Denver Nuggets: 3 takeaways from Game 3 loss vs. Blazers

1. Managing Jokic’s minutes

Obviously, Game 3 was an outlier in every sense of the word. Nikola Jokic will likely never play 65 minutes in one sitting ever again.

He was his usual self: getting defenders to bite on pump fakes and making the kind of passes that few centers can emulate.

But even if this game had ended in regulation, Jokic still would’ve logged 45 minutes. That’s beyond insane for a player who isn’t gifted with athleticism and was noticeably fatigued.

According to Christian Clark of BSN Denver, Malone apologized to his All-Star center after the game.

His frustration foul on Damian Lillard showed how gassed he truly was. Luckily for Jokic and the Denver Nuggets, he didn’t receive a flagrant on that play.

Before Friday’s 65-minute explosion, Jokic was averaging 37.8 minutes per game in the playoffs. He only averaged 31.3 in the regular reason.

I understand that players are expected to go the extra mile come playoff time. But Malone needed to give the 24-year-old franchise cornerstone a breather, or two.

This wasn’t Game 7 of the NBA Finals. It was Game 3 of the second round. While important, there’s no reason for your best player to make this kind of history at this point in the playoffs.