It was expected that Will Barton would miss some time after being carted off in the third quarter of the Denver Nuggets’ 119-91 win over the Phoenix Suns, but 5-6 weeks is certainly less than ideal for the squad.
Barton’s surgery means that he will miss Denver’s next 19-20 games at minimum. That could prove costly for the Nuggets and their playoff aspirations, as they start out the season with a tough schedule. They play 11 teams that made the playoffs last season over that stretch, including the Pelicans and Bucks twice. They also face the LeBron James led Lakers twice and three Conference Finalists from last season (Cavaliers, Celtics, Rockets).