Injuries have been not only a pressing issue but a destabilizing epidemic on the Nuggets’ frontcourt depth chart since the first game of Summer League this year, when first-round draft pick DaRon Holmes II suffered a torn Achilles tendon.

A possible solution to Nikola Jokic’s rest minutes for this year was found in no time. Now a second possible solution is ruled out in the long term. Three games into an eye-catching string of performances from Vlatko Cancar, he re-injured his left knee in Memphis, which ultimately led to arthroscopic surgery, which was performed this week.

That leaves an endless revolving door between Zeke Nnaji, Dario Saric and DeAndre Jordan. Or there’s Aaron Gordon, seemingly the only player Michael Malone trusts to regularly take on backup center duties.

The catch is that Gordon probably shouldn’t have too many roles this early in the season – especially not right after his own injury. After all, playing the backup five for Denver seems practically cursed at this point. Whether for performance or health reasons, no one can stay on the pitch for long.

Gordon, 29, missed 10 games in November with a calf strain after he left the field four minutes into a game at Ball Arena. Denver’s injury report prior to that game listed him as suffering from calf inflammation.

“I was trying to play through something that I probably shouldn’t have played through,” he told the Denver Post. “The whole side of my leg was injured. I tried to play through it. My calf took the brunt.”

He says it’s the kind of pain he’s been through “all the time” throughout his career. But this time it may have been a wake-up call duly heeded. “I’m getting older now,” the power forward said Tuesday night at Ball Arena.

The Nuggets had just pulled off a thrilling 119-115 comeback win against the Warriors. Gordon was a big part of that. He had officially returned from his injury two days earlier against the Clippers, coming off the bench on a minutes restriction and playing a majority of those minutes (23) as center. But against Golden State he had played almost 33.

“You become (back) to the playmaker. You get defense. You experience physical recovery. And just a presence,” Malone said. “And of course I probably went over the minute limit in the second half, but we needed a win and he said he was good to go.”

Gordon is an exceptional talent, more of a superglue guy than the typical Elmer’s brand role player. His presence in the second unit had restorative powers again Thursday in Cleveland after Malone decided he couldn’t afford to keep Nnaji under center any longer. Gordon’s minutes without Jokic contributed to a first-half comeback. In the second half, for the third consecutive time since his return, he played the five for Jokic’s entire stay.

How sustainable will this be in the future if Gordon is expected to also play his regular rotations in the starting lineup? That’s where the Nuggets like him most: playing against Jokic. In fact, after playing 34 minutes against the Cavs – “within” his minutes limit, according to Malone – Gordon was ruled out two nights later in Washington, again for the same calf.

His minutes will likely require some give and take if Malone decides that playing him at center is the best path forward for Denver’s frontcourt. And even then, shortening the rotation to eight players – even for just half of each game – can have an impact on the endurance of the entire lineup over time.

“Maybe we need to do this,” Malone said. “The reason I’m doing this is because it’s what’s being asked of us right now. We have an 11-9 record in our first 20 games and are trying to find a group of players off the bench when Nikola is out that can try to survive and more importantly thrive. And we tried many different options. And unfortunately, many of these different possible rotations have not produced the desired results. So if we need to use AG as a five in the second half, we may have to do that. Because reality is like that. At the moment we are on track to win 45 games. That could get you into the play-in. So this isn’t like previous years where we had the luxury of saying, well, we’ll be fine. That is currently not the case. This is a different team. This is a new season. And that is our current reality as we face the next 20 games of our season. And if those minutes come down to playing against guys like Aaron, then maybe that’s what we need to do on any given night.”

Gordon’s recovery was boring for him.

“I shot 1,000 free throws, 2,000 free throws,” he said. “Probably 5,000 free throws. Hella free throws.”