“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 about Michael Porter Jr.’s injury back in April. A player who holds such resilience is certainly needed by every team, especially at a time when they are trying to get through the playoffs. Porter stayed true to his interim HC’s belief, and did not miss any game even as he continued recovering from a shoulder injury. However, a playoff game is quite different from a regular-season matchup, which might have prompted the player to back off if he was still recovering. The keyword being ‘if’.

According to the Denver Nuggets Injury Report, as reported by ESPN, Michael Porter Jr.’s name is nowhere to be found! This means that, unless an emergency occurs, the player will be once again available to take on the OKC roster in Game 3 at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. It also means that the issue with his shoulder seems to be behind him. For now.

Michael Porter Jr. had fumbled quite a bit during the early part of the Denver Nuggets’ postseason run. He only scored 3 points, 4 rebounds, and 0 assists in Game 1 against the LA Clippers. He performed much better in Game 2, but his performance got cut short after Porter attempted to get a loose ball back by diving, but ended up bashing his left shoulder. This led to his left shoulder joint sprain, which Porter was really apologetic about.

“I made a stupid play after I got the rebound. Tried to make up for it, and somebody landed on my shoulder”, said the player after the game. He further added, “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”. Michael Porter Jr. made up for the injury by playing through it and helping the Denver Nuggets defeat the LA Clippers in Game 7 to head to the Conference Semi-Finals. Now, having recovered, it is up to him to help the team in the tightly contested series against OKC.

The only other player on the Nuggets Injury Report is DaRon Holmes II. The 22nd overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, this rookie missed the entirety of the 2024-25 season. 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, his condition still does not allow him to be worthy of playoff participation.

Meanwhile, from the Oklahoma City Thunder’s side, the only player listed as ‘OUT’ is Nikola Topic. Topic underwent a successful left ACL procedure back in July 2024, which caused him to miss the entirety of the 2024-25 season. In light of these updates, no teams will have to make adjustments to the starting lineup.

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

Having Michael Porter Jr. during Game 3 of the Nuggets-OKC series would be valuable, but the player will still need to step up. After all, over the last 2 games, the player has averaged only 5.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 0.0 assists. Since he averaged 16.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in 13 games versus the Thunder before this year’s playoffs, according to Statmuse, we know he has the potential to rise. If not, then it will be up to Christian Braun to make a difference.

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

The absence of Nikola Topic will not affect the Oklahoma City Thunder 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 OKC is expected to look like this:

The Denver Nuggets or the Oklahoma City Thunder? Who will you be rooting for? Let us know in the comments section.