Is Michael Porter Jr. Playing In Nuggets Vs. Clippers Game 3? Exploring Injury Report For Star’s Status

“His pain threshold is something that people don’t understand, don’t get, that he deals with all year long. If Mike can play, he will,” said Denver Nuggets interim head coach David Adelman recently about Michael Porter Jr.’s injury. It is hardly a good thing when injury concerns cause a starter to get sidelined. Especially when a team is going through the postseason. Through a careless mistake in Game 2 of the ongoing Denver Nuggets-LA Clippers playoff series, Porter has now put the team in a further grave situation right as they were looking to get out of a 0-2 run. The player can rectify that mistake by making himself available for the upcoming Game 3. According to a recent update, however, the chances of that happening seem mixed.

The Denver Nuggets’ Injury Report, as highlighted by ESPN, showed that Michael Porter Jr. is listed as ‘Questionable’ for the upcoming game. This means that his odds of playing are close to 50-50, with a final decision not being made until a few hours before the matchup.

Michael Porter Jr. fumbled during Game 1 of the ongoing playoffs. During the 26 minutes he was on the court, he only scored 3 points, 4 rebounds, and 0 assists. To his credit, the player performed much better in Game 2. He scored 15 points and 15 rebounds, to go with his 1 assist. However, his performance got cut short after Porter came under attack once the Nuggets got a rare miss from Kawhi Leonard. 100 seconds were left, and the game was tied at 100. Porter collected the rebound and threw the ball up in an attempt to pass it to Aaron Gordon. However, he ended up losing it. In an attempt to get the loose ball back, Porter dived and bashed his left shoulder. The player was left with an injury, and the Nuggets, as a whole, were left with another loss.

“I made a stupid play after I got the rebound. Tried to make up for it, and somebody landed on my shoulder”, said Porter Jr. after the game. Postgame examinations later revealed Porter had sustained a left shoulder joint sprain. While it is a relatively common basketball injury, even something like that isn’t needed during the playoffs. Knowing this, Porter further added that “I never felt anything like this in my shoulder. But it’s good, though. It’s just a joint sprain, so it’s nothing too serious. So hopefully I can do what I can to heal it up”.

Jan 1, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. (1) finishes off a basket in the second quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Along with Michael Porter Jr., the only other player on the Nuggets Injury Report is DaRon Holmes II. The 22nd overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Holmes missed the entirety of the 2024-25 season as he continues recovering from the torn right Achilles tendon sustained in the Las Vegas Summer League in July 2024. As of late February, he was able to participate in practice sessions. However, that still does not made him ready to participate in the playoffs.

The Denver Nuggets are not the only ones dealing with injury issues. LA Clippers’ Seth Lundy continues to recover from when he sprained his surgically repaired left ankle while playing for the Hawks in an Oct. 14 preseason game.

In light of these updates, at least one team will have to make adjustments to the starting lineup.

What will the starting lineup and depth chart for the Nuggets-Clippers game look like?

According to RotoWire, Michael Porter Jr. was able to go through Wednesday’s practice. This speaks well for his chances to be available for the upcoming game. Then again, no chances can be taken. Therefore, in light of Porter’s potential absence, Peyton Watson would be a candidate who can take up the starter’s responsibilities. Having averaged 8.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists over 68 games, the player’s point scoring is far from being on par with that of Michael Porter Jr. Then again, that might change once he receives more playing time.

In light of this update, the starting lineup for the Denver Nuggets is expected to look like this:

POSITION	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH	5TH
PG	Jamal Murray	Russell Westbrook	Jalen Pickett	Christian Braun	Trey Alexander
SG	Christian Braun	Jalen Pickett	Julian Strawther	Jamal Murray	Trey Alexander
SF	Michael Porter Jr. (Questionable)	Christian Braun	Peyton Watson	Julian Strawther	Hunter Tyson
PF	Aaron Gordon	Peyton Watson	Vlatko Cancar	Zeke Nnaji	Michael Porter Jr. (Questionable)
C	Nikola Jokic	De’Andre Jordan	Aaron Gordon	Zeke Nnaji	Peyton Watson

The absence of Seth Lundy will not affect the LA Clippers much. Why should it, when the player didn’t play even a single game during the 2024-25 regular season? Therefore, the starting lineup for the LA Clippers is expected to look like this:

POSITION	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH	5TH
PG	James Harden	Kris Dunn	Ben Simmons	Patty Mills	Norman Powell
SG	Kris Dunn	Bogdan Bogdanovic	Norman Powell	Amir Coffey	Jordan Miller
SF	Norman Powell	Derrick Jones Jr.	Amir Coffey	Bogdan Bogdanovic	Kawhi Leonard
PF	Kawhi Leonard	Nicolas Batum	Derrick Jones Jr.	Amir Coffey	Kobe Brown
C	Ivica Zubac	Ben Simmons	Nicolas Batum	Drew Eubanks	Kobe Brown

The Denver Nuggets or the LA Clippers? Who will you be rooting for? Let us know in the comments section.

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