Shoulder soreness sidelines Gary Harris versus Magic

Denver Nuggets shooting guard Gary Harris (right shoulder soreness) will not play Saturday night against the Orlando Magic. Will Barton will start in his place.

Harris was listed as questionable on Denver’s official injury report after shootaround Saturday morning.

The 23-year-old has started all 12 games for the Nuggets this season and is averaging a team-high 31.7 minutes per game. Harris’ averages of 12.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.8 assists are slightly down from last year but he’s shooting a career-high 44 percent from three. Harris is also averaging 1.8 steals per game.

“They just told me his shoulder is hurt and he won’t be able to play tonight,” Nuggets’ coach Michael Malone said.

Malone didn’t elaborate on how much time Harris could miss and debated starting Malik Beasley at shooting guard but ultimately settled on Barton because he was “more than deserving.” Malone also noted that Barton will play heavy minutes and joked that he “never gets tired.”

Juancho Hernangomez, who’s missed Denver’s last ten games with mono, was upgraded from “out” to “questionable” prior to the Nuggets’ matchup with Orlando. But the forward hasn’t practiced yet and Malone wants him to go through a full practice before he plays.

“He’s slowly getting back. We’ve been incorporating him into some live stuff but I want him to play 3-on-3,” Malone said. “He could be available tonight but he hasn’t really even had a full practice yet. I would not want to put him out there without having him gone through a practice or two just to get him back acclimated to what we’re trying to do.”