Nuggets get encouraging injury update on much-needed role player

After a disastrous start to the regular season, the Nuggets’ bench has improved and has at least been able to tread water in recent games. Russell Westbrook has emerged as a stabilizing presence as the sixth man, while Peyton Watson has provided strong defense off the bench and Julian Strawther has provided an offensive spark.

Still, the bench and overall depth are clearly weaknesses for Denver, and it’s no coincidence that the team collapses whenever Nikola Jokic has to take a seat. The same issues we expected at the start of the season are still prevalent; They lack frontcourt depth and shooting ability.

One player the Nuggets were hoping could help in both regards was Vlatko Cancar. Cancar missed last season with a torn ACL, but fought his way back and re-signed with the Nuggets in the offseason. In theory, he could provide much-needed size and shooting off the bench.

But Cancar played in only his fourth game of the season and sprained his knee in the Nuggets’ game against the Raptors on November 19th. Cancar missed the rest of the game and was ruled out indefinitely. Given his recent injury history, many assumed that Vlatko was out for the season – and this could potentially even mean the end of his NBA career.

On Wednesday it was reported that Cancar has successfully undergone arthroscopic knee surgery and will undergo a re-evaluation in 8 weeks. All in all, this seems like great news for Vlatko and the Nuggets.

Of course, that means he’ll be out for at least another two months, but it also means there’s a chance he could return this season. Eight weeks post-surgery, we would be in early February and close to the NBA trade deadline.

If Cancar’s recovery goes well, he could fill the role of a nice little deadline addition in Denver. The team has very limited resources to complete a trade and is in dire need of talent upgrade. Perhaps that upgrade is already on the roster in the form of the injured Slovenian striker.

Hopefully the Nuggets don’t expect this to happen and don’t count on Vlatko becoming a savior for the bench. Even if he does come back, he’ll be fresh from his second major knee surgery in two years, and he’s never been more than a fringe player to begin with.

Overall, though, this is encouraging news, and at this point, any production the Nuggets can get from Cancar this season would be a huge bonus.