Paul Millsap appears to be the latest member of the Denver Nuggets to go down with an injury. Not only did the Nuggets start the season without free agent signee Isaiah Thomas, 2018 first round draft pick Michael Porter Jr and second round pick Jarred Vanderbilt, they’ve also been without Will Barton and Gary Harris recently suffered a hip injury that’s been listed as day-to-day for the moment.
Millsap reportedly suffered a broken toe on Friday night in the Nuggets road game against the Charlotte Hornets. Millsap scored 16 points to go along with 3 rebounds and an assist in 19 minutes before he left the game shortly after this play.
Monte Morris told reporters in Charlotte that Paul Millsap broke his toe on this play. If that’s the diagnosis, it would be another huge blow to the Nuggets’ depth. Denver has been hit hard by injuries already this season. pic.twitter.com/uxoXG1jr7R
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) December 8, 2018
Following comes from Shams Charania of The Athletic and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Denver Nuggets forward Paul Millsap is feared to have suffered a broken toe in his right foot tonight in Charlotte, per league sources on @TheAthleticNBA @WatchStadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 8, 2018
Nuggets forward Paul Millsap has a broken toe on his right foot, league sources tell ESPN. Team will know better a timeline for his return once he’s evaluated back in Denver.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 8, 2018
Sources on @TheAthleticNBA @WatchStadium: Denver’s Paul Millsap is expected to be sidelined 4-to-6 weeks with a broken big toe in his right foot.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 11, 2018
The Nuggets still sit atop the Western Conference’s top three with a 17-9 record heading coming out of a horrible weekend despite all the depth issues they currently face but the loss of Millsap for an extended period of time might bring them back to earth. He’s had a solid season playing alongside Nikola Jokic posting per game averages of 13.5 points, seven rebounds, two assists, 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks in 26.8 minutes. But another injury has people questioning if Denver’s investment in him was worth it.
The four-time All-Star originally signed a three-year, $90 million contract to join the Nuggets in the summer of 2017 after he elected to leave the Atlanta Hawks. The Nuggets have a team option on him after this year. He was supposed to bring toughness, defense, rebounding and just another punch to the young Nuggets but injuries have shortened his first two seasons. He missed 44 consecutive games last season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left wrist.
