Twenty-five days later, he’s no longer day to day.
Rudy Fernandez returned to the court with the Nuggets on Tuesday night against Atlanta after being listed as day to day because of a lingering lower-back strain.
Fernandez, a backup guard, was averaging 9.3 points entering Tuesday and has been a valuable player off the bench.
“He and (Danilo) Gallinari both give us playmaking, better decision making and simple, good basketball plays. And spacing on the floor,” Nuggets coach George Karl said. “Most people are going to be more fearful of Rudy than of Andre (Miller) and Corey (Brewer).
“Now there will be more guys out there sharing the responsibility with how we play. You can’t expect Ty (Lawson) and Andre to take 100 percent of the (responsibility) for attacking, pushing the tempo, getting into the gaps and getting into the pick-and-rolls. And then you can find a guy in a good rhythm and flow, you could maybe extend his opportunities and minutes. I think the balance of our offense will be better.”
Blast from the past. Former Nuggets guard Nick Van Exel, etched in pop-culture lore with the Jay-Z lyric “Rock handle like Van Exel,” is a developmental coach for the Hawks.
“We had him in the summer league as guest coach and I thought he was good,” Karl said. “That was five, six years ago. He has a great sense for the game. He and I have had some great run-ins. I think one night when I was in Milwaukee he had 33 at the half against me, because in the summertime I said I didn’t think he was a max-contract player.
“We loved him in Seattle. We were selling our soul to try to get him in the second round, but we couldn’t get a pick. But Gary Payton and Nick Van Exel — I probably wouldn’t be here if we had gotten those (big personalities) together.” Benjamin Hochman, The Denver Post
