The hard part’s over for Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony.
His first game back from injury Friday netted 19 points in almost 30 minutes and a Nuggets victory, signifying a successful return after he missed 10 games with a fractured right hand.
But a quick return to Anthony’s regular playing time of nearly 34 minutes per game is not in the cards. Nuggets coach George Karl said he plans to bring Anthony back slowly rather than proceed as if the star had never left.
“I think it would be difficult for me to play him 38 minutes (against San Antonio on Tuesday) or the next game,” Karl said. “I think it’s going to be a progression of a week, and then another week probably before he’s at that 35-minute mark. I think Melo should work to push himself more and more every opportunity he gets.”
Part of Anthony’s rehab involved extensive conditioning, and it paid off.
“I’m good,” Anthony said. “My condition is good. My shape is good. I think I kind of surprised George a little bit with the shape I came back in.”
Anthony is averaging 33.8 minutes this season, which is down from his 36.4 average last season. Part of getting him back into games full time hinges on him fitting back into what the Nuggets are doing.
The team won six of 10 games without him, continued to establish a consistent defensive identity and did not rely on any one player to carry the scoring load.
“Anytime you get a great player back, everybody’s got to work to get the personality to where it fits, but also feels comfortable,” Karl said. “I don’t think it will be that difficult. I think we’ve got a lot of good pieces. I think if he just plays hard defensively, the offense will happen.”
Anthony said he was cognizant of his shot total (5-of-12 from the field) Friday night.
“If I would have came out just straight shooting, I probably would have had a lot of people mad out there,” he said. “But it was just about making everybody better. I came right in and fit right in well and continued making everybody better by passing the ball, keeping everybody happy.”
It wasn’t lost on his teammates.
“He didn’t rush anything, he just let the game come to him,” guard J.R. Smith said. “So, it’s always a good thing.”
Everyone knows, however, that for the Nuggets to be at their best, Anthony will have to reassume the responsibility of taking the load.
“It’s not so much that he has to fit into what we were doing. He’s a great player,” Smith said. “So he’s just going to pick up where he left off. I think that’s going to help us. He’s just doing what he knows how.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
