{"id":79025,"date":"2026-01-12T00:44:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T03:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/why-nuggets-are-playing-aaron-gordon-off-bench-as-he-returns-from-injury\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T00:44:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T03:44:11","slug":"why-nuggets-are-playing-aaron-gordon-off-bench-as-he-returns-from-injury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ubirataonline.com.br\/en\/why-nuggets-are-playing-aaron-gordon-off-bench-as-he-returns-from-injury\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Nuggets are playing Aaron Gordon off bench as he returns from injury"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Aaron Gordon<\/a> wore a bashful smile as he flexed at his teammates, almost as if he was afraid to jinx himself. He had every reason to be feel arrogant after muscling his way into the paint for a tough bucket, after momentarily quieting Boston\u2019s raucous arena and prompting a Celtics<\/a> timeout.<\/p>\n

But he had just as much reason to feel reserved on Wednesday. Gordon is still working through the aftermath of another strained hamstring, which kept him out of action for six weeks. His return this week has been timely, his versatility profound with Nikola Jokic and others missing. But he\u2019s trying to understand his own limits as well. Operating under a minutes restriction, the most Gordon has played was 24 in a 110-87 loss to the Hawks on Friday.<\/p>\n

In his first three games back, Denver has kept him out of the starting lineup \u2014 even against Atlanta, when Jamal Murray\u2019s absence left Gordon as the team\u2019s best available offensive player.<\/p>\n

David Adelman\u2019s rationale: He would rather be able to finish a close game with Gordon on the court. So the Nuggets are intentionally backloading his minutes for now, until it\u2019s medically safe to let him off the leash more.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have a minute restriction, if you start somebody, they sit for so long before you put them back in. So this allows me to kind of play with the minutes,\u201d Adelman said Friday, pointing out that a starting lineup featuring Hunter Tyson and DaRon Holmes II managed to keep the game close until Gordon subbed in.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey held the game up a little bit and allowed Aaron to sit those first five and a half (minutes), and now I can kind of mess with his minutes as the half goes on. \u2026 Then obviously, that game got out of control (in the fourth quarter). I was gonna put him back in the game. But yeah, you have to be very creative with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gordon amassed 14 points, nine rebounds and five assists in the loss. He\u2019s averaging 15.3 points and seven boards in three games off the bench, making the most of his temporarily limited role.<\/p>\n

Even limited, he\u2019s been a life vest for the Nuggets (25-13). They were a plus-one in his first 11 quarters of action, even winning his minutes in an otherwise disastrous performance last weekend at Brooklyn.<\/p>\n

The 12th quarter wasn\u2019t so smooth. Atlanta pummeled the short-handed Nuggets with a 20-3 run that caused Adelman to pull the plug on his power forward. Gordon blamed the loss on himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels fine,\u201d he said when asked about his hamstring. \u201cI\u2019m just trying to figure out the flow of my minutes, you know? It\u2019s a longer halftime for me right now, for going in at halftime, then coming off the bench out of halftime. It\u2019s a little bit longer for me. So I\u2019m just trying to figure out how I can continue to get my body back and contribute more in the second half. And help my team win. I feel like if I was better in the second half, we would have won that game. At least in the fourth quarter. So I take this one on me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Consider the longer halftime a side effect of Adelman\u2019s well-intentioned super-sub idea. Gordon\u2019s shot-making prowess off the dribble, which tends to take a back seat when Jokic and Murray are healthy, was on full display in the first half against Atlanta. Then he was contained to a 1-of-4 shooting clip after the break, adding only two more points. Denver\u2019s offense stalled as a whole.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust kind of makes my body a little tight,\u201d Gordon elaborated. \u201cSo I\u2019ve got to do things like ride the bike or (use) heat packs. Just make sure I\u2019m ready to go and ready to contribute when I\u2019m back in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not fun to have to be a coach with a minute restriction,\u201d Adelman said.<\/p>\n

Part of the obstacle as Gordon forges on is that he\u2019s fighting against more than one injury. Soft tissue concerns have followed him into his 30s. Hamstring and calf strains tried to bully him last year, culminating with his memorable effort to play on a bad hamstring in Denver\u2019s season-ending Game 7 loss at Oklahoma City.<\/p>\n

One of Adelman\u2019s stated missions since he took over the head coach title has been to shepherd the Nuggets to the playoffs with a fresher, healthier rotation. That can mean fighting the instinct to overwork Gordon right now in the interest of preventing history from repeating itself later.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Aaron is interesting because there are times he feels really good and times he doesn\u2019t,\u201d Adelman said. \u201cHe\u2019s trying to get used to being back in playing shape. So for both of (Gordon and Christian Braun), it\u2019ll be a process. And I\u2019m gonna have extreme patience with guys that I trust, because they\u2019re one of the reasons we\u2019ve won so many games.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gordon has been hard on himself in the early stages of his ramp-up process. He said he felt that he was a step slow defensively in Brooklyn, where the Nuggets trailed by double digits most of the game. As he regains his physicality and mobility, his defense will be what Denver needs most. But so far, he\u2019s been visibly reluctant to over-exert himself on rotations or in one-on-one matchups.<\/p>\n