The Denver Nuggets are in a dog fight to stay alive in the Western Conference playoffs, but the task just got a lot harder with Aaron Gordon’s recent injury.
Despite playing 37 minutes in Monday’s 119-114 loss to the Timberwolves, Gordon was ruled out for Game 3, a worrying sign for a Nuggets team tied 1-1 on the road. Ahead of tip-off, head coach David Adelman expounded on the situation and explained the message to his team ahead of such a pivotal game.
“After the game, we were waiting to see how he’d react to it,” said Adelman, via Ryan Ryan Eichten. “You don’t practice hard between these games, so it’s more of a walkthrough prep kind of situation, which he was a part of. Today, there wasn’t much improvement, so he’s out. I can’t tell the future, so I don’t know what tomorrow is gonna bring. The guys know it’s Game 3 of the playoffs, so you have to be ready to play. This is a big game for our team as we try to bounce back from Game 2, and unfortunately, Aaron will not be part of it.”
“With Peyton [Watson] out too, it means a bunch of other guys have to step up, and they may have to do things they are not comfortable doing,” Adelman added. “We prepared this morning, with Aaron playing and without him. You go through all those iterations, but, obviously, it’s a downer, but it’s over, he’s not playing, so the guys that are prepared to win.”
The official diagnosis for Gordon is left calf tightness, which requires careful monitoring to prevent further injury or re-aggravation. While it’s not a serious setback on the surface, it can seriously limit mobility on the floor. In Gordon’s case, the lingering discomfort was enough justification to keep him from action, leaving Denver without a key contributor in the frontcourt.
With Peyton Watson on the bench, the Nuggets were already missing a valuable rotation player. Gordon’s absence, however, leaves them vulnerable on a whole different level. The 6’8″ power forward helped Denver win the title in 2023, and he’s been a key player in their frontcourt ever since. This season, while he was limited to just 36 games, he still maintained his usual standards, averaging 16.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.3 blocks on 49.7% shooting and 38.9% from three.
While the Nuggets may be favored to win this series, they cannot afford to lose such an integral part of their team. This same Timberwolves team sent them home in 2024, led by Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, and Karl-Anthony Towns. Back then, the Wolves’ size, youth, and athleticism were simply too much for Denver to contain, resulting in a loss that humbled the (then) defending champions.
This year, the Wolves have tied the series 1-1, with at least two games to play at Target Center. Even with a nearly fully healthy roster, the Nuggets couldn’t prevent the Timberwolves from winning Game 2 and swinging the momentum in their favor. Mostly, it was Anthony Edwards who denied their victory, finishing with 30 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, one steal, and two blocks on 10-25 shooting and 3-11 shooting from three.
It’s going to be a challenge for Denver without their starting power forward, but they can still lean on guys like Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Cam Johnson, and Christian Braun to step up and fill in the gaps. Whatever the case, it will take a cohesive, dedicated effort to win the series, but Denver is up for the challenge, with the memory of their 2023 victory still fresh in their minds.
