SAN ANTONIO — Winning has afforded the Nuggets the opportunity to be cautious with injured players.
Carmelo Anthony is the latest case. The star forward has missed three consecutive games with a sprained left ankle, although he’s optimistic he will start today against San Antonio. If the Nuggets were in dire straits as far as their record, he might have played earlier. But the Nuggets have a big-picture focus, and rushing players back isn’t in the plan.
“I think because of our good start and everything like that, even with Chauncey (Billups), we haven’t rushed injuries back,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “If this was the end of March and we’re fighting for that second seed, I think we might be more into getting him on the court and see what happens, rather than, ‘Let’s make sure it’s 100 percent before we put him back out there.’ “
Having said that, Karl notes the team is ready to get its star back on the court. Anthony has played in only six games this month because of ankle and knee injuries.
“I can say I think from my read on the team, we’re anxious to get him back,” Karl said. “The first couple of games you’re kind of, ‘Hey, this is pretty cool, I get a few shots here, more opportunity here.’ But deep down inside, the way our schedule is and who we have to play in the next 10 days, maybe we’ve squeezed enough out of this sponge and let’s get him back in the lineup.”
Anthony is poised to return for his first action since Jan. 23. After practice in Oklahoma City on Saturday morning, he said he felt the best he had in days but would let a pregame workout today determine whether he plays. He had a temporary setback Thursday morning as the ankle swelled on the plane ride from Houston to Oklahoma City.
“That was the game that I wanted to come back,” said Anthony of Friday’s game against the Thunder. “That was the game the trainers were kind of scared of, that it was going to swell on the plane. But the good thing that we can take from not playing in Oklahoma City is it gave me another 24 hours to rest.
“I’m better, much better. I’m going to try before the game, but it felt good (in practice Saturday). It’s the first time that I actually got a chance to run and cut and do a lot of things.”
As for not playing much during January, Anthony thinks it could turn out to be good fortune.
“I get a chance to rest and rehab now, rehab all my body,” he said. “It’s funny that it came at this point of the season, the middle of the season. I get a chance to feel rejuvenated.”
Anthony’s presence should open things up for his teammates, who were largely bottled up in putting up a season-low 84 points against the Thunder.
“It’s a big boost to have him back,” guard Ty Lawson said. “For me, it means probably more shots when he kicks it out of the double-team. But it’s just our leader back. He’s the main focus of our team. We need him back.”
Chris Dempsey: 303-954-1279 or cdempsey@denverpost.com
Denver at San Antonio
11 a.m. today, KMGH-7, KCKK 1510 AM
Spotlight on George Hill: With Tony Parker out with an ankle injury, Hill will again be counted on to pick up the slack. “I thought he was fantastic (Friday) night,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “He looked like a bigger Tony Parker.” Hill had 18 points and five assists in a win over Memphis.
Nuggets: Asked if it would be easy to leave the Oklahoma City loss behind, coach George Karl said: “I hope so. We haven’t had many of them. I told them after the game they might be the best team I’ve ever coached in not putting yourselves in big holes.” . . . The Nuggets had few problems in getting out of icy Oklahoma, which was recovering from a vicious storm.
Spurs: Today is the last home game before the Spurs’ annual “Rodeo Trip,” an eight-game road trip that runs Feb. 3-21.
Chris Dempsey, The Denver Post
