Nuggets to power forward without power forward
HOUSTON» The Nuggets took the floor for Wednesday morning’s shootaround at the Toyota Center without power forward Paul Millsap, who had returned to Denver to seek more medical care on his injured left wrist.
Teammates and coaches acknowledged they already miss Millsap, the Nuggets’ four-time all-star, second-leading scorer and crucial veteran presence. But now they have no choice but to move forward, both immediately in preparing for Wednesday night’s game against the Western Conference-leading Rockets and for the foreseeable future.
“That injury is not going to define us or our season,” coach Michael Malone said. “We’re going to continue to prepare, to work, to fight and to compete. One man goes down, you have to have guys step up.
“The great thing about having a deep roster and a very deep frontcourt is other guys are ready to take advantage of those minutes.”
After originally diagnosing Millsap’s injury — which occurred during Sunday night’s loss at the Los Angeles Lakers — as a sprain, the team officially specified Wednesday that a ligament was affected. Malone said Millsap met with team doctors Tuesday and would “get some other opinions before we make a decision as to what the best course of action is.” A league source confirmed to The Denver Post on Tuesday night, however, that Millsap will have surgery and could miss up to three months.
After Kenneth Faried started Monday’s win at Sacramento, Malone started Wilson Chandler (who returned from a back injury) at power forward and Will Barton at small forward against the Rockets. Malone said that starting job, as well as the rest of the big-man rotation, will be determined from game to game for now. Malone said he’s been pleased with the play of Trey Lyles, who totaled eight points and six rebounds in 19 minutes against the Kings. Mason Plumlee is also an option when the Nuggets want to deploy a bigger lineup, while Juancho Hernangomez can play that spot when Denver goes small.
Standout center Nikola Jokic said he does not feel an additional offensive burden without Millsap in the lineup, that he will “play the same way” no matter which power forward is on the floor alongside him.
“I’m gonna try to get every guy involved in the game,” said Jokic, who entered Wednesday averaging 15.6 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. “… Whoever’s on the floor, I think he’s gonna give something good to the team.”
Millsap was widely viewed internally as the Nuggets’ missing piece to end their four-year playoff drought when signed as a free agent this past offseason. He is averaging 15.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. He was clearly starting to gain rhythm with Jokic inside and with the rest of his teammates on the floor as the Nuggets started the season 10-7. He was consistently praised for his calm demeanor, biggame experience and playmaking ability down the stretch.
A three-month recovery time would put Millsap’s return around the all-star break in mid-February. That leaves this bigger question: Can Denver remain a postseason contender without Millsap for that extended period of time?
Jokic said his goal to win every game remains the same. He and Malone believe in Denver’s frontcourt depth, which had recently been viewed as a logjam.
But Jokic also acknowledges the Nuggets will feel Millsap’s absence.
“I’m kind of sad, because he’s a big part of our new thing with what we’re trying to do,” Jokic said. “He’s a big part of our future. He’s a great player, an allstar. We’re going to miss him on the court. He’s a go-to guy when we need a bucket.”