Nuggets optimistic Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. will be back for playoffs, per report

Nikola Jokic has largely been left to carry the Denver Nuggets on his own this season, and he's done an admirable job of it. The MVP candidate has Denver tied for the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference at 36-25, but fortunately, reinforcements appear to be on the way.

Jamal Murray has been out all season after tearing his ACL in April. Michael Porter Jr. has missed most of the season due to a back injury. However, sources told The Athletic's Sam Amick that "there is a strong sense within Denver's locker room that they'll both be back in time for the playoffs. If not sooner."

Porter's timeline is a bit clearer. He is set to be cleared for on-court contact within the next week, according to his agent Mark Bartelstein. From there, he would be expected to return at some point in March. Porter has not played since Nov. 6, and he struggled in the nine games he appeared in averaging a mere 9.9 points on 35.9 percent shooting. Should he return in March, he would theoretically have enough time to ramp up and get back in shape for the playoffs in April.

Murray does not have such a detailed timeline. He tore his ACL last April, and typically, the recovery from such an injury takes roughly one year. No two ACL tears are identical, though, as some players have returned in eight months while others have needed well over a year. However, Amick's reporting suggests that he is at least on the right track, though it is unclear how effective Murray will be when he returns.

The Nuggets looked nearly unstoppable at full strength a season ago. They won their first seven games after acquiring Aaron Gordon and were derailed only by Murray's injury. The five-man starting lineup of Murray, Gordon, Porter, Jokic and Will Barton outscored opponents by 16.8 points per 100 possessions when healthy last season. It shouldn't be long now before that unit is reunited.

The Phoenix Suns are playing without Chris Paul. The Golden State Warriors are awaiting the return of Draymond Green. Both Los Angeles teams are riddled with injuries. The West is available for the taking if these injuries persist. Jokic may have spent most of the season carrying the Nuggets on his back, but soon, he could be leading the deepest and most dangerous group in the whole conference.

Comments

Klay Thompson to sit out Warriors preseason games in Japan as Kerr says he needs more time to ramp-up

Klay Thompson may have returned healthy to the Golden State Warriors last season, but the scars from his two missed seasons are still quite visible. The Warriors played their first of two preseason games against the Washington Wizards on Friday and will play another on Sunday, but Warriors coach Steve Kerr said that Thompson will not be playing at all during the trip to Japan. "Just feel more comfortable giving him a little more of a ramp up," Kerr said before Friday's victory over Washington. "He's just not quite ready to play at this point just based on where, you know, we're so early in camp. We just want to be safe and make sure he gets a good ramp-up before he plays in games." Typically, so little time to ramp up wouldn't be a problem for a veteran in a preseason context. The games tend to be so low-impact and demand so few minutes out of a team's best players that they can safely jog through them. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green played 1...

Shaquille O'Neal says Dennis Rodman was his worst teammate: 'He was a great player, but he made it hard'

Shaquille O'Neal played for six franchises over a 20-year NBA career. That's a lot of teammates. Speaking on The Big Podcast with Shaq, the four-time champion and Hall of Famer revealed which one of those teammates was the worst. "Worst teammate? Dennis Rodman," O'Neal said. "He was a great player, but he made it hard. Like when you try to corral the guys together and the people above you [are] letting this one guy do whatever he wants. So we had to be there an hour before the game. He'd come in fifteen minutes before the game eating chicken and rice. While the coaches are talking, he would jump in the shower. Cold shower. Come and give you 15-20 rebounds." O'Neal played with some characters in his time. We know about his beef with Kobe Bryant, who we know wasn't always the easiest teammate to get along with, though Shaq has long expressed regret over the way he and Bryant handled their relationship as young superstars, and eventually, he ...

Kevin Durant injury update: Nets rule star out for home-and-home vs. Raptors, hopeful for return later in week

Brooklyn Nets star forward Kevin Durant is expected to return to the floor this upcoming week. Head coach Steve Nash says it just won't be against the Raptors, either Monday or Tuesday night in the team's home-and-home against Toronto. Durant has started doing more on-court work recently as he recovers from the sprained MCL he suffered in his left knee last month, and Nash is optimistic about his prognosis moving forward. The former MVP will not play on Monday night against the Toronto Raptors, however. "I think with Kevin he's been a great healer throughout his career," Nash said Saturday. "So the No. 1 thing is to get him back healthy and feeling secure in his health and his body so he can move and be free. When he's back, obviously he adds a ton to our team on both ends of the floor ... one of the greatest scorers of all time. And we also know he helps us defensively; he gives us more size and length. So he's a big miss for us, and whenever he get...

Crossover World

Search This Blog