For the first time in weeks, Michael Malone had a full roster at his disposal for practice.
That luxury lasted for less than an hour until Trey Lyles exited stage right with an apparent injury.
“We were healthy for 50 minutes coming out of the break,” Malone said. “Which was great while it lasted.”
Its been that type of year for the Nuggets, but Denver has managed to navigate injury upon injury to one starter after another and still found a way to reach the All-Star break with the second-best record in the Western Conference.
Coming out of the break, the Nuggets are as healthy as they’ve been in months. Gary Harris, who missed Denver’s last seven games before the league’s mid-February hiatus and has only appeared in 32 games this season due to myriad injuries, practiced Wednesday and will be available for the Nuggets on Friday against the Mavericks. Paul Millsap and Jamal Murray, who have both been banged up this season, are refreshed as well. Will Barton, who’s still looking to find his rhythm after missing three months earlier this year, stayed in Denver over the break instead of flying back to Baltimore and thinks he’s close to rediscovering his pre-injury form.
But for those thinking a healthy starting five for the first time in recent memory means Murray, Harris, Barton, Millsap and Jokic will walk to the center circle together for the first time since the second game of the regular season in Dallas, hold your horses.
“I’m going to be smart with Gary,” Malone said. “He missed three weeks. He missed seven games. I’m not going to throw out him out there for 3o minutes the first game and risk having him hurt once again. I’m going to really have to monitor his minutes these next 25 games, so we don’t overextend him because I don’t want Gary going out again.
“Its been a very trying year for Gary mentally, probably more so than physically. Even if I have to keep him coming off the bench I’m going to do whatever I can to help Gary kind of navigate the waters these last 25 and hopefully into the playoffs.”
The Nuggets have missed Harris’ shotmaking and steady offensive play while he’s been sidelined, but defensively is where Denver has really felt its starting shooting guard’s absence. The Nuggets rank 13th in defensive efficiency this season — a healthy mark considering Denver’s lackadaisical defensive play last season — but since Dec. 18 the Nuggets are the fifth-worst defense in the league. Harris has played in only 11 of Denver’s 28 games since that date.
With Harris on the floor this season, the Nuggets are giving up an average of 104.6 points per 100 possessions. But when he sits, or as has been the case recently, is out of the lineup, Denver surrenders 109 points per 100 possessions, a disparity Malone was quick to point out Wednesday.
If Harris does come off the bench Friday, expect Malik Beasley, who’s averaging 12 points on roughly 50 percent shooting from the field and 43 percent from three this season, to start at shooting guard. Beasley is in the midst of a breakout season for Denver and is shooting 49 percent from three across seven games in February.
From all accounts, the Nuggets’ first practice back from the All-Star break was a productive one. Denver was able to play five quarters of 5-on-5 basketball, something it hasn’t been able to do since training camp, as the Nuggets prepare for a grueling final 25 regular season games, 16 of which come against teams currently in playoff positioning.
They’ll head into that stretch with a healthy rotation, outside of Lyles, whose status is up in the air for Friday’s matchup in Dallas, and rookie Michael Porter Jr., who remains out indefinitely.
“We have the fourth-toughest schedule remaining in the NBA,” Malone said. “We have eight games against division opponents, which will be a hell of a challenge. It’s not going to be easy, but let’s attack it. Let’s be aggressive. I don’t want to play prevent defense down the stretch and hold on for dear life.”
