The Denver Nuggets have lost three of their last four games and now find themselves three games out of the eighth spot in the Western Conference. The Nuggets have a chance to sneak into that spot but they need a few things to break their way including having Jusuf Nurkic fully back. Nurkic returned from knee surgery at the beginning of January and it seemed like he would fully get back into the rotation but he hasn't. Head coach Mike Malone thinks that Nurkic needs to get in better shape in order to earn more playing time, according to Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post.
Nurkic underwent knee surgery back in May that kept him out for the first two plus months of the season. Nurkic came back in January and appeared to be working his way back into game shape but he then suffered an ankle injury which set him back. At the time the injury wasn't considered serious and he was only expected to miss a week but the setback has been a little more serious than that, not injury-wise, but conditioning-wise. Nurkic has been available to play recently but he has only played 10 minutes in the Nuggets last four games.
"By no means am I surprised. Anytime you miss a week after coming back and working your way back into shape, and then you're shut down for a week, there's going to be some concerns in that area," said Malone.
Malone put Nurkic in during Denver's game against Memphis last week for three minutes and he said those minutes were "concerning" because he didn't look to be moving very well. While Malone thinks Nurkic has a lot of work to do he did commend him for doing what he has to do to get in shape. Nurkic has been in the gym twice a day, and on off days to ensure that he is in playing shape and able to help the team.
The Nuggets have plenty of depth at the center position so they have no need to rush Nurkic back, especially with the play of Nikola Jokic, but he is certainly a difference maker when he is on the court. Nurkic is one of the best defensive centers in the league already in just his second season and he is also capable of scoring and rebounding very well so if the Nuggets are going to make a playoff push they will need a fully healthy Nurkic in the lineup. Jokic and Joffrey Lauvergne have been very good for the Nuggets this season but Nurkic is the best of the three with the highest upside so they want to be extremely cautious with him.
