The Denver Nuggets were dealt a setback on Christmas Day as they fell to a 100-110 loss to the Phoenix Suns. After dominating the Suns in a recent matchup, it was remarkable to see how Phoenix defeated Denver in last night’s clash which led Nikola Jokic to get very upset.
Jokic’s feelings were easily readable, with the Serbian center visibly frustrated by the performance of his teammates, as the Nuggets fell to 16-12 on the season. Analyst Harrison Wind shared his feelings on Jokic’s performance, openly bashing the Nuggets for having upset their star center through their performances.
“I can’t remember Nikola Jokic being more visibly frustrated with his teammates than he’s been this season. He hasn’t hidden what he thinks of this team and where they’re at, both with his emotions on the floor and comments off it.”
After every major loss, it seems like Jokic has been critical of the franchise. He put up 25 points (10-19 FG) and 15 rebounds before not speaking to the media last night. It was a tough loss, but Jokic has slammed his teammates before after similarly embarrassing losses.
“We are in the games, we always down 20 at a half. I don’t know. Do we don’t warm up or do we don’t wake up, or we just don’t play hard enough? I don’t know what it is, but collectively, we need to do a better job.”
Jokic has even suggested that he and his teammates deserve to have their pay cut due to their poor performances in recent weeks.
“A reaction,” Jokic said when asked what the Nuggets need to see in the next few games. “In my country, where I’m coming from, after this kind of stretch, you’re gonna get a paycheck that is a little bit less than you are worth. So maybe that’s what we need to do. Maybe a little motivation that way.”
Unfortunately, Jokic and his millionaire teammates have guaranteed contracts that won’t be altered in the middle of the season, so they need to find more unique ways of punishing the team to keep them motivated.
I am being facetious, but it’s interesting to see how Jokic endorses team-wide punishments after losing big games, so it could be what the team needs to end 2024 on a high.
Jokic is averaging 30.7 points, 12.6 rebounds, and 9.4 assists this season, with the 29-year-old center currently the favorite to win MVP. If he continues performing like this but the Nuggets fail to solidify a top-four seed in the West, it’ll be hard for him to win his fourth MVP in the last season.
He won’t feel like an MVP given how aggressively he’s trying to motivate his teammates into winning recently, but it could be in the best interests of the Nuggets to use tough love as a platform to level their performances up.
Jamal Murray has struggled this year, averaging 18.8 points and 6.1 assists, while Michael Porter Jr. is trying to keep his form on track with 18.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while being floated around in trade rumors. There’s a lot to address before the Nuggets can turn their form around.
The franchise needs a shake-up internally, so it would be best for them to analyze what could be available on the trade market while also hoping the players already on the roster improve their level.
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