Will Barton dishes on "tough days" during rehab, Denver's early-season success

Will Barton’s passion for the game of basketball overflows to the degree that Nuggets coach Michael Malone once said he wouldn’t be surprised if Barton plays five-on-five games at his local YMCA once his pro career is done. Barton, who grew up in Baltimore and played in college at Memphis, is a basketball zealot who had to scratch and claw his way into a starting role on an NBA team. So when Barton felt a pop in a game against the Phoenix Suns last month that required him to have surgery and miss a large chunk of games for the first time in his career, he took it hard.

“It’s tough for me. I’ve never been seriously injured,” he said. “I just don’t not like playing basketball, so it’s hard.”

Barton spoke to the media Friday for the first time since he had surgery Oct. 23 to repair the core and hip injuries that occurred in the Nuggets’ second game of the season. Barton is rehabbing by doing mostly cardio and is expected to be re-evaluated in early December. In the meantime, Barton will continue to support his teammates and vice versa.

“I need it. I’m not the type of person — I don’t really like being alone,” Barton said. “When you’re injured, it’s easy for you to go the opposite way because you feel left out when you’re not playing. You need to be around the guys just to feel like you’re still in the fight. It’s tough days for me sometimes. I just need to be around them, laughing and joking and taking the mind off the exact injury. It’s easy for me to get down.”

The Nuggets are 7-2 in Barton’s absence. They’ve beaten the Warriors, Jazz and Celtics without him. Overall, the Nuggets are second in defensive efficiency — a surprise considering they finished 25th, 29th and 23rd in that category during Barton’s first full three seasons with the team.

“Guys want to win,” Barton said. “When you want to win, you notice that it comes down to the defensive end. Guys are just buying in. They’re sick of losing.”

Watching games from the bench has given Denver’s emotional leader a slightly different perspective. Barton tries to give his teammates pointers without pestering them. He likes the way the Nuggets are playing overall, even if there are some issues they need to work through offensively.

On Monday, Barton got to sit back and soak in Jamal Murray’s 48-point game against the Boston Celtics.

“It was crazy,” Barton said. “It was just fun to watch. I get motivated from those types of things. Like, he went and did that? I’ve got to try and do that. It was inspirational. It was wonderful man.”

Barton, whose career high is 37, watched as Murray tried to break the 50-point barrier on a last-second 3-point attempt that irked several Celtics, including Kyrie Irving and Jaylen Brown. Would Barton have shot the ball in that situation?

“I said no. I said no,” he said. “But I haven’t been in that position yet. So I wouldn’t say I wouldn’t have did it. But my natural thought process is to say don’t shoot it because the game’s pretty much over. I ain’t going to get too much into it. He’s my teammate. Whatever he decides, during the moment I’m riding with him. I’ll tell him he’s wrong afterwards. That’s what family does.”

This offseason, Barton earned a promotion into Denver’s starting lineup alongside Murray, Gary Harris, Paul Millsap and Nikola Jokic. That group outscored opponents by 29 points in 46 minutes during Denver’s first two games of the season. If everyone can get healthy, the Nuggets could have one of the NBA’s most dominant starting fives.

“Knowing I won’t be back for a while, it’s been tough,” Barton said. “You always watching. You always a competitor even when you’re not playing. It’s tough. But the good thing is we’re having success, and we’re winning.”