Porter (back) said Saturday after the Nuggets' 123-101 loss to the Warriors in Game 1 that he's hopeful to play at some point during the series, Marc J. Spears of ESPN.com reports. "Right now, I'm taking it game by game. I'm not ruling anything out," Porter said. "This is a thing I don't ever want to deal with again, so I'm just taking my time...I'm playing it game by game. Every day I'm getting closer."
After undergoing lumbar spine surgery on Dec. 1 -- his third back procedure in just over four years -- Porter had initially targeted a return to the lineup at some point in March. However, Porter's timeline for playing was pushed back due to a setback, which Mike Singer of The Denver Post relays was a result of overwork rather than an aggravation of the back issue. Porter sounds like he's making strides in his recovery, but the Nuggets have yet to offer any indication that the 6-foot-10 forward has resumed full-court, full-contact activities. Assuming that's the case, Porter will face long odds to be available for the series with Golden State, despite his own optimism about his health.