CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kenneth Faried must wait a little longer before fully returning to action.
The energetic forward sat out his second consecutive game because of a sore back, missing the Nuggets’ matchup with the Hornets at Time Warner Cable Arena on Saturday night.
Faried tweaked his back during the third quarter of Tuesday’s game at Orlando and didn’t play Thursday at Atlanta.
Coach Michael Malone suggested Faried may be able to return for Monday’s game at Cleveland — the finale of the Nuggets’ five-game road trip.
“He is a work in progress,” Malone said. “Obviously, his back has been giving him issues for a while. He has tried to play through it. It hasn’t gotten better at this time of the year.
“Instead of having him go out there and do more damage, it gives us an opportunity to see some of our younger players. But I know our training staff is getting with him, trying to get him right.”
Faried, 26, is averaging 12.9 points and 8.8 rebounds in 61 games (59 starts) this season.
More pressure, please
Defense was a major problem for the Nuggets through the first three games of this road trip.
Opponents scored at least 116 points, and the Miami Heat put up 124 in the opening game of the trip. Malone hasn’t been pleased with the effort and said the Nuggets must improve their perimeter defense in particular.
“I think to be a good defensive team, it always starts on the ball,” Malone said. “Can you contain the basketball? And that has been an issue.
“When you get beat from the 3-point line, it’s because the opposing guards are living in your paint, collapsing your defense and kicking out to wide-open shooters. So, that’s where it always starts — in transition first and then half court. Can you limit dribble penetration? And if you are able to keep your guards out of the paint, that should allow you to be a much-improved defensive team.”
Roderick Boone, Special to The Denver Post
