The injury bug refuses to stop biting the Denver Nuggets. For a team that started the season already knowing they would be without their second best player for most of it, things sure have gotten progressively worse. First it was Michael Porter Jr. experiencing a nerve issue in his back, an injury that nobody knows the full extent of quite yet but could result in the star forward missing the entire year. Then, Bones Hyland and Zeke Nnaji experienced nagging ankle sprains that have forced them to miss games. Next, their MVP Nikola Jokic sustained a sprained wrist that has caused him to miss four straight games and has lead to the team losing six in a row. If that wasn’t bad enough, the news broke this week that P.J. Dozier suffered a torn ACL against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday night, putting the number of rotation players that are at risk for missing the entire season at 3.
It has been a frustrating and concerning week for the Nuggets as the team is now faced with an extremely tall task of trying to win games with such a depleted lineup, during the toughest stretch of their schedule. Through the adversity, however, the players have displayed humor, optimism, and support for one another on social media.
On Monday night, the Nuggets faced off against the Phoenix Suns without Jokic, MPJ, Nnaji, and Jamal Murray. Murray and coach Michael Malone had a funny exchange prior to the game in response to the injuries that are piling up.
Following the news of Dozier’s unfortunate injury, Murray and Hyland made sure to wish him well in the below tweets, showing support and love for their injured teammate.
Of course, it’s not just Dozier that is injured. Hyland took to social media after experiencing an ankle sprain to let his followers know that he won’t be gone long.
It’s been a very difficult week to be a Nuggets fan, but I think we should all take some lessons from the players in how we react to the ongoing stream of bad news. If we show support and optimism for the future, then hopefully this will all seem like the distant past soon enough.
