The Nuggets sophomore forward is expected to miss games due to league protocols for contact tracing.
Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. is expected to miss games due to the league’s health and safety protocols regarding contact tracing, according to reports.
The league established the health and safety protocols before the season began in an attempt to help prevent the spread of Covid-19 during the pandemic, and the players are subject to the rules contained within those protocols. The report regarding Michael Porter Jr. does not state that the Nuggets forward has tested positive himself for Covid-19 — that likely occurred before the bubble games began last season — but rather that someone he has been in contact with has tested positive for the virus.
Denver’s Michael Porter Jr. is missing tonight’s game vs. Phoenix and could be out a number of days, due to health and safety protocols (contact tracing), sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 1, 2021
This is a huge blow to the Nuggets, who could be without Porter Jr. for at least one week. That would mean that he would miss three games (tonight against the Phoenix Suns, and two games against the Minnesota Timberwolves), with the first game he would be eligible to return being the Nuggets game next week against the Dallas Mavericks. Porter Jr is fresh off a 30 point, 10 rebound double-double against the Kings in a loss, and the Nuggets would sorely miss his scoring ability in the rotation.
The Nuggets haven’t had offseason signing JaMychal Green for any of their four games this season, which already left them thin in the frontcourt for forwards with size. Without Green and Michael Porter Jr, the Nuggets will be extremely vulnerable on the offensive and defensive glass.
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