Ask Peyton Watson about his preseason hamstring strain, and he’ll wince just thinking about it.
“Them soft tissue injuries, it hurts to do anything,” the 22-year-old wing said. “It hurts to bend over in a defensive stance. It hurts to get out of bed. It hurts to brush your teeth in the morning.”
Watson went about five weeks without practicing and missed the entire preseason after he suffered his strain a few days before Nuggets training camp last September. Now he’s potentially next in line to replace an irreplaceable starter who’s dealing with the same injury, at the worst possible time.
Unless Aaron Gordon risks it to answer the call once more.
Before the Nuggets flew to Oklahoma City for a high-stakes Game 7, Gordon participated in the team’s walk-through Saturday at Ball Arena. It was fewer than 48 hours after he reached for his left hamstring late in Game 6 of the second-round playoff series. Instantly hobbled after a loose-ball sequence, he was removed from the game in exchange for Watson. Gordon was diagnosed with a strain the next day.
“Game-time decision, obviously. But he fully was part of it. The game plan. Both sides of the ball,” interim coach David Adelman said. “So if Aaron can play, he will play. Just like (Michael Porter Jr.) has throughout these playoffs. This is a different kind of situation.”
Indeed, playing through a hamstring strain contains a considerable risk of worsening the injury, whereas Porter’s decision to suit up with an AC joint sprain was made with the knowledge that using his shoulder wouldn’t compound the injury or lengthen the recovery time.
When asked about that component of the hamstring injury, Adelman acknowledged that Gordon’s willingness to risk it might be increased by the situation. Win Game 7, and the Nuggets advance to face Minnesota in the Western Conference Finals. Lose, and their season ends.
“Obviously, (team medical staff) will do whatever they have to do for the safety of a person. But yeah, I don’t know,” Adelman said. “I’m sure the hoops (to jump through in order to play) are probably smaller because the game’s coming so quickly. It’s not a thing where he has three weeks to go through it. So it’ll probably be his comfortability along with the medical staff’s advice on what he can and can’t do. … If they say he’s available, he will start.”
Warriors star guard Steph Curry suffered the mildest form of a hamstring strain during Game 2 of their second-round series against Minnesota, and he missed what turned out to be the rest of Golden State’s season — three games and change.
Gordon might not be quite as essential to his team as the greatest shooter of all time, but the Nuggets’ do-it-all power forward has also been their most reliable clutch shot-maker of these playoffs.
In Game 4 of their first-round series against the Clippers, Gordon scored the first game-winning, buzzer-beating dunk in NBA postseason history. In Game 1 against the Thunder, he sank a transition 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds remaining to hand Denver a 121-119 win. In Game 3, he knocked down another 3 with 26 seconds left to force overtime in an eventual win.
The whole time, Gordon has already been playing with the remnants of a calf strain that plagued him all season.
“Aaron kind of saunters around with his West Coast style, so you wouldn’t know if he was hurt or not (during the walk-through),” Adelman said. “That’s what I appreciate most about him. Very consistent with his swagger. He looked normal. His emotions were good. Hoping he plays.”
If he doesn’t, the Nuggets can steer their game plan in a couple of different directions. They could go small with Russell Westbrook in the starting lineup, or they could replace Gordon in the frontcourt with Watson, who has played 84 minutes in the series. Either way, the depth chart is tenuous. Denver hasn’t trusted reserve power forward Zeke Nnaji for extensive rotation minutes yet this postseason.
“You talk about plays you’re gonna run early in the game, actions to attack people. Some other guys took (Gordon’s) ball-handling responsibilities in case (he’s out),” Adelman said. “We know that’s where Aaron is so underrated and impactful, when he brings the ball up the court. So the other guys have to know those simple actions, but they’re not simple if you’ve never done them. So we walked through a lot of stuff today with different people. … But like I said, the hope is the responsibilities will be Aaron’s.”
The Nuggets did pull off two wins over the Thunder without Gordon this season — but the first was particularly unusual in terms of personnel for both teams. Jamal Murray was also out for Denver. So was Isaiah Hartenstein for Oklahoma City. The Thunder played with only one big man (Chet Holmgren) in that game, which ended with Watson blocking Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at the buzzer.
In March, Denver won in OKC with Westbrook replacing Gordon in the starting lineup. But Westbrook has struggled in the back half of this series, again illuminating Adelman’s shortage of bench options.
“I don’t think much changes at all. I just think the amount of time that I’m out there is more,” Watson said Saturday of the potential increase in role. “So I just look at it as a bigger canvas for me to go out there and kind of have my imprint on the game. Me and AG are special for different reasons. AG is obviously one of our most reliable, consistent players for the past three, four, five years. So definitely a big spot to fill, big shoes to fill. But I’m definitely more than capable.”
That said, Watson and the Nuggets as a collective are still holding their breath that Plan B will stay on the shelf.
“I think he has 1,000% intentions of going out there and trying his best to play,” Watson said. “And for that alone, we’re proud of him.”
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