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It’s hard to imagine any NBA team surviving the loss of three starters for more than a month each. That’s been what the Denver Nuggets had been dealing with already before Monday night’s potentially season-crushing left knee injury to three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
With just seconds left in the first half and Denver nursing a two-point lead, Denver’s Spencer Jones was defending Miami’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. in the paint when he stepped backwards onto the left foot of Jokic. Jokic’s knee buckled in what appeared in slow motion to be a hyper-extension. The Nuggets superstar was helped to the locker room and did not return as the Heat exploded and exploited the shell-shocked visitors on the way to a 147-123 win. It was Denver’s second consecutive loss, marking the first time that had happened to them this season – despite missing more than half of their starting lineup for much of the year.
The extent of Jokic’s injury wasn’t known immediately after the game. Head Coach David Adelman told the media post-game that tests would be done on Tuesday and an announcement would be made regarding Jokic’s status after that.
Denver’s already been without starters Christian Braun, Aaron Gordon and Cam Johnson. Braun is recovering from a left ankle sprain suffered on November 12th. He’s on schedule to return after the new year. Gordon suffered a grade two pulled right hamstring on November 21st and is also scheduled to return to the court in early to mid-January. Johnson is nursing a bone bruise on his right knee suffered on December 23rd and will be out until late January at the earliest.
During the most recent offseason, Denver was able to obtain NBA veteran center Jonas Valančiūnas to back up Jokic. He will now be pressed into starting duty for the foreseeable future. The Lithuanian big man has started more than 840 NBA games in his 14-year NBA career, so there’s confidence in his ability to step into that role. The bigger concern would now be the bench minutes. Denver is woefully thin in the front court with Gordon and Jokic out. They’ve already elevated former top draft pick DaRon Holmes II from the G-League where the 6’9” forward was averaging more than 20 points and almost eight rebounds per game.
The loss of Jokic for any length of time would likely derail Denver’s hopes of gaining a top four seed in the forthcoming NBA Western Conference playoff race. At 22-10 they currently sit third, but they’re only three games ahead of seventh-place Phoenix in what is expected to be a tightly contested battle for postseason positioning the rest of the way.
Mark Knudson Mark is a former MLB pitcher for the Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers and Colorado Rockies. He’s the only person ever to play high school, college and professional baseball in Colorado. Mark earned a BA in Technical Journalism from Colorado State University and has worked in radio, television and print sports media since 1994. He’s the co-author of “Pitching to the Corners” with former teammate Don August and the author of “Just Imagine,” a historical fiction novel about The Beatles.
Mark is currently a feature writer and columnist for Mile High Sports in Denver and recently joined the team at Heavy.com. Mark is also a high school baseball coach in the Denver area. More about Mark Knudson
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