There is no better friend to Ty Lawson right now than time.
The Nuggets point guard is hoping that every extra minute he has to rest his sprained left ankle between now and Sunday’s playoff opener at Oklahoma City will pay off.
Lawson, who injured the ankle Wednesday night, did not practice Friday, though he did shoot free throws after the team’s workout at the Pepsi Center.
Lawson said he hopes he’ll be able to practice today with the team before the Nuggets travel to Oklahoma City in the afternoon.
“We’ll see how it does and just get a feel for how much I can go,” Lawson said.
Lawson said he has made substantial progress, from barely being able to walk Thursday morning to resuming jogging Friday. He’ll be able to receive treatment today as well as Sunday because Game 1 doesn’t tip off until 8:30 p.m. in Oklahoma City.
Guard Arron Afflalo, who has been dealing with a nagging hamstring injury for the last month, said he “felt good” after Friday’s workout. Now that the playoffs are starting, sitting out is not an option, he said.
“My thing is, I’d rather risk a re- aggravation than sit back and watch,” Afflalo said.
After practice, center Timofey Mozgov (knee/ankle) said he will not play Sunday. Mozgov, who injured his left knee and ankle April 5 against Oklahoma City, said he hopes to play in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Nuggets getting physical.
The Nuggets have talked for days about preparing for a physical playoff series against Oklahoma City. On Friday, they backed up that talk in practice.
In a spirited scrimmage to end practice, reserve forward Al Harrington crashed his 6-foot-9, 250-pound body into a plexiglass window. The glass cracked like a badly damaged windshield, much to the amusement of Harrington’s teammates.
Karl puts aside friendship.
Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks started his NBA coaching career in Denver, working for George Karl in 2005-06, and the two coaches remain friends, with Karl even describing Brooks on Friday as “family.” But not right now.
“I hope somewhere along the line our interaction will help us, not them,” Karl said.
Lindsay H. Jones and Chris Dempsey, The Post
