Paul Millsap returns to Nuggets' practice but is still "weeks" away from playing in games

DENVER — Despite going through full-contact drills Wednesday in the Nuggets’ first practice since the All-Star break, Paul Millsap is still weeks away from returning to Denver’s lineup.

“He’s been working his butt off, but you can’t simulate getting up and down and playing,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “So today was the first time (he’s practiced). We’ll see how he feels tomorrow. He has another checkup next week. Who knows, it could be another two weeks, it could be four weeks.

“He made plays tonight that I couldn’t believe after missing as much time as he had.”

Millsap, who’s been sidelined since late November after undergoing reconstructive surgery on his left wrist that was injured in Denver’s Nov. 19 loss to the Lakers, said that he had hoped to play Friday against the Spurs in the Nuggets’ first game after the break.

But Denver is taking a cautious approach with its marquee free agent acquisition, who it signed to a three-year, $90 million contract last offseason. The Nuggets won’t rush Millsap back even with just 24 games remaining and the Nuggets locked in a heated playoff race in the Western Conference where seeds three through 10 are separated by a mere four-and-half games.

“I don’t know,” Millsap said regarding his return. “Things are going to be predicated on practices and how I feel after practices, but hopefully pretty soon. It feels good now. We’ll see how it feels in the morning and at tomorrow’s practice, and we’ll go from there.”

After the surgery, the Nuggets said Millsap was expected to miss “several months.” Then following a Feb. 7 practice, Malone said he hoped to have Millsap back in “early to mid-March.” The two to four-week timetable Malone offered Wednesday suggests that Millsap is still on schedule to return next month. Millsap has missed Denver’s last 42 games.

While Millsap has been able to do conditioning work throughout his rehab, he’s still trying to strengthen his wrist.

“Very challenging,” Millsap said about the injury. “Probably the toughest thing I’ve been through in my basketball career missing so many games, having surgery for the first time, rehabbing.”

“Whenever he’s able to get back, obviously, I think he’ll give our guys a lot of confidence just by being on the bench and being able to put him in the play and go through him and make plays,” Malone said.

When Millsap does return, Malone plans to initially bring the 32-year-old off the bench before eventually promoting Millsap back to Denver’s starting lineup.

“Hopefully within 24 games, we find enough time to get Paul acclimated,” Malone said. “He’s forgotten all of our plays so we have to get him back acclimated to that.”

When Millsap does return to the Nuggets’ lineup, Denver hopes the three-time All-Star can turn around its ailing defense that has been in a nosedive over the past month. The Nuggets’ defense has fallen from 16th to 22nd since Dec. 26.

Mason Plumlee, who Malone referred to as “the anchor” of the Nugget’s defense, is expected to play Friday against San Antonio after missing Denver’s last eight games with a right calf strain. Plumlee will come off the bench versus the Spurs and said at practice that he’s a full-go.

“You look at our offensive numbers in the month of February, I’ve never seen numbers like that. Unfortunately, our defensive numbers are just as bad as our offense is good and that’s where you miss Mason and Paul,” Malone said. “I think people don’t understand the impact both of those guys have.

“A lot of that has to do with your missing your two bigs that are probably our best two defenders.”

Offensively, the Nuggets’ struggled to integrate Millsap into their free-flowing attack at the onset of the regular-season. But from Nov. 1 through Nov. 17 — the game before Millsap suffered the injury — the Nuggets were scoring an elite 115.4 points per 100 possessions with Millsap on the floor and 110.6 per 100 overall.

How Denver is able to blend Millsap into its offense this time around over a treacherous final portion of the regular season could determine if the franchise ends its four-season playoff drought.

“He’s an All-Star player. He’s so talented on offense, and he’s so versatile on defense,” Nikola Jokic said. “He can guard, one through four, one through five. He’s a really good player for us, and we can’t wait to for him to be back.”