Head Coach Michael Malone on Michael Porter Jr.: ‘We’re Trying To Figure Out What’s Going On’
The Denver Nuggets will be without the services of Michael Porter Jr. for what head coach Michael Malone calls, the “foreseeable future” with no clarity of when he will return to action. He discussed the matter this week just before the Miami Heat game per ClutchPoints.
“It’s an ongoing thing, trying to figure out what’s going on…” Malone said according to ClutchPoints. “I’d still say that Michael’s out for the foreseeable future. We’re trying to take it one day at a time with him and see what the best way to approach getting him back healthy is.”
“There’s no doubt, regardless of his mood, we all have to support Michael, just like we support Jamal [Murray],” Malone told CBSSports. “And again, Michael could be back in a week, it could be more than that. So when I say, ‘foreseeable future,’ I’m not really sure what that means, I just know that he’s not playing tonight.”
“This is a process where we’re being very cautious, talking to doctors, getting imaging all that kind of stuff,”
Porter Jr. injured his lower back on a play during the team’s win over the Houston Rockets missing a layup. A short time later he left the game and never returned.
Michael Porter Jr. really missed this layup 😳 pic.twitter.com/kFlZ2zvUau
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 6, 2021
Michael Porter Jr. has had a tough start to his 2021-2022 campaign, averaging just 9.9 points and 6.6 rebounds on 35.9 percent shooting from the field and just 20.8 percent from three-point range. Despite that, the Nuggets (9-5) have won five straight games in a recent homestand before losing to the Mavericks (9-4), 111-101, Monday.
The high-level play of reigning MVP Nikola Jokic has bought them time to figure out the severity of their young forward’s injury and the timeframe of his return but they will need a healthy Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray to be a true threat out of the Western Conference.
