Why Michael Porter Jr. is determined to keep playing through shoulder injury in Nuggets-Thunder series

The Nuggets have a Michael Porter Jr dilemma His persistence is to them a lifeline or a liability any given night The longer they hang around in these playoffs the more consequential his vacillations become He managed to shoot from -point range in the first round while nursing a sprained AC joint in his left shoulder He was the poster boy for the Nuggets collective resilience in a first-round series played under peculiar circumstances without a full-time head coach or general manager They won three of the last four games to prevail over the Clippers he knocked down of his outside jumpers during that span then he requested for help removing his jersey after the games Lifting his left arm was a chore Don t even get him started on his leg brace situation His toughness was a crutch More in recent days its effect has been destabilizing Entering Championship against the Thunder on Friday night Porter was having a -for- series from the floor Disappointed in his own lack of production he still felt it was essential that he forge ahead I just think that it s do-or-die for our crew so I don t feel the pull to really try to rest it Porter explained I think if I m not able to perform out there then they put someone else in there that s able to perform better for the band then that s what we ve gotta do But I m gonna definitely go out there and try Because I might be able to make an impact Chosen shots might go down I ve just gotta be very selective with how I play It s a delicate needle to thread Oklahoma City preys on indecision a harsher word for selectiveness For example as Nuggets interim coach David Adelman pointed out the two-handed rebound against this band is so significant Porter has been limited to one The inability to raise the left can render his height advantage ineffective on the glass And if Porter isn t rebounding his defensive value diminishes His presence on the court reduces toward being one-dimensional justified almost entirely by his picturesque jumper That the injury resides in his non-dominant arm offered a glimmer of hope from the outset but he still has to bring his left hand up with the ball to escort and help the other components of his form even if he follows through with the right It just feels a little clunky right now Porter reported A little off with that guide hand It doesn t help either that All-Star Jalen Williams is spending a healthy portion of minutes guarding Porter You can tell when he shoots it he s having a hard time with the full release at the top of his shot Adelman announced It s almost like it s stopping at That s such an fundamental thing for us If they re gonna double and triple against Nikola Jokic and shrink the floor and all those things Michael has to eat on that weak side Michael Porter Jr of the Denver Nuggets loses a pass off of his head as Jalen Williams of the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday May Photo by AAron Ontiveroz The Denver Post When Porter s not eating the Nuggets are in danger of starvation Their depth chart lacks the fortitude to hang with the Thunder s especially if an injury eliminates anyone from the rotation Adelman has relied on Russell Westbrook to close in Porter s more anonymous games including the first of this series and the results have been mostly favorable despite complications with the spacing of Denver s two-man challenge Porter has seemingly grown more accepting of that lineup option throughout the last two rounds if only because he recognizes when his abilities are in a jail of his own design It was his turnover late in Meeting against the Clippers and his determination to compensate by diving after a loose ball that caused the injury Related Articles Renck If Nuggets don t bring fight to punchable Thunder they deserve what they get David Adelman on playing Nuggets starters after getting punked in first half of Championship We needed to find a rhythm Nuggets Aaron Gordon comes to Nikola Jokic s defense after star fouls out They are fouling him PHOTOS Denver Nuggets routed by OKC Thunder - in Meeting of second-round NBA Playoffs series Nuggets destroyed by Thunder in Encounter as Nikola Jokic fouls out in third quarter But even if he can t close he intends to play He was informed that a Grade Two sprain would normally take four to five weeks to heal It s been days as of Saturday Porter calls that mind over matter The catch- is that suiting up through the pain has possibly decelerated the recovery process Maybe he doesn t mind but that does matter Immobilizing the joint is the fastest way to heal it and obviously I haven t been able to do that with the games Porter noted I ve chosen to play But that s not an excuse Like if I m gonna go out there and play then I ve gotta play well I m just so limited out there So I m not able to do what I want to do offensively defensively on the glass Everything s a little hard But that s not an excuse I ve gotta play better if I m gonna go out there and play Want more Nuggets news Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis