During the weeks Aaron Gordon spent on the bench and Julian Strawther filled in as a starter, the stream of input from Gordon was constantly flowing.
Strawther wasn’t special.
“He’s been in everybody’s ear,” the young guard said. “I think he’s bored right now. So, glad to get him back out on the floor.”
Gordon was cleared to play Friday after a 17-game absence that added to his season-long struggle with a right hamstring strain. Less talking, more playing is an arrangement the power forward prefers anyway. He missed his 40th game of the year Thursday and his 71st in the last two seasons. For the team, his return was a breath of fresh air. Nobody on Denver’s roster is more versatile at both ends of the floor.
“I think (we missed him) more on the defensive side,” Nikola Jokic said, alluding also to the injured Peyton Watson. “They’re really good on offense, and they give us different variation and different weapons on offense. But I think their length and their ability to guard, we kind of miss more. Definitely, it’s gonna help us.”
The numbers speak for themselves. The Nuggets are 17-6 with Gordon on the court and 22-18 with him on the sideline. Their offensive rating is 3.9 points per 100 possessions better with Gordon than without him. Their defensive rating is 8.2 points better.
The team was planning on him being available as it prepared for Friday’s back-to-back against New York, but he wasn’t cleared publicly until an hour before opening tip. David Adelman said the power forward would be on an unspecified minutes restriction. With Cam Johnson also back from a minor ankle injury, Friday marked the first time Denver’s opening night starting lineup was able to play together since Nov. 12 — ending a streak of 52 consecutive games without at least one starter.
“We’ll be careful with him. … Just to see the range of motion early is gonna be important,” Adelman said. “The game’s going to be fast. (The Knicks) play fast. So I think we’ll get a good idea of where (Gordon and Johnson) are at right away. Get a good baseline of the feel test over just the workout, warm-up kind of thing, which is very different from the real game.”
Gordon went through his usual pregame shooting routine on the main court Thursday before Denver’s 120-113 win over the Lakers — another sign of his readiness to rejoin the lineup. He wore spectacles, slacks and a brown jacket while surrounded by teammates in a centrally located bench seat during the action. Ironically, a game that was potentially his last in street clothes was one of the matchups where he’s usually needed most. The Nuggets were left to fend off Luka Doncic and LeBron James without one of their strongest and most versatile defenders.
“Aaron’s Aaron. He’s a physical presence. He’s shooting the ball really well,” Christian Braun said. “He kind of holds our offense together in a way because he plays in the dunker and can catch lobs and adds a new dynamic, a new athleticism to our offense. … We need him, and we’re excited to have him back and healthy.”
With the power forward back, they have another switchable wing. Another backup center option for down the road. Another quasi-point guard who can bring the ball up against pressure and give Jamal Murray a chance to breathe. Another pick-and-roll ball-handler. Another pick-and-roll screener. Another spot-up shooter.
Another above-the-rim wide receiver. One of the most awkward side-effects of his absence, in Adelman’s view, was the attention Gordon demands without the ball on the baseline. Jokic has fed him hundreds of alley-oops late in games when Gordon has lurked in the short corner, behind the last line of defense. Denver guarded Bruce Brown and Christian Braun have ended up occupying that space more without him.
Even they realize it’s not the same.
“It’s a little different, throwing the ball to me in the dunker than throwing to Aaron,” Braun said Thursday. “I think it’s easier for Jok to throw it to the top of the box where Aaron always gets it than it is trying to find a way to dump it off to me. So I’m sure it’s good for Jok too, to have him there. And I think everybody kind of gets back to their natural position and spot on the court. So we’ll get to our spots better. We’ll hold our spots better. Just having him as a physical presence is big for us.”
“It’s different when it’s Aaron flooding — we all know that,” Adelman said. “It’s a dunk. It’s not just a catch and trying to make the next pass. But they’re doing what we ask them to do.”
In the 23 games he was able to play before Friday, Gordon was averaging a career-high 17.7 points per game, plus 6.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists while shooting 40% from 3-point range. As a shooter, he picked up right where he left off last year.
The Nuggets can only hope he picks up again where he left off in January.
“Whether it’s on the floor or off the floor, I feel like just having him around and in a jersey makes a difference on its own,” said Strawther, well aware that his days as a starter were numbered. “So we’re super-excited to have him back, and the physicality he brings on on both sides, offensively, dominating smaller matchups — we’re excited to get that back.”
