The Nuggets have done an incredible job of holding the fort without their three-time MVP, Nikola Jokic, in the lineup. The Joker has been out since he suffered a knee injury on January 29th, and after being reevaluated four weeks later, it has been determined that he’ll be reevaluated again in another week, according to Shams Charania of ESPN.
There was some hope that he might return ahead of schedule, or at least immediately following the four weeks, but now we know that won’t be the case, and it will be at least another four games before we see the Joker back in action.
Impressively enough, Denver has gone 9-5 in this stretch without Jokic, even more incredible because they’ve been without several other key rotation players for most of those games as well. The fear was that the team would crumble, as they have in years past, without Jokic and fall down the Western Conference standings, but so far, we’ve seen quite the opposite.
They’ve risen to second in the conference, currently tied with the Spurs at 31-15 on the season, a mere 5.5 games back of the suddenly mortal-looking Thunder. Given all the misfortune that the Nuggets have had to deal with, things couldn’t have gone much better.
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The only thing is, as good as the Nuggets have played, they can’t let go of the rope now. Everyone is playing above their heads, and they’ve bought Jokic some extra time, but things are still extremely muddled out West. As well as they’ve played, they are just 4 games ahead of the Suns, who are currently seventh in the standings.
Seeding obviously isn’t the most important thing in the world, but finishing in the top six and avoiding the play-in tournament is critical. So, while it feels like the work is done and the team has weathered the storm, things are still highly contentious, and we still don’t have a return date for Jokic.
Again, these guys have done amazing, and there’s no reason to think they’re suddenly going to let up, but things aren’t going to get any easier. They’ll host the East-leading Pistons on Tuesday night, then get a possible respite with the Nets coming to town on Thursday. But they’re right back at it Friday night, playing the hottest team in the league, the Clippers.
They’ll follow that up by hosting the defending champion Thunder on Sunday, then it’s a quick East Coast swing to face the Pistons on Tuesday and the Knicks on Wednesday. There’s a real possibility the Nuggets have to play all six of those games without Jokic, and a 1-5 or 2-4 stretch could have them battling for their lives to stay in the top six.
Hopefully, unlike the fans, the players weren’t bracing for Jokic to return in exactly four weeks, and they’re ready to keep this fight going a little longer before the cavalry comes.