When Nikola Jokic went down, writhing in pain and grabbing his knee on Monday night, hearts stopped around Nuggets Nation, as fans braced for the worst. But Jokic and the team got great news as the results of the MRI showed no damage to the ligaments. Jokic has been diagnosed with a hyperextension in his left knee, and he’s expected to be re-evaluated in four weeks.
All things considered, this is the best possible result after it looked like a potentially devastating injury. Four weeks without the Joker is going to feel like a long time, but all things considered, this is an excellent outcome. Nuggets fans can breathe a massive sigh of relief. Jokic will be back this season.
Four weeks from today would be Tuesday, January 27th. The Nuggets play the Pistons that night, which would be the team’s 16th game between now and then. That could be a very rough, trying stretch for the Nuggets, but if they can tread water, and Jokic is able to come back after those four weeks, the season can be salvaged.
A top seed is likely out the window, but as long as things don’t go completely off the rails in January, and there are no setbacks for Jokic, they should still have a solid chance to finish in the top six in the West and avoid the dreaded play-in tournament.
Nuggets must survive stretch with four starters out
Now that we know Jokic will be back, the mission becomes surviving his absence. It has already been tough without Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, and Cam Johnson, but now it will be close to impossible. Luckily, AG and Braun could be back by the end of this road trip, which would be a huge boost on both ends.
For Jokic, this will be the longest stretch of missed games in his career. He has played in at least 69 games in each of his NBA seasons, a number that will now be impossible to reach.
Sadly, this injury may cause Jokic to miss enough games to be ineligible for postseason awards, which means he could be robbed of a chance at a fourth MVP Award and another first-team All-NBA appearance.
But those are problems for another day, and minutiae in the grand scheme of things. This is a happy day and a time to rejoice, as all hope is not lost. Jokic has avoided the worst, and he should be back in plenty of time to keep the good vibes going in Denver, and for this team to make a run at another title.