Nuggets' surprising injury update is best possible news for Nikola Jokic

After finding out that Nikola Jokic has a bone bruise on his knee and will be reevaluated in four weeks, the Nuggets quickly got an even more positive update. During the team’s game against the Cavaliers on Friday night, Cassidy Hubbarth, for Amazon Prime, reported that the Nuggets are “pleasantly surprised” with Jokic’s progress, that he has been working on the exercise bike, and using the stairs.

This was after Jokic was seen on video walking into the game in street clothes, appearing to be in great spirits, and walking comfortably, almost with a pep in his step - certainly not showing any sign of a limp.

Jokic is a god among men when he’s on the basketball court, and we’ve come to expect the supernatural, but can that even apply to the healing process? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but these are obviously some excellent early signs.

The most consecutive games Jokic has ever missed in his career is seven, with an ankle injury, and the fewest games he’s played in a season is 69. Both of those numbers are obviously in major jeopardy. Even if he missed the minimum original projection of four weeks, that would mean 16 games missed, putting his max at 66 if he played in every game for the rest of the season upon his return.

Early Jokic return could change everything

We know Jokic is going to be itching to play as early as possible. We know he isn’t a guy who’s overly dependent on athleticism, quickness, leaping, and those kinds of things that could be at risk. And we know that one of his only true contemporaries, Giannis Antetokounmpo, returned ahead of schedule from a similar injury earlier this season.

If Jokic were somehow able to return after three weeks instead of four, that would potentially save him four games, seeing him miss just 12, and putting his total at a possible 70. Surely, he’s not going to come back and play in every game for the rest of the season, but only 10 more games without the Joker feels manageable for the Nuggets.

With AG and Christian Braun potentially coming back as soon as Sunday, and hopefully Cam Johnson in a couple of weeks, this team could be at full strength a lot sooner than it felt like a few days ago.

An early return could also give Jokic a comfortable shot at reaching the NBA’s 65-game minimum rule to be eligible for awards. Missing 12 games may still be enough to lose him the MVP award to SGA, but it would probably be enough to keep his streak of top-2 finishes alive, and he’d be a lock to make his eighth straight All-NBA team. Things are looking up.