According to Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post, Denver Nuggets center Jusuf Nurkic is hoping to return to action on Saturday January 2nd against the Golden State Warriors. The 2nd year Bosnian center has been out for the entire 2015-2016 season thus far as he is recovering from off season surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon. In a recent CSG video,coach Michael Malone said he would need to see Nurkic perform a full contact practice with no ill effects to consider putting him in the game. Dempsey states that the Nuggets will evaluate how Nurkic performs on Friday’s practice to determine if he can go.

Denver’s front court has been bolstered this season by the play of promising rookie Nikola Jokic, but Nurkic brings a different element that has been sorely lacking on the Nuggets roster: paint presence. By far the largest and most intimidating body on the roster, coach Malone has stated how he has high hopes that Nurkic can be the anchor of the defense for this Nuggets team.

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