TORONTO — Overtime was a killer.
Sitting in the postgame locker room at the Air Canada Centre late Monday night, Nuggets guard Ty Lawson noted his legs “felt like tree stumps.”
Not that it was noticeable minutes earlier, when he continued to sprint around the court with speed that challenged any Toronto Raptors defender to stay in front of him.
But in the final two games — back-to-back games, no less — of the just-concluded road trip, Lawson played a whopping 92 minutes, with 43 against the Atlanta Hawks and 49 in Monday night’s overtime loss at Toronto.
If you ask Nuggets coach Brian Shaw, it’s way too many minutes. He’s worried about wearing out his young point guard, who not only is playing big minutes but tough minutes.
“I just feel bad for him because I feel like I’m wearing him down,” Shaw said. “He played 43 minutes (at Atlanta). He has to do so much for our team in terms of, he has the ball in his hands; he has to come flying off the pick-and-roll; he has to hit guys when they roll or throw the ball back to our shooters; be the first line of defense. And he never gets a break to get off the ball for somebody else to make plays.”
And Shaw hasn’t found a remedy for it. Lawson is averaging a career-high 37.2 minutes per game this season. But if you ask the veteran point guard about it, he just shrugs it off.
“I’m not really worried about it,” Lawson said. “I just have to have better preparation to get ready for this stretch where I’m playing 40-plus.”
The Nuggets are without two other ball handlers who could relieve some of the pressure on Lawson. Nate Robinson is out with a back injury, and while he’s day to day, it’s not been a simple bounce-back type of ailment. Meanwhile, Randy Foye is out and will remain out for at least two more weeks with a small tear in his right quadriceps.
And even if they were in the lineup, the load still falls on Lawson to set the table for everyone else. He’s been so effective at it that he’s risen to second in the NBA in assists. But there could be a toll to be paid for it.
After Sunday’s game in Atlanta, Shaw shook his head.
“He’s dribbling around, he’s defending and I know we have a game (Wednesday), but if I take him out of the game, I don’t feel confident with anybody else that we have right now that’s able to run the team and get us any semblance of anything on the offensive end,” Shaw said. “So it’s something I’m going to have to take a look at, and we’re going to have to take a look at as a team.”
Asked if he was concerned about the toll the accumulation of minutes might have on him in January, February or March, Lawson didn’t budge.
“I’m still young,” Lawson said. “Just got to prepare for it and not worry about things. If you’re worried about (later in the season) and lose now, then January and February are not going to matter anyway.”
Christopher Dempsey: cdempsey@denverpost.com or
MIAMI AT DENVER
8:30 p.m. Wednesday, ESPN, ALT; 950 AM
Spotlight on Chris Bosh: When LeBron James left the fun and sun of Miami to return home to Ohio and head up the Cavaliers’ reclamation project, it appeared Chris Bosh would slide out of town with him. But he spurned a big contract offer from Houston to take a bigger one to stay in Miami. And while the team hasn’t won in the same manner it did during the James era, Bosh has stepped up his production and leadership, playing a lead role in hopes of getting the new-look Heat back into the playoffs.
NOTEBOOK
Nuggets: The Nuggets hope to get a player or two back from injury out of the following group: Kenneth Faried (back), JaVale McGee (tibia) and Nate Robinson (back). All three have missed the last two games and are questionable for Wednesday’s game. … The Nuggets are 4-1 in their past five home games.
Heat: Miami arrives in Denver for the second game of a back-to-back set, having played at Phoenix on Tuesday night. This is the fourth game of a five-game road trip for the Heat. … Going into Tuesday night’s game, the Heat had lost three consecutive games on the road and four straight overall.
Christopher Dempsey, The Denver Post
