Without Aaron Gordon the Nuggets do not look like a champion.
He doesn’t make the team. But his absence could break the Nuggets.
The sky has not fallen on Denver. Not yet, anyway.
However, the mounting injuries and the performance against contenders paint a picture of looming May disappointment.
Obviously, the Nuggets need a healthy Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, their two All-Stars. Which is what made playing Jokic 45 minutes in the overtime loss to the Knicks irresponsible and unnecessary.
Nobody cares if you win a game in the first week of February if it compromises Jokic in the postseason. And he blew past his 34-minute restriction as he ramps up his return from a hyperextended knee.
It was particularly jarring in light of what happened to Gordon. He re-injured his hamstring after playing on back-to-back nights, a regrettable decision.
With the Nuggets announcing Friday that Peyton Watson (hamstring) will be re-evaluated in a month, six rotation players will miss three-plus weeks consecutively this season. Watson joins Jokic, Gordon, Christian Braun, Cam Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas.
The Nuggets should call Beau Lowery, the Broncos vice president of player health and performance. The Broncos have all but eliminated soft-tissue injuries. The Nuggets can’t avoid them, especially Gordon.
Gordon became Mr. Nugget last postseason, playing well, playing hurt and refusing to flinch in an elimination series against Oklahoma City.
Before the playoffs, I wrote it could be Gordon’s last stand, believing the Nuggets might have to deal him to address multiple needs if there was no taker for Michael Porter Jr.
The co-GMs, Jon Wallace and Ben Tenzer, muted that uncomfortable conversation by shipping MPJ to the Nets.
Now, is Gordon the one with the bad contract? Well, his three-year, $103.6 million extension kicks in next season when he turns 31, and his legs are betraying him. He has had multiple calf issues and three hamstring strains over the last nine months. Gordon explained in a recent interview with 9News that the grieving of his brother’s death in 2024 has affected his body physically.
It is understandable. And awful.
Hopefully, his latest setback, which will likely keep him out until March, provides answers in his recovery and prevention. Because man, do the Nuggets need him.
He makes all the pieces of the puzzle fit. He is a plus-defender on a roster with few of them. He can bring the ball up against pressure. He can match up against centers. And disrespect his range, and he will nail a 3-pointer.
Even with Watson’s emergence, there is no one else like him. Don’t believe it?
Watching the Nuggets against the Thunder, Pistons and Knicks, one unnerving conclusion became obvious: There is no way Denver wins16 playoff games without Gordon.
Voting problems: Has there ever been more controversy about voting, the non-White House edition? First, there was the Hall of Fame fiasco that featured a former Patriots kicker, Adam Vinatieri, getting in before coach Bill Belichick and owner Robert Kraft. Then this: Matthew Stafford edged Drake Maye for MVP honors in the closest race since Peyton Manning and Steve McNair shared the award in 2003 because Sam Munson gave Justin Herbert a first-place vote. Herbert carried the Chargers and their oil-leaking offensive line into the playoffs. He was valuable. But not the most valuable player in the league. To his team. He wasn’t even a finalist. You can’t win the award with 26 touchdowns and 13 picks when Stafford, against a much-tougher schedule, posts 46 and eight. Doesn’t matter if Stafford struggled in moments when his protection broke down. The body of work overwhelmed Herbert’s. While I respect the transparency from Munson, formerly employed by Pro Football Focus, this is a textbook example of overthinking it.
Raider of Lost Art: Klint Kubiak, a Regis Jesuit High and CSU alum, must buck an ugly trend. Of the six previous Raiders coaches who were hired without experience as a Raiders assistant or as an NFL head coach, only Al Davis succeeded in a big way. Others had to leave to accomplish their goals, and some never realized them from the group of Dennis Allen, Lane Kiffin, Jon Gruden, Mike Shanahan and Eddie Erdelatz.
Viking problem: Attempting to link the Vikings’ firing of GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah to his paternity leave is unbecoming. He screwed up on the quarterback — keeping J.J. McCarthy over Sam Darnold — and misfired too often in the draft. See, wasn’t that easy?
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