This hasn’t been an easy journey for center Jusuf Nurkic.
First, he had knee surgery last May. Then he endured a nearly eight-month rehab. Then, finally, he returned. And then he had another scare with the knee and an ankle injury to accompany it, which knocked him out of action again. Then he returned once more.
All his time off had taken its toll on the 7-footer’s conditioning and fluidity on the court. A poor performance against Memphis on Jan. 21 alarmed Nuggets coach Michael Malone so much that he decided to impose his own playing-time restriction on Nurkic — no minutes on the court until the second-year player was able to make strides in his conditioning.
Ever since, Nurkic has done just that.
“I try to get as much practice as I can,” Nurkic said.
It’s paying off.
He’s trending in the right direction in the last two games, appearing more nimble on the court and able to play hard for longer stretches. As a result, he has been on the court longer. His 15 minutes at Washington and his 16 minutes against Indiana were his third- and fourth-highest playing totals of the season.
“I see a guy who is rounding into shape,” Malone said.
“I feel good,” Nurkic said.
Nurkic is averaging 7.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in his last two games. He also had three blocked shots in those games, including two in the overtime loss at Indiana. Nurkic’s best asset for the Nuggets right now remains his ability to clog the lane and provide rim protection.
Offensively, Malone wants to see Nurkic play under more control, slowing down and using his size to back defenders down and score in the post. He’s shooting only 38.4 percent in his last two games, but Nurkic said he’s making strides in that area.
“That’s coming, that’s coming,” Nurkic said. “I haven’t played in so long. I will play in these next games, and I think every game will be better.”
Christopher Dempsey: cdempsey@denverpost.com or @dempseypost
TORONTO AT DENVER 7 p.m. Monday, ALT; 950 AM
Spotlight on Kyle Lowry:
The Raptors point guard’s ascension in the eyes of fans has mirrored his rise in the rankings of the NBA’s elite at the position. Simply put, the 6-footer is among the best. He burst past Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving in NBA all-star voting, getting 32,285 votes to earn a starting spot for the Eastern Conference. The numbers that got him there, all career highs: 21.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. He’s also averaging 6.3 assists.
NOTEBOOK
Raptors:
This is the first of Toronto’s five-game road trip. The Raptors are coming into Denver as arguably the hottest team in the NBA. They have won 11 consecutive games, a franchise record, and went 12-2 in January. … Forward DeMarre Carroll (knee surgery) will sit out of this game. He played against the Nuggets in the first matchup, scoring 10 points on Dec. 3 in Toronto.
Nuggets:
Denver is looking to sweep the two-game season series from the Raptors. One of the Nuggets’ best victories this season was the one in Toronto, where the Nuggets walked out 106-105 winners against a team that has only lost six times there this season in 24 games. Will Barton came off the bench to score 22 points in that contest. …. The Nuggets expect to have a full complement of players for the second consecutive game.
Christopher Dempsey, The Denver Post
