How responsible is Nikola Jokic for the Denver Nuggets’ magical season? The squad may have found its answer in Saturday’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
It was one of those games for the Denver Nuggets. The shots weren’t dropping, interior defense was slow…and perhaps the calls weren’t entirely favorable to the visiting Nuggs.
The squad had nothing going, but they kept it close for awhile. They hung around.
Buddy the Elf says smiling is his thing. Well, the 2018-19 Nuggets could claim perseverance as theirs. How many games has Denver won, simply due to this newfound refusal to quit?
When opposing teams go on runs, the Nuggets endure. They may fall behind by eight, but they won’t let the deficit slip to an unreachable 20. Three starters are injured, but Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray still soldier the reserves to tough victories.
Saturday looked to be one of these down-but-not-out scenarios…until midway through the third quarter. It started with Jokic’s “foul” on Clippers’ center Marcin Gortat.
Now Gortat is a big, strong dude. (If not for his NBA commitment, Gortat would be highly sought after for a lucrative mob security career). But, alas, on a loose ball, he went crashing to the deck, as if run down by a semi-truck. All because a leaning Jokic lightly placed two fingers on Gortat’s upper back.
Remember when the NBA handed out $5,000 fines for flopping?
Jokic had already barked at officials for much of the evening, which perhaps didn’t help his cause, because when he expressed his opinion on the matter, it wasn’t just a single technical foul. It was an ejection at the 6:38 mark of the third quarter.
Down 11 points at the time, the Nuggets looked horribly sluggish. Yet they were still in it, hanging around as they always do. Soon after Jokic’s tossing, the deficit reached 27. There was no coming back at that point. For the first time in five games, Denver took the L on its way out.
Nuggets Nation finally glimpsed the squad without its ace Saturday. They chewed on the somber reality that winning NBA games isn’t as easy as it looks on television.
But one broader takeaway can be surmised: The Nuggets don’t succeed without Chef Jokic stirring the pot. He will receive help on the way, but this help won’t lead Denver anywhere on its own.
The way Jokic boosts reserves is unique to his presence only. Juan Hernangomez does not continue to resemble a starting-caliber player without Jokic. Neither does Mason Plumlee.
Charles Barkley is onto something with his Jokic-for-MVP campaign. Because despite some level of reserves stepping up, Jokic is the reason Denver is winning despite all the injuries. Saturday, we saw what the Joker-less Nuggets are – a team of kittens playing in the lion’s den.
When healthy, the Nuggets are a top-three candidate in the gritty Western Conference. But every NBA team depends on someone. While the Golden State Warriors struggle without Stephen Curry, Denver is lost without Jokic.
The Nuggets’ perseverance through injury has been nothing short of miraculous. However, this ends if Jokic, too, finds himself on the sidelines.