SALT LAKE CITY — Nuggets point guard Emmanuel Mudiay missed his third straight game Friday night, as he continues to deal with a sprained right ankle. The outlook for his immediate return is murky at best.
The timetable for Mudiay’s return is 10-14 days, of which Friday was the seventh day. He did not participate in shootaround but is out of the walking boot he donned during the week. Nuggets coach Michael Malone is aware of the official timetable but said the team will evaluate each night if he improves ahead of schedule.
“Hold out hope for Sunday’s game against New Orleans,” Malone said. “I think it’s kind of a day-to-day thing. He’s doing more on his foot, so we’ll see where the rehab and his recovery is.”
The Nuggets have started Jameer Nelson in Mudiay’s place in each of the games and go with a ball-handler-by-committee approach after that. Randy Foye has been the focal point of that, but Danilo Gallinari and Will Barton have assumed increased ball-handling duties as the Nuggets piece things together with just one true point guard healthy on the roster.
Jusuf Nurkic participates
It wasn’t a real practice, not even a contact practice, but Jusuf Nurkic participated in shootaround Friday morning, his first baby step in the process of getting back into the mix and eventually into a game.
Nurkic’s excitement level was obvious.
“He looked like a kid that came down(stairs) on Christmas morning,” Malone said. “He had a lot of bounce, a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm. Here’s a guy that has not been able to play yet, and he’s been champing at the bit to get back.”
Footnotes
Darrell Arthur continues to be on a minutes restriction. It was bumped up to 20 minutes for Friday’s game, from the 15 minutes he was limited to against Minnesota on Tuesday.
The Nuggets are in a stretch of nine of 13 games on the road.
Christopher Dempsey, The Denver Post
