Nov. 21 will mark the one-year anniversary of Nene's ACL surgery. According to the Denver Post, it might be awhile before the fifth-year forward is fully recovered.

Nene sat out Sunday's practice, although the team had a day off Saturday. He participated Monday in the full, two-hour workout and is expected to play Wednesday against the New York Knicks.

But taking occasional practices off likely will be part of his routine for some time.

"It's something he's dealing with, and we're just going to have to rally behind him because he's a big part of what we want to do," center Marcus Camby said Monday. "You should see his knee after practices and after games, it swells up pretty bad. It looks like a grapefruit on the side of his knee."

Nuggets trainer Jim Gillen said the swelling is neither alarming nor unexpected: "It's just the normal process."