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 Saturday morning with the team before the Nuggets travel to Oklahoma City that afternoon.
“We’ll see how it does and just get a feel for how much I can go,” Lawson said.
After practice, center Timofey Mozgov (knee/ankle) said he will not play Sunday in Game 1. Mozgov, who injured his left knee and ankle April 5 against Oklahoma City, said he hopes to play in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Lawson said he has made substantial progress in the past 48 hours, from barely being able to walk Thursday morning to resuming jogging on Friday. He’ll be able to receive treatment on Saturday as well as on Sunday because the Nuggets game against the Thunder doesn’t tip off until 7:30 p.m. MDT.
“I’m going to keep working at it and try to get better,” Lawson said.
Guard Arron Afflalo, who has been dealing with a nagging hamstring injury for the last month, said he “felt good” after Friday’s workout. Afflalo has missed 13 of the team’s last 18 games, and has re-aggravated the injury when he has tried to return. 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.
Lindsay H. Jones: 303-954-1262 or ljones@denverpost.com
