The Denver Nuggets were already without Aaron Gordon, Christian Braun, and Cam Johnson, so the last thing they needed was to lose Nikola Jokić, too. Except that's exactly what happened on Monday, but at least it's not as serious as it looked. Jokić will be re-evaluated in four weeks, so between now and whenever he returns, David Adelman will have time to tinker with lineups.
Winning the non-Jokić minutes has never been a priority for Denver, as it's impossible, but the front office did try to lessen the blow by adding depth over the offseason. They weren't prepping for this exact scenario, as Jokić has never been a player who misses much time (the opposite, actually). Still, the Jonas Valančiūnas trade looks better than ever. He'll start in Jokić's place.
Zeke Nnaji will be the backup center, but DaRon Holmes II could also receive minutes at the five. The 23-year-old played eight minutes in Miami after Jokić's exit, finishing with four points and three rebounds.
You might be wondering how Jokić's absence will help Denver, but the answer is that it won't. We're trying to find the positives here, though, and one of them is that being without Jokić should make the Nuggets a better team when he returns. Dare I say that they might come out of this stronger on the other side?
Nuggets will be without Nikola Jokić for several weeks
Holmes has played sparingly this year for the Nuggets, appearing in only two games before Monday. He's spent the majority of his time in the G League, where he's averaging 20.9 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game.
Denver didn't have to worry about forcing Holmes into the role of backup center, not with Valančiūnas in town, but now that Jokić is out, he'll have the chance to prove himself on the big stage. It could go either way, but once the playoffs roll around, it will be nice for the Nuggets to have a better idea of what they have in the rookie. Maybe Nnaji will surprise us, too.
Adelman has his work cut out for him in his first season as head coach. It'd be enough of a challenge if Jokić were the only starter out. Aaron Gordon, who can also spend some time at center, and Christian Braun could return sometime on this road trip. That will help.
Denver probably won't be sitting No. 3 in the West when Jokić returns, and everyone else is (hopefully) healthy, but what matters is that he will return. What happens between now and then may not result in as many wins as fans would hope for, but the payoff could hit when the postseason rolls around. Maybe the non-Jokić minutes won't be as bad.