If this were a stereotypical video game, the Denver Nuggets are down to their last life bar.
After Nikola Jokić and friends took an embarrassing gut punch in a deflating Game 4 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday night, the Nuggets must now win three straight games to advance to the second round of the NBA playoffs. Or, they will see their once-promising season end with a thud.
The Nuggets' journey back from oblivion begins with Monday night's home Game 5 in Denver. One of the bigger storylines for the Nuggets through the rest of this series is the status of do-it-all forward Aaron Gordon. The veteran Swiss Army Knife has been dealing with left calf tightness since Game 2 of this first-round playoff series. Given how much Gordon is responsible for on both ends of the court for the Nuggets, it is perhaps no coincidence they have fallen into a 3-1 series hole with him limited. Gordon tried to play through the injury in Game 4, but clearly wasn't moving right as he wound up logging just 23 minutes in defeat.
Unsurprisingly, Gordon is listed as questionable for Game 5 on Denver's final injury report for the matchup:
Injury Report ahead of tomorrow's game against the Timberwolves:QUESTIONABLE:Aaron Gordon (Left Calf Tightness)OUT:Peyton Watson (Right Hamstring Strain)#MileHighPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/roKflhXQn5
There are two schools of thought for Gordon and the Nuggets here.
On the one hand, the Nuggets have to win and probably need all hands on deck, Gordon included, to extend their season. If there were ever a time to empty the tank, it would be when you're facing a 3-1 series deficit. Even if Gordon isn't healthy, he's one of Denver's leaders and will likely make a hard push to play in Game 5 so he can be there for his teammates.
On the other hand, if Gordon remains limited and hampered by his calf tightness, he might be doing more harm than good by trying to push through it. That's both in the sense of making himself a target the Timberwolves could try to exploit on both ends of the floor and in his risking exacerbating his injury or worse. Call it a hunch, but given Minnesota's injuries, I would bet we won't see Gordon play on Monday night, with the Nuggets protecting their player while also betting they can extend the series against a similarly hampered Timberwolves team without him.
From there, with Gordon getting more extended rest, an appearance in a possible Game 6 in Minnesota on Thursday night or a potential Game 7 on Saturday in Denver feels much more likely. That is, if the Nuggets can even make that a possibility by winning in Game 5.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Aaron Gordon injury: Is Nuggets star playing in Game 5? The latest