In the Denver Nuggets‘ latest game against the Washington Wizards on Saturday, superstar big man Nikola Jokic had one of his best games of the season in a spectacular all-around performance. Unfortunately for the Joker, it still was not enough for the Nuggets to get a win.
In what fans are calling one of the worst games of the season for the Nuggets, they were defeated on the road by the Washington Wizards (122-113). This is despite a brilliant game from Jokic, who finished with 56 points (career high), 16 rebounds, and 8 assists on 57.8% shooting.
“Jokic logging 40 minutes a night just to be in dogfights with bottom-tier teams,” wrote one fan in disbelief.
The Nuggets, who were NBA champions back in 2023, were once the pride of the NBA Western Conference. But now there are serious questions about their status as contenders after their 10th loss this season.
“The Nuggets organization should be ashamed of what they’ve done to the prime of Nikola Jokic,” wrote Justin Termine. “Hopefully they’ll start to be called out more by the national media and hopefully reporters will start asking those in charge tough questions. Shameful.”
After losing a key role player in back-to-back summers, the thinking among the fans is that the Nuggets don’t have enough depth to keep up with their competitors. Tonight, with no Murray in the lineup, it was Julian Strawther off the bench who stepped up with 18 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists on 3-6 shooting.
“I understand the Nuggets are without AG and Jamal,” posted one X user, “but in no world should you be losing to the worst team in the league with the best player in the league healthy and in his prime. No excuse.”
What makes it even worse for the Nuggets, is the loss came against one of the worst teams in the league. The Wizards are 3-18 this season and had lost 16 in a row before tonight’s game. To say that fans were stunned might be an understatement.
“They are a broken team, with absolutely no way to fix it,” wrote SportShorts. “There will be a documentary made on the malpractice of ownership and management to get to this point.”
The Wizards were powered by the red-hot shooting of Jordan Poole, who finished with 39 points, 8 assists, and 5 rebounds in 40:13 minutes. He was cutting through the Nuggets defense all night and had their backcourt (namely Russell Westbrook) struggling to keep up defensively.
“As much as I complain about the Lakers not giving AD and LeBron enough help, what the Nuggets are doing to Jokic in his prime is criminal,” wrote a frustrated fan on the Nuggets.
It remains to be seen what comes next for the 2023 champions, but this loss should be a wake-up call for everyone on the team. Jokic himself has already called for help and it seems like the Nuggets could be in trouble if they don’t alter the roster in some way.
As for Jokic, we already know where he ranks among the best players in the game. If the Nuggets were higher than 9th in the standings, he’d be the MVP frontrunner so far with 29.9 points, 13.4 rebounds, and 10.4 assists per game on 55.9% shooting.
It remains to be seen how Jokic and the Nuggets respond to this heartbreaking loss but they won’t have much time to think about it. This time tomorrow, they’ll be finished with their next game, against the Atlanta Hawks at State Farm Arena at 6:00 PM EST. After a slate of games for the NBA Emirates Cup, the Nuggets will resume action on December 13th, when they return home to face the Los Angeles Clippers at 9:00 PM EST.
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