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Nikola Jokić is only going to miss a few weeks, which is surely cause for the Denver Nuggets to take a giant sigh of relief.
The Nuggets’ superstar center has been diagnosed with a hyperextended left knee, the team said Tuesday, adding that the three-time MVP will be re-evaluated in four weeks.
It’s an obvious blow to the already short-handed Nuggets – but is not a season-ending issue nor one that would require surgical repair. If Jokić misses a month, that means he would be sidelined for about 16 games but could be playing again before February’s NBA All-Star Game.
The 6ft 11in Jokić – considered by many to be the best player in the world right now — got hurt with about three seconds left in the first half of Denver’s 147-123 loss in Miami on Monday night.
Jokić entered Tuesday ranked fifth in the NBA in scoring this season at 29.6 points per game, plus leads the league with averages of 12.2 rebounds and 11 assists per contest. 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 – speaking before the team got the word on the severity of Jokić’s injury. “But we never want to see it happen. ... Next man up. We’ve got to focus on what’s in here.”
Denver have five games left 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 backtracking, Jones stepped on Jokić’s left foot and it seemed the center’s knee buckled a bit.
Jokić collapsed to the court, grabbing at the 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 has been playing without three would-be starters in Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun and Cam Johnson. Even after dropping four of their last six games the Nuggets are still currently No 3 in the Western Conference at 22-10, with Jokić having played in all 32 of those games.
That’s about to change, obviously. Denver are 13-23 over the last five seasons when Jokić isn’t in the lineup, and any slippage in the coming weeks would be damaging to the Nuggets’ playoff positioning. The Nuggets entered Tuesday only three games ahead of Phoenix, which is 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 with it as a team and a group because that’s how you best support your teammates that are out – by honoring them when you play. So, we’ll move on from there. This is part of the NBA.”
The injury interrupts what might be Jokić’s best season of his career. Not only is he leading the league in rebounds and assists, but he’s shooting a career-best 43.5% from three-point range and tops the NBA with a true shooting percentage – a formula that accounts for three-pointers and free throws – of just over 71%.
“It’s like a quest for efficiency and consistency, and I think that’s whether he admits it or not, he sees it as a craft,” Adelman said before Monday’s game, a couple of hours before the injury happened. “He’s trying to look at it as something, ‘What can I get better over the year at?’ And I think it’s been really impressive to watch him over these years, not be satisfied with it, and attack new journeys.”
