Thomas Mitchell
Audio By Carbonatix
Let us all breathe, rejoice and party in the street. Nikola Jokic didn’t suffer major damage to his knee last night.
The Denver Nuggets star and three-time MVP of the NBA went down in a December 29 road game against the Miami Heat. The Nugs went on to lose the game, 147 to 123, but Denver players, coaches and fans were all much more concerned about losing Jokic for the season.
Jokic went down late in the first half while trying to play help-defense in the paint against Miami’s Jamie Jaquez Jr. The way Jokic fell — after an awkward stutter step and without contact — and his grimacing on the ground had us worried that he might have torn his ACL, MCL or another knee ligament. He walked off the court with a limp in his step.
Nuggets head coach David Adelman’s somber comments after the game didn’t exactly make fans optimistic, and then members of the media were told the team was awaiting an MRI for more information. Finally, after a long night, the diagnosis came this morning.
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And things….could be a lot worse!
Jokic was diagnosed with a hyperextension in his left knee, according to ESPN’s Sham Charania. The Nuggets star, arguably the best player in the NBA, is expected to miss at least four weeks.
One early report out of Serbia had predicted Jokic’s condition, although American NBA fans were still trying to piece together the validity of the article and author as Charania confirmed the diagnosis.
Missing a month will undoubtedly hurt the Nuggets record, which is currently 22-10 and third in the Western Conference. But the news still brings an “immense sigh of relief as tests show the three-time NBA MVP’s knee ligaments are intact,” Charina adds. And he couldn’t be more correct: Waiting for my phone screen load to Charina’s report was like waiting for porn in the dial-up era — and the moan of relief after reading the news was just as strong.
The Nuggets have more depth this season than last, with a new backup center, Jonas Valanciunas, expect to take over the starting role as Jokic recovers.
Obviously, this still sucks, but happiness is often a matter of expectations. And for while, some of us expected the worst.
