Aaron Gordon’s impending absence a big blow for Nuggets as they struggle to keep pace in West

The Denver Nuggets were dealt a serious blow on Tuesday as ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that forward Aaron Gordon will be out multiple weeks with a calf strain. Gordon left the Nuggets’ win over the Toronto Raptors on Monday night after just four minutes of action. 

Gordon was listed as probable for Monday’s game due to right calf inflammation and a contusion on his right knee. He ended up starting and looked like his usual self for the first few minutes. However, at just about the eight-minute mark of the first quarter, he tried to Eurostep around Davion Mitchell on a fastbreak and was called for a charge. 

Immediately, he flexed his leg and grabbed at his calf. Down on the other end, he was not moving well and RJ Barrett easily maneuvered around him for a layup. Nuggets coach Michael Malone called a timeout and Gordon never came back on the floor. 

Gordon’s absence will be a big loss for the top-heavy Nuggets, who are not off to a great start this season. Their 4-3 record looks OK on paper, but two of those wins have come against the Raptors, and the others were against the Brooklyn Nets and Utah Jazz. They’ve twice needed overtime and the only win by more than five points was against the Jazz. 

Though the Nuggets still boast the best player in the world in Nikola Jokic, they’ve lost a significant amount of complementary talent in recent years, and have struggled to find reliable replacements. Worse yet, Jamal Murray no longer looks like a bonafide No. 2 option next to Jokic — at least not on a regular basis. In fact, Gordon had been their second-best player so far this season, especially with how well he was shooting the ball. 

Entering Monday, Gordon was second on the team in scoring at 17.5 points per game on 52.9/55.0/84.6 shooting splits, and was chipping in 7.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists. And while sharing most of his minutes with Jokic obviously helped his on/off splits, it was no surprise that the team was significantly better with Gordon on the floor: plus-10.6 net rating with Gordon on, minus-21.3 net rating with Gordon off. 

After many years masquerading as a primary or secondary scorer with the Orlando Magic, Gordon has come into his own as a Swiss Army Knife next to Jokic. He has an excellent connection with Jokic as a cutter, crashes the offensive glass, runs in transition and guards the other team’s best perimeter player. The Nuggets don’t have anyone who can replicate Gordon’s role, especially after letting Bruce Brown, Jeff Green and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope walk, which is why the team handed him a four-year, $133 million extension last month. 

As bad as the Nuggets have looked this season with Gordon, it’s hard to imagine what it will be like without him for an extended stretch. To make matters worse, they only have one game the rest of the month (at Utah on Nov. 27) against a team you would consider a definite lottery candidate. Over the next few weeks, they’ll play the Oklahoma City Thunder, Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks (twice), New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies (twice), Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks. 

Charania was not specific in his report, and perhaps the biggest question for the Nuggets is whether multiple weeks means 2-4 or 4-6. Either way, it’s bad news for the Nuggets, who have their work cut out for them in the crowded Western Conference. 

But if Gordon’s absence stretches closer to the six-week, or even two-month mark, they could really be in trouble.