Confirmed! Right knee bone bruise! The NBA’s most unfortunate strong team is born

A silver lining in misfortune.

Johnson sustained a right knee bone bruise with no damage to joint structures or serious injury, so he will be out for some time.

He was injured recently in the Nuggets’ 130-131 defeat against the Mavericks, during a rebound contest with Flagler.

The Nuggets have faced a significant injury wave this season. Before Johnson’s right knee bone bruise landed him in the hospital, Gordon (hamstring injury) and Braun (left ankle sprain) were already sidelined and awaiting recovery. Now, three of the starting five are unable to play.

However, as long as Jokic is on the court, the Nuggets won’t collapse. This season, he’s been averaging an impressive 28.9 points, 12 rebounds, 10.9 assists, and 1.5 steals per game, with a shooting percentage of 60.4%. He also shoots 43.1% from three, making 2.1 triples per game, leading the league in rebounds and assists, guiding the team to a 21-8 record and third place in the Western Conference.

Back to Johnson, this summer during the off-season, the Nuggets acquired him from the Nets by trading away the 2023 championship contributor Porter and an unprotected 2023 first-round pick. Porter has been averaging 11.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists this season, shooting 42.9% and hitting 1.9 three-pointers per game.

As for Porter, now with the Nets, he is having a career-best season, averaging 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists, shooting 40.1% from the field and making 3.7 three-pointers per game. The Nets currently hold a 9-19 record, ranking 13th in the Eastern Conference.

However, Porter’s strong performance might interfere with the team’s tanking strategy, so the Nets are now open to trade offers for him.... His salary this season is $38.33 million, with a contract salary of $40.81 million for the next season.

Especially teams on the playoff or play-in bubble, like the Warriors and Clippers, are very eager to acquire Porter, a tough scorer with championship experience, to help them compete in the highly competitive Western Conference.

So far, the Warriors stand at 15-15, ranking eighth in the West, 3.5 games behind the sixth-place Rockets; the Clippers are 8-21, ranked 13th, 3.5 games behind the tenth-place Trail Blazers.