Aaron Gordon will miss upcoming Nuggets road trip

Aaron Gordon is back on the practice court but he won’t return to game action for the Denver Nuggets this weekend when they begin a three-game road trip.

That news comes via the Colorado Gazette, which reported Gordon returned to practice at Ball Arena on Wednesday but Michael Malone said there’s still no timeline for the forward’s return.

Gordon exited a Nuggets game about 10 days ago with a calf strain. The 29-year-old was ruled out for multiple weeks, meaning it’s no real surprise he’ll miss this run of games.

The Nuggets just won five straight games at home, mostly without Gordon and have several days off in a row. The effort has buoyed Denver who misses its starting power forward while the time off comes perfectly placed for him to miss as few games as possible.

Gordon just signed a $133 million extension coming into the season and is part of the Nuggets “core four.” His absence is pretty big for Denver, who boasts one of the best starting lineups in the NBA but the league’s worst bench. Malone has been forced to tap into his depth and utilize different lineups without Gordon—which has worked out so far. Denver has mostly used Peyton Watson in Gordon’s role, while getting some minutes from Zeke Nnaji as well. Over the next stretch, the Nuggets will likely have to turn back to Dario Saric, who signed this summer but had already fallen out of the rotation. Malone hinted as such regarding Saric the other night. There’s also a good chance DeAndre Jordan could see some minutes.

Still the Nuggets miss Gordon’s defense, playmaking and finishing next to Nikola Jokic. Denver struggled to contain Kyrie Irving the other night and could very much use AG’s rebounding on defense. Gordon has played 248 regular-season games for the Nuggets, notching 14.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists a night on 54% shooting. His dunks and attitude have resonated with Nuggets fans as he’s become one of the most-liked role players in team history. The former Arizona Wildcat, Gordon still has enough skill and size to play a versatile role where he’s slid behind Nikola Jokic to center in the playoffs. AG has played another 47 games for the Nuggets in the postseason, tallying 13.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game on 51% shooting.

This season Gordon has shot 55% from deep, which ranked in the top-10 among players with at least 20 attempts when he got hurt. It’s been a surprise addition to the former fourth-overall pick’s game and a much-needed one. Denver is one of the lowest-attempting three-point shooting teams in the NBA and Gordon had early on become a better floor-spacer than in past years. The Nuggets had also shot the third-most free throws in the league through seven games and Gordon accounted for 13% of that mark. Denver is now shooting many free throws which is a huge positive step and hope to get to the stripe even more when Gordon gets back.

Before the calf, Gordon was already banged up going into the game where he left with an injury. He was listed on the report the days before with a right knee contusion and right calf inflammation. His injuries overlapped with Jamal Murray, who missed time due to a concussion. Meanwhile, Jokic has gone nuclear to start the season, securing the Nuggets a 7-3 record.

The Nuggets travel to New Orleans and Memphis twice over the next three games. Then they host the Mavericks again to tip off their NBA Cup slate.