After renowned Vail hip specialist Dr. Marc J. Philippon performed surgery on (Wilson) Chandler last spring, after a tear of the left labral joint in a game in April, the 25-year-old forward is feeling good and hopeful of being in the Nuggets’ lineup for the Oct. 31 season opener at Philadelphia.

“That’s the goal. I’m working toward that. It’s been a slow process with the hip, kind of a delicate situation,” Chandler said. “I think once I get back into the rotation, I’ll be pretty good.”

On a lesser team, Chandler might have had an easy time getting back into the starting lineup. But with the Nuggets having arguably as much overall depth as any NBA team, Chandler might have to work his way up from the bottom of what is expected to be a nine- or 10-man rotation.

via Adrian Dater of The Denver Post