NEW YORK — Aaron Gordon rejoined Denver’s starting lineup on Wednesday night against the Knicks, with Russell Westbrook staying in the lineup and Christian Braun moving to the bench.
Since returning from a calf strain in mid-January, Gordon has been a sub for eight games, never playing more than 25 minutes. The start against New York is his first since Christmas, but coach Michael Malone has given no indication that Gordon is close to being done with his minutes restriction.
“I’m ready,” Gordon said last Saturday. “I don’t feel my calf anymore. Yeah. I’m ready. So it’s on the training staff and the coaching staff now.”
The Knicks present a matchup that might lend itself to Gordon starting, with Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges in the frontcourt.
Westbrook started the season on the bench for Denver, but he has been productive alongside Nikola Jokic in the starting lineup. Braun was coming off a career-high 28-point game as he shifted to a bench role for the first time this season.
Cancar update
Eight weeks into Vlatko Cancar’s recovery from left knee surgery, the Nuggets are confident his injury will not be season-ending, coach Michael Malone said Wednesday night.
Cancar, 27, landed awkwardly after a dunk on Nov. 19 and spent two weeks seeking medical advice regarding multiple surgical options. The Nuggets forward had already missed the entire 2023-24 season due to a torn ACL in the same knee. He ultimately chose to undergo arthroscopic surgery in early December, with the Nuggets setting a reevaluation timeline of eight weeks.
“He’s making progress, obviously. It was a pretty aggressive procedure that he went through, and the goal with that was to come back and be able to play this season — which you love where his head is at while making that decision,” Malone said at Madison Square Garden.
“I think he’s been playing in some small, sided games (not full-court), ramping up. But as far as a return to play, when he’ll be cleared to play, I haven’t been given any real update. So I can’t imagine it’s any time soon. Hopefully it is. Because obviously, every time he’s gotten a chance to play, he’s played well, and then he winds up getting hurt.”
Cancar traveled with the team this week on its five-game road trip. He was filling in as Denver’s backup center while Nikola Jokic was away from the team when he suffered the injury in Memphis.
Cancar re-signed with the Nuggets last summer on a one-year veteran minimum contract.
“When I speak to him, he’s busting his butt to get back, making progress,” Malone said. “He’s in a good place mentally and physically. But just not close enough to where he’s ready to start ramping up to return to play.”
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