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DENVER, Colo. – With only two short days standing between the Denver Nuggets and the start of the regular season, the Nuggets are still waiting on the status of Gary Harris for game one.
After partially tearing his groin in the first ten minutes of the first preseason game, questions began to swirl on how long and how severe his injury may be. Harris took the time to talk with me today after practice to speak on his injury, where he is in his rehab, and his mindset while getting through a partially torn right groin after his already roller-coaster path throughout his young NBA career.
Harris has been working non-stop to get ready for game one. While his injury was sudden and unexpected, his strong work ethic and mindset have not wavered. Being that he had to suffer through the incredibly short leash of Brian Shaw in his rookie year and then jumped up to the leader in starts during this sophomore campaign shows his mental fortitude and confidence that has benefited his rehab.
“It was tough just because, you know, first game of preseason. First ten minutes and you get that but I’ll be fine.” Harris told BSN Denver. “I’ll bounce back. [It’s] not what I wanted but I will continue working so I can get back out there.”
When I asked him about how he is feeling he had nothing but positives to share.
“I’m feeling pretty close. Every day, I’m getting better. Every day I’m feeling stronger. I feel like I can do more every day. Positive. It’s going great.”
Harris had shared with the media after practice on Sunday that he wanted to go through five-on-five contact before playing and get some more practice in as well. Today Harris went through pieces of practice and spent time after practice to get shots up. He has been seen taking spot-up corner threes and planting hard on his right leg and exploding off of the same leg when working on his floaters.
“It was good. I was out there. Got to run a little bit. So, you know, feeling good,” Harris said. “I didn’t do much of the contact stuff but I did everything else and I feel pretty good.”
Harris partially tore his groin October 3rd in Calgary against the Toronto Raptors, and it’s somewhat surprising he has progressed this quickly. Normally a partially torn groin takes 4-6 weeks to heal, with most cases taking closer to six weeks and Harris seems to be a full week ahead of the best case scenario. While his status for game one is unknown, one thing is for sure: Harris is ready to get back on the court.
“I’m ready to go. I’m ready to get this train rolling.”
