The Denver Nuggets are looked at as one of the deepest teams in the Western Conference but injuries have really diminished that supposed strength. Danilo Gallinari has suffered a few major injuries this season including a high ankle sprain and his current broken thumb that happened monday night against the Dallas Mavericks. Ty Lawson has been plagued by a bum ankle all season long and has missed some time because of it.
Now add another name to the disabled list.
Reserve guard Rudy Fernandez will undergo lower back surgery and will be out for the remainder of the season. Fernandez had been in and out of the lineup the past few weeks due to the lower back strain but it seems as if the injury was too much to play through without being surgically repaired.
Fernandez was averaging 8.6 ppg, 2.4 apg and 2.1 rpg before the back injury listed him day-to-day over the last few weeks. He’s been a catalyst coming off the bench and he often provided a quality scoring option when the second team was on the floor. Fernandez has always been a good 3-pt threat shooting 36% for his career and this season was no different with him shooting 33% from beyond the arc.
What does this injury mean for the Nuggets’ playoff chances?
Well, it definitely hurts their depth but they also just added Wilson Chandler to the roster after he missed the majority of the NBA season because he was playing in China. Fernandez’s injury will hurt the threat that the Nuggets pose from the 3-pt line but other than that it won’t be too much of a setback. I still see the Nuggets securing one of the top six playoff spots in the Western Conference.
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