The Denver Nuggets surprised some people with their 6-5 start to the season but they have lost four games in a row and it seems as though the crazy amount of injuries they have had are finally starting to catch up with them. Denver has been decimated in the frontcourt all season long and haven't gotten much good news there recently but that may be changing. Center Joffrey Lauvergne is reportedly closing in on a return and could be back by the weekend, according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post.
Lauvergne started the first three games for the Nuggets this season but has not played since November 1st as he has been dealing with lower back pain. Lauvergne was thrust into the starting lineup to begin the season because last season's starting center Jusuf Nurkic had surgery on a partially torn patellar tendon and he too is still out.
Aside from Lauvergne and Nurkic missing time with injuries the Nuggets have also been without other frontcourt guys including Wilson Chandler, who is out for the season after having hip surgery, and Kenneth Faried who has missed the past two games with an ankle injury. This has left J.J. Hickson, Darrell Arthur, Nikola Jokic and Kostas Papanikolaou as the only healthy frontcourt options.
Lauvergne seemed to be working himself back about a week ago when he returned to practice but he was forced to exit practice with more discomfort in his back. Lauvergne ran on the court for the first time since leaving that practice on Tuesday and said he felt very good. The next step for Lauvergne is do some cutting and take some contact and if that goes well he could possibly re-enter the lineup either Friday or Saturday.
Getting Lauvergne back would be nice for the Nuggets not just because they need healthy bodies in the frontcourt but also because he was extremely productive in his first three games this season. In 19 minutes per game he was averaging 10.7 points and 6.3 rebounds while making 67 percent of his field goal attempts.
