Tack on another Aaron Gordon injury scare for the Nuggets.
Denver’s do-it-all power forward was a late scratch from Sunday’s game against the Warriors after he woke up feeling tightness in his left calf. He missed his 44th game of the season.
Gordon reported his “discomfort” to the team early in the day, coach David Adelman said before opening tip. The Nuggets decided to rule him out as a precautionary measure. Gordon has experienced a series of calf and hamstring injuries over the last two seasons.
“It’s just too delicate to play him,” Adelman said. “If something happens, even if something small happens, and he’s out for two weeks or whatever it is, that’s a killer with this many games to go. So no reason to (play him). Sometimes I really don’t know (if the injury is serious). Majority of the time, you really do want them to at least try. Go out there and see where their body is at. Today is not one of those times.”
Gordon, 30, is averaging 16.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game in the 32 he has played. He’s shooting 50.1% from the field, 39.9% from 3-point range and 76.5% from the foul line. The Nuggets are allowing 5.6 fewer points per 100 possessions when he’s on the court than when he’s not — the widest defensive rating gap for any player in Denver’s rotation.
Most of the games Gordon has missed this season have been the result of a recurring right hamstring strain. He reaggravated that injury while playing the second game of a back-to-back on Jan. 23 in Milwaukee, causing him to sit out the next six weeks. The Nuggets have avoided playing him on 24 hours of rest since he returned in early March.
Adelman said he was under the impression that Gordon didn’t experience any calf tightness during Denver’s game on Friday.
“As far as I know, it was as of this morning,” the first-year head coach said. “… Now I didn’t talk to him about yesterday. I didn’t see him yesterday. So that’s as far as I know. So it’s unfortunate. … I think I jokingly said it would be nice if we had 15 games together (as a full rotation). And then we said 10. Maybe five would be nice. But yeah, it’s unfortunate. Aaron wants to play. He wants to be there for his teammates.”
Instead of Adelman’s wish being granted — it was initially for 20 games together — the Nuggets have had their full rotation available only twice since last Nov. 12, when injuries started sidetracking them.
Last season, Gordon missed 31 games and came off the bench in nine others because of a right calf strain. He played through that injury in the playoffs, scoring two game-winners for Denver. The whole time, he was “taking a chance every time he explodes and jumps,” Adelman said last May. Gordon ended up suffering a left hamstring strain in Game 6 of Denver’s second-round series against Oklahoma City. He tried to play through that as well in Game 7, contributing eight points and 11 rebounds in a season-ending loss.
The team’s top priority late this season has been getting into the playoffs with Gordon healthy.
“He called in early today to (team doctor) Steve Short, communicated with me,” Adelman said, “and as soon as we talked about it, it just felt like for him, for his body and also for his mind, if you feel like there’s a chance something could happen, there’s no reason for him to play.”
