Denver Nuggets’ forward Aaron Gordon didn’t quite live up to the hype of the fourth-overall pick early in his career, but he has found an incredible role in Denver and helped lead the Nuggets to the 2023 championship.
Gordon remains a significant factor for the Nuggets, and his absence in their 113-96 loss to the Timberwolves was noticeable. It seems clear that the Nuggets are going to need a healthy Gordon if they are going to make any real noise this postseason.
With the Nuggets now trailing 2-1 in the series, Saturday’s game 4 isn’t necessarily a must-win, but it’s pretty close to one, and the Nuggets are going to need to be as close to full strength as they can be when they take the court Saturday night.
Will Aaron Gordon Play In Game 4?
Gordon has struggled with injuries throughout the regular season and was limited to just 27.9 minutes per game.
When he was on the court, he was solid, putting up 16.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 49.7% from the field, 38.9% from three, and 76.7% from the free-throw line.
Gordon struggled in the Nuggets’ first two playoff games despite averaging 33 minutes per night. He shot just 42.1% from the floor, 22.2% from three, and 70.0% from the charity stripe, all well below his season average. He’s averaged 12.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists over those two games.
Gordon has had some injury troubles, but he’s been relatively healthy since being dealt from the Magic to the Nuggets back in 2021.
Gordon has been dealing with left calf tightness, and heading into Thursday night’s game 3, he looked on pace to play, but he was eventually downgraded to questionable and then out prior to tip-off.
Although stars Nikola Jokić, who had 27 points and 15 rebounds, shot just 7-of-26 from the field, and Jamal Murray, who had 16 points on 5-of-17 shooting, struggled mightily, the Nuggets’ defense without Gordon struggled as well.
Jaden McDaniels (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Ayo Dosunmu (25 points, 9 assists) feasted on the Denver defense with Gordon out of the lineup.
In total, the Timberwolves had 68 points in the paint to the Nuggets’ 34.
Now the big question is whether or not Gordon will play in game 4.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Gordon is set to return in Game 4. He will be playing through a calf injury that sidelined him for the last clash.
Obviously, it’s not out of the question that the Nuggets could ride Jokić to a win if Gordon was out of the lineup again, but life would obviously be much easier if Gordon is on the court.
The Nuggets and Timberwolves will tip-off at 8:30 p.m. ET, and the game is on ABC.
