By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The Denver Nuggets sounding the alarm after three consecutive losses in the NBA Regular Season might be premature. However, the back-to-back NBA MVP Nikola Jokic is ready to lead his team back to the win column, despite misfires Sunday.
Jokic, 28, registered yet another triple-double with 35 points, 20 rebounds, and 11 assists in the loss to the Brooklyn Nets on the latest edition of NBA Sundays. He had a triple-double in the previous loss as well, against the San Antonio Spurs on the road Friday. His 27 triple-doubles in the 2022-23 season have lifted the Nuggets to the top of the Western Conference standings with a five-game advantage over second-placed Sacramento Kings and Memphis Grizzlies.
“Even in the All-Star break, somebody asked me what the goal will be. I told him that we are going to fall down and the key would be not stopping to believe in what brought us to the number one seed,” he said after the game against the Nets recalling a conversation on his side bouncing back from a foreseen losing streak.
In his eighth NBA campaign, Serbia’s own Joker has been around for all kinds of situations in Denver. From struggling to clinch a berth in the Playoffs to finally making the postseason in 2019, to competing past the Regular Season to disappointing exits, and more. However, being placed on the first seed of the Western Conference bracket can be a first and huge advantage for an extended run in the 2023 Playoffs.
Opposite the Nets, Jokic missed a couple of opportunities to change the outcome but moving deeper in the 2022-23 NBA Regular Season will bring up equally important games and clutch plays. Heading to a five-game road trip, the team coached by Michael Malone will meet the Toronto Raptors Tuesday and from there travel to Detroit, New York, Brooklyn, and Washington over the next ten days. The stretch on the road is likely to officially clinch a Playoffs berth but locking down the West’s top seed surely is the task at hand.
Photo Credit: Getty Images