Nuggets Letting Down Nikola Jokic Amid Playoff Struggles, Game 3 Outburst Could Be Alarming Sign
ES 
EN Nikola Jokic delivered again. The Serbian star just had the best season of his career – that itself is an achievement for the 30-year-old centre. Recording his first triple-double season – Jokic was in the MVP conversation again, for the fifth season in a row. The Denver Nuggets are enjoying a great period with their 2012 draft pick and entered the playoffs. But the honeymoon ends there.
Yes, the 2023 NBA champions are facing a massive task at the moment. Matching up Nikola Jokic on the floor. Complementing him with the stars. And the 2024-25 playoff first round series against the LA Clippers exposed them. Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr member of the Nuggets’ championship side along with experienced Russell Westbrook fell flat against the Clippers’ physical play.
“We got what we deserved,” Nuggets interim head coach David Adelman said. “We have to reassess tonight and watch the film. We got embarrassed. The biggest thing on Saturday is that we have to come in and meet the game. If we can do that, we can put ourselves in a good spot to win on Saturday. But it doesn’t matter what our adjustments are if we are not going to meet the challenge. Yes, we got embarrassed tonight, but the bottom line is it’s one game. We can come back in Game 4 and do the right things and give ourselves a chance.”
Nikola Jokic and Denver Nuggets Pushed Against Wall in Game 3
The series looked evenly matched, even though the Nuggets had the Jokic-Murray combo active. But the Clippers prove the predictions wrong and already have a 2-1 lead in the series. In game 3, no one expected the blowout – a 117-83 loss for the Nuggets.
Nikola was not happy, being the only constant on the side, playing night in and night out, carrying the Nuggets on his back. Usually calm and laughing, Jokic was seen yelling at his teammates. The seven-time all-star was visibly upset with many cameras capturing the moment.
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“I didn’t say nothing,” Jokic said after the game. “I think everybody needs to step up. They were better than us today in every aspect of the game. I mean, they are a good defense. They are a good team. They are taking away what we are good at and they have quality players. They have great main players, role players. They are a great team so they are taking away what we are good at. We need to find a way to get to those moves that we are good at.”
If we try to read between the lines, great team and role players would alarm the Nuggets fanbase. Other than Jokic, the Nuggets are over-reliant on Joker with a poor 33%-win ratio in 12 games this season. Ironically, if Jokic sits more than 10 matches in a season, the team could hardly win 28% of matches.
In the series against the Clippers, game 2 loss was Kawhi Leonard’s masterclass, while the game 3 loss can be seen as the Nuggets’ failure. Offensively struggling Nuggets were easy pickings for the Clippers. Jokic and Murray combined shot 17-for-29 from the floor, the rest of the team, 14-for-48.
The other end of the floor was neither protected, with the Clippers’ perimeter shooters netting 18 long-range shots with a strong 46% accuracy. Although Jokic and co professionally reacted to Malone’s sacking, the lack of a title opportunity could drive them away from the franchise – Jokic is not an exception. Was Maone’s departure a hasty decision, or were the Nuggets just ‘switched off’ on the night? There might be any reason, but the side has just under 48 hours to reply the hammering.
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