Denver Nuggets dodge worst-case scenario after Nikola Jokić knee injury | Nikola Jokić
Nikola Jokić will only miss a few weeks, which will surely make the Denver Nuggets breathe a huge sigh of relief.
The Nuggets’ superstar center has been diagnosed with a hyperextended left knee, the team announced Tuesday, adding that the three-time MVP will be re-evaluated in four weeks.
It’s an obvious blow to the already shorthanded Nuggets – but it’s not a season-ending problem nor one that would require surgical repair. If Jokić misses a month, that means he’ll be out for about 16 games, but could play again before February’s NBA All-Star Game.
The 6-foot-11 Jokić — considered by many to be the best player in the world right now — was injured about three seconds into the first half of Denver’s 147-123 loss at Miami on Monday night.
Jokić entered Tuesday ranked fifth in the NBA this season with 29.6 points per game and leads the league with averages of 12.2 rebounds and 11 assists per game. The only other player in NBA history to average at least 12 rebounds and 11 assists over a full season was Oscar Robertson for the Cincinnati Royals in 1961-62.
“Obviously, it’s part of the game,” Nuggets guard Jamal Murray said Monday night after the game — before the team learned the severity of Jokić’s injury. “But we never want that to happen. … On to the next man up. We have to focus on what’s here.”
Denver has five games remaining on a seven-game road trip, one that resumes Wednesday when the Nuggets visit the Toronto Raptors.
Jokić was alone under the basket and appeared to step forward to help Denver’s Spencer Jones defend a drive by Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr as time was about to expire in the second quarter. While reversing, Jones stepped on Jokić’s left foot and it appeared the center’s knee bent a bit.
Jokić collapsed on the field, grabbing his knee. He was helped to his feet, then made his way to the locker room under his own power but with a pronounced limp.
Denver played without three potential starters, Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and Cam Johnson. Even after losing four of their last six games, the Nuggets are still No. 3 in the Western Conference with a 22-10 record, with Jokić having played in all 32 of those games.
This is about to change, obviously. Denver is 13-23 over the past five seasons when Jokić is not in the lineup, and any slip-ups in the coming weeks would hurt the Nuggets’ playoff positioning. The Nuggets entered Tuesday just three games ahead of Phoenix, currently seventh in the conference.
“You just have to stay with it as a team and as a group,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said Monday night. “And honestly, you have to stay there as a team and a group, because that’s how you best support your teammates who are away – by honoring them when you play. So we’ll move on. That’s part of the NBA.”
The injury interrupts what could be Jokić’s best season of his career. Not only does he lead the league in rebounds and assists, but he makes a career-high 43.5 percent from three-point range and leads the NBA in true shooting percentage — a formula that takes into account three-pointers and free throws — of just over 71 percent.
“It’s like a quest for efficiency and consistency, and I think whether he admits it or not, he views it as a profession,” Adelman said before Monday’s game, hours before the injury occurred. “He tries to look at it as something like, ‘What can I improve on over the course of the year?’ And I think it’s been really impressive to watch him over these years and not settle for it and take on new journeys.
