The Denver Nuggets have been seeking revenge after being eliminated in the Western Conference Playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves. However, it appears that they are already dealing with the injury bug biting them as their first-round pick in the most recent draft DaRon Holmes II has suffered a torn right Achilles tendon, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
DaRon Holmes II was originally diagnosed as right Achilles tightness before tests revealed that it was officially torn. He played well last season for the Dayton Flyers as he played 33 games and averaged 20.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.1 blocks and 0.9 steals in 32.4 minutes per game while shooting 54.4% from the floor, 38.6% from three and 71.3% from the charity stripe.
But this is still a massive blow for the Denver Nuggets as he was expected to be the backup center behind former NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.
What does this mean for the Denver Nuggets this season?
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The NBA can be a brutal sport and injuries can happen at any time. Last season, the backup center was veteran DeAndre Jordan and they were expecting a solid performance out of DaRon Holmes II this season. It looks like 23-year-old Zeke Nnaji will be getting the backup center minutes but he needs to step up a lot more this season to live up to his three more years under contract with the Denver Nuggets.
The Nuggets could also attack the free agent market for a backup center but there are not any great options outside of veteran backups like JaVale McGee, Tristan Thompson and Boban Marjanovic. While there could still be some players in the Summer League that could help or even one of their G-League centers getting the call for the NBA roster, it seems unlikely that a big move will be made.
Coach Michael Malone will likely be shortening the depth chart a bit more and asking Nikola Jokic to play more. When he is off the court, Aaron Gordon or Nnaji could step up. This injury should not be something that devastates the team but it is still a massive blow to the plans that the Denver Nuggets had. Hopefully DaRon Holmes II is able to return at 100% at some point.
About the Author
Vincent Pensabene graduated from Saint Leo University in 2019 with a B.A. in Sport Business and has focused on the media side of sports. He writes for multiple publications and is interested in the reasoning of why things happen. Feel free to follow him on social media @TalkVinTalk and discuss all things sports.
