentaries on The Jimmy Page during the week at noon. And read his columns on Sundays at .
He can be reached at 303-954-1269 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
