PHOENIX — Nuggets center Joffrey Lauvergne would rather avoid talking about Friday’s terrorist attacks in Paris, but he did say his family and friends are accounted for.
“They are all OK,” he said before Saturday’s game against the Suns. “It’s sad. That’s all I have to say.”
It’s a sensitive situation for Lauvergne, a native of France. In Phoenix and throughout the NBA, arenas conducted a moment of silence for the people killed in Paris. There are many players in the NBA from France.
Once he was properly informed of what was happening in Paris, Nuggets coach Michael Malone said he talked to Lauvergne to make sure everything was all right.
“Obviously, it caught me off guard, and what a tragedy,” Malone said. “When I came back I went over to Joffrey to make sure that he was OK, and to check in on all of his family and friends and relatives back in France to make sure that they were OK. To the best of his knowledge, at that time they were.
“But you take a step back sometimes, and it gives you perspective on life. We get caught up in a bunker mentality: ‘Hey, let’s win a game, let’s win a game.’ And when you step back when something like that happens, you realize there’s a lot more important things going on in the world. A senseless tragedy, and obviously our thoughts and prayers are with everybody in Paris.”
Injury report. Lauvergne did not play Saturday because of a strained lower back.
It was the seventh consecutive game he has missed, but he has started running again and is optimistic that he will play Tuesday against the Pelicans in New Orleans.
“It feels almost perfect,” Lauvergne said. “I am going to do a little bit more (Sunday) and we’ll see how I feel.” Christopher Dempsey, The Denver Post
