The Denver Nuggets have been one of the biggest surprises in the NBA this season, holding down the West’s second-best record at 41-18 after the All-Star break.
Denver has made significant strides behind the play of star center Nikola Jokic and tremendous leaps made by a backcourt group including Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Monte Morris, and Malik Beasley. What’s arguably made the Nuggets’ transformation from last year’s last team out of the playoffs in the West to a near lock for homecourt advantage for the first round at least is that they’ve done it without the help of their most recent first round pick.
The Nuggets held the 14th overall pick in the 2018 Draft and used it to take a flyer on the uber-talented but injured Michael Porter Jr. They have stated their intentions to let Porter Jr. rehab all season, with the plan being to not play him until next year as his back injury heals. The one-time top high school prospect has been almost forgotten because of that plan, but on Monday we got a glimpse into how his rehab is going in the form of an impressive windmill dunk posted to his Instagram page.
https://twitter.com/B_Skip17/status/1100128138640556032
Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but it does seem to indicate that his back is feeling pretty spry, given the lift he gets on the dunk with relative ease. There are obviously lots of other hurdles for him to clear prior to returning to the court, but for Nuggets fans wondering what will be coming this summer in terms of support or roster improvement with a cap sheet that won’t allow for them to be major players in free agency, Porter Jr. is the answer.
If he can be the player he was expected to be entering his time at Mizzou, that’d be quite the boost on the wing for the Nuggets, giving them an even bigger scoring punch.
