It's been more than two weeks since veteran Jeff Green has been able to aid Denver's second unit. His return from a knee injury appears imminent.
After missing the past seven games with a knee contusion, Green, speaking at the team shootaround, said it looked promising that he'd be available for Tuesday night's game against Dallas. Asked specifically how his right knee felt, Green was in an excellent mood.
"It's attached," he deadpanned. "It feels great."
Green was on the sidelines for Denver's last two games — miserable losses to Atlanta and then New Orleans. Without diving much into specifics, Green tried to cool the temperature in the wake of those defeats.
"We care so much," Green said. "We want to win every game. And one loss seems like it's five."
It was sage advice from an NBA lifer and someone who's seen all manner of peaks and valleys throughout a season. His return could help galvanize a second unit that was outscored 62-18 in the loss to the Pelicans. Green praised those reserve players who'd stepped in — Vlatko Cancar, Ish Smith and Davon Reed — and suggested the biggest difference could be his voice that returns to the floor.
He was more than complimentary of the bench even if it's been a sore spot of late.
Denver's defense has also been reeling. Ahead of Tuesday's contest, they ranked 26th in the NBA defensively ahead of only San Antonio, Detroit, Houston and Orlando. Naturally, Green wasn't fazed.
"It's still the beginning of the season," he said. "People act like playoffs is right around the corner."
He said he felt the Nuggets were still adjusting to new faces but acknowledged there needed to be a concerted buy-in from the group.
"We just gotta re-group (after two losses)," he said. "There's a lot of things that we can control, which we can be better at."
Green generally has a solid pulse on the locker room and said he'd only speak up when the right situation warranted his voice. As ugly as both losses were, Green said he didn't feel the need to say anything.
At 14-9 overall, Green took his coach's advice and reiterated there was no reason to panic.
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