Life without Nikola Jokic: It's as precarious as expected

The last time the Denver Nuggets were this mediocre this deep into a regular season? You’ve got to go all the way back to 2016-17.

That’s how long its’ been since the Nuggets were under .500 at the 20-game mark. Back on Dec. 3, 2016, Denver got smoked in Utah to drop its record to 7-12 on the season. Six games later came the Nuggets’ Dec. 15 win at home over the Trail Blazers. The rest of course is history.

It’s been a predictable downfall that hasn’t been the least bit surprising. The Nuggets are a very mediocre basketball team right now without Nikola Jokic. Jokic has missed Denver’s last four games — five if you count the loss to Philly where he injured his wrist and was a non-factor for most of the second half — and the Nuggets have lost handily to four very quality opponents, Chicago, Phoenix, Portland, and Milwaukee.

Overall, the Nuggets have lost six in a row, the most recent of which came Friday night in a 120-109 defeat at the hands of Giannis and the Bucks. It’s their longest losing streak since 2015-16, which even predates the Jokic era and came during Michael Malone’s first season in Denver. At 9-10, Denver visits Miami on Monday to start a season-long seven-game, 13-day road trip.

In the Nuggets’ last four games without Jokic, Denver’s offense has remained respectable at the 18th-best mark in the NBA. Their defense though? It’s cratered to 29th. Over this four-game stretch, the Nuggets are allowing a near-NBA worst 124.4 points per 100 possessions. Opponents are walking to the rim and shooting 52.2% overall against the Nuggets’ defense, up from the 44.9% that opponents are shooting against Denver this year.

With how Denver’s built, it’s something the Nuggets have to fix. No Jokic. No Jamal Murray. No Michael Porter Jr., and now no Bones Hyland and PJ Dozier. The Nuggets aren’t outscoring anyone.

Denver’s now 0-9 when giving up 100+ points. The Nuggets are the only team in the NBA to be winless when allowing 100+ points this season.

“The only way we’re going to end this losing streak,” Michael Malone said Friday. “Is if we find a way to play some defense.”

We haven’t seen this bad of basketball from this team in so long. It’s jarring. It’s a bit stunning. It’s just weird to see. Jokic is the ultimate NBA floor-raiser. I’ve argued he’s the top floor-raiser in the league over the last couple of years. If you put Jokic on the court, you’re going to have a pretty good chance to win that game no matter who’s around him.

But all bets are off when he’s wearing a suit on Denver’s sideline. The Nuggets are boring without Jokic. They’re just a bunch of dudes with little purpose, not much confidence, and hardly an identity. Lots of teams would be without the MVP.

If there was a silver lining to Denver’s loss Friday and these injuries, it’s that Zeke Nnaji (and Vlatko Cancar) are playing rotation minutes. It’s something that needs to stay the case while Denver remains this short-handed and even when Jokic gets back. If Malone’s looking for two guys who will play hard every single time up and down the floor, Nnaji and Cancar are going to give 100% effort at all times.

Nnaji was matched up with Giannis on several possessions Friday. He got it handed to him on a couple, but the Nuggets have to be just a little curious about the type of value, especially on the defensive end of the floor, that Nnaji can give them in real minutes right now.

The Nuggets have a lot invested in Nnaji. He’s a former first-round pick who Denver has been high on. The Nuggets picked up his option for next season too when Nnaji will be making $2.7 million for a team that will surely be paying the luxury tax minutes and could very well ask him to step into the rotation. Now is a chance to see how much he has to improve to get to that level. It feels like it’s Cancar’s (and Bol Bol’s) last season in Denver, but his basketball IQ and awareness can also help the Nuggets with how depleted they are.

“Vlatko’s just a really high IQ player,” Malone said. “Knows how to play the game. You trust him out there. He’s going to compete.”

Denver could get Jokic back in Miami, but I thought he’d play Friday vs. Milwaukee and was pretty surprised when he didn’t. If he’s back vs. the Heat, then he would have had 11 days off since the wrist injury vs. the 76ers.

It’s sad, but it’s Denver’s reality. Nuggets basketball will stay this way until he returns.