As feared, MPJ’s back already has him missing a key Nuggets game

You could feel this coming.

About 20 hours after Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. landed on the team’s injury report with “lumbar spine management” as the designation, he won’t play tonight against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. (lumbar management), will miss his first game of the season tonight vs. the Lakers (ESPN, 10 ET), but there’s optimism he could be back vs. Utah on Friday, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 26, 2022

That’s not a good feeling for Denver fans. Not after Porter played just nine games last year before yet another back surgery ended his season. Porter tweaked the back against the Blazers on Monday night, colliding awkwardly with former Nuggets center Jusuf Nurkić.

Before the injury, Porter was off to a hot start, averaging 18 points and 5.3 rebounds per contest. He’s made four three-pointers a game, which has him tied for second in the entire NBA.

The good news is “Woj” says there’s optimism he’ll be back for the Utah game on Friday night. But at the same time, here we go again. Just four games into a fresh season, with championship aspirations, and watching Porter’s back is already a storyline for the Nuggets.

There’s no way to sugarcoat this as anything else other than a massive bummer. Let’s hope it’s truly not serious, but Porter’s injury history has all of Nuggets Nation holding its breath.

***