After missing a stretch of games with a sprained ankle, Nikola Jokic will finally return.
The Nuggets have been missing Nikola Jokic ever since he suffered a high ankle sprain. While they did show some resolve on the road trip without him, Denver could of certainly used him in close games.
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In the game where Denver returns home to battle the Pelicans, Jokic will finally be back. Nikola Jokic will provide the Nuggets with an alpha dog and one of their two stars who can take over a game within an instant.
Jokic may be a bit rusty considering he has not played in a while, but expect him to knock it off quickly and start dazzling fans with his fancy passing and pretty shooting stroke again.
Not to mention, he will be guarding one of the Pelicans’ star big man. While many believe they will have the advantage over Jokic without Millsap to help down low, do not forget Jokic is a very improved defender.
This day actually has some sentimental value with the Nuggets fan base. Jokic happens to be coming back on the one year anniversary of when Denver finally inserted him into the starting rotation.
You may remember what happened after that moment last season. Denver had an offensive awakening and the Joker put the rest of the league on notice of his great productivity. Followed up by a Jusuf Nurkic temper tantrum, a very close shot at the post season, Denver started to build around Jokic with the addition of Paul Millsap and re signing Gary Harris.
As he returns to the lineup in this game, we hopefully will get to see the fruits of the front office’s labor as Denver hold on to solid playoff positioning.
Next: Preview: New Orleans at Denver
All in all, it is good to Nikola back out playing for the Nuggets.