Nuggets’ Aaron Gordon says he feels ‘better out there’ after injury-plagued year

Aaron Gordon finally looks healthy again. That alone is a pretty encouraging development for the Nuggets.

Gordon scored 25 points with six rebounds in 23 minutes Sunday against Chicago, shooting 9-of-12 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. More importantly, he moved like a player who wasn’t thinking about his body.

“I’m not a doctor, but it seems like he feels good,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said, via Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette.

Adelman said Gordon played with good pace and attacked the rim confidently, which was especially notable after injuries limited him to 36 regular-season games last year and just three games in Denver’s first-round playoff series.

Gordon said he has changed his game-day routine, arriving earlier and staying later to give himself more time to prepare and recover.

“It’s smoother. I feel better out there,” Gordon said. “It’s everything — more elongated stretching, more concentrated efforts, just more warming my body up and cooling it down.”

If Gordon can stay healthy, that’s no small thing for Denver.

Sunday was preseason. But for a player who spent so much of last season dealing with one thing or another, simply looking like himself again was a pretty good sign.