Everyone's had their concerns about Nikola Jokic for one reason or another ever since he returned from missing 16 games with a knee injury in late January. They've all said he's got a wrist injury, he's shooting poorly, he's turning the ball over more, and he can't carry the Nuggets to a clutch win. They've all basically said he isn't himself.
Well, Tim Legler would like to turn that frown upside down and inform Nuggets fans there's no reason to fret, at least not yet.
Legler was a guest on the "DNVR Nuggets Podcast" talking about the recent performances of the Nuggets and Jokic, and he said five words that can surely aid in making that frown go away. "I'm not worried about Jokic."
And there really isn't a reason to be. The Joker is still human, after all, and we can't just expect him to go for 31-21-22 every night. He's out there giving it his all, playing through a wrist injury that's clearly bothering him, as evidenced by the boxing style between round treatments of ice he's received on the sidelines while catching a breather recently.
Small causes for concern, but it's the Joker he'll be okay
However, we can expect Jokic to do a better job of protecting the rock. He's had multiple games with 9 turnovers, and a few of them occurred in the clutch, highlighting the errors that contributed to the Nuggets' defeat. Jokic's averaging 4.5 turnovers in his last 15 games, compared to just 3.7 before the All-Star break.
Jokic's shooting a little more poorly, too, but mostly from long range. He's shooting 28.8% in his last 15 games from three-point range, much lower than the 42% he shot before the All-Star break.
But in the blowout loss to the Knicks, the Joker had 38 points in just three quarters, and he made all but one of his 15 two-point attempts, good for a 66% night.
His rebounding has been fine. He's still averaging 13.3 over the last 15 games, and his assists are only down to 9.2 from 10.7. Still other-worldly numbers.
Legler gave a take from outside the mile-high bubble
"But look, here's the thing. I'm located outside Denver, so I understand, like, my perspective might be a little bit different," Legler said. And that's a good thing in this case.
We've all grown so accustomed to what Jokic has done all these years that we've sort of taken it for granted. Not in a bad way. But when he slips a bit, everyone starts to question what's wrong.
That's why those five words Legler said carry a bit of weight. He's not looking at things through our lens. And that should at least start to turn that frown upside down as the Nuggets head into the home stretch.