Two two-point losses in a row for the Nuggets. Sad! Everyone knows what happened in the first one by now: Nikola Jokic took 25 minutes of gametime to shoot one (1) shot. I don’t know what he was trying to prove with that, maybe he was just screwing with us, because in this one, he came out of the gate ready and willing to shoot. I don’t think I’d ever seen him so aggressive. I guess it is easier to manhandle Jarrett Allen than Marc Gasol.
Jokic, consumed as he was by a burning desire to score the ball, didn’t have his usual assist totals tonight. You can also blame Gary Harris for that, which I hate to do because he’s one of my favorite players. Oh, and by the way, my theory that Paul Millsap totally ruined the Nuggets isn’t debunked quite yet. He is the scapegoat for all Nuggets-related issues until he proves that he isn’t the scapegoat. A tall order, since he’s the reason they didn’t make the playoffs last year.
Almost forgot, 21 rebounds for the Joker. He kinda got merked by Allen on a play late in the game (and probably some other ones, but him falling to the floor while Allen dunked all over the place really stood out to me), but for most of the game he was using his girth to great affect.
The conclusion we can draw from these two games is this: it doesn’t matter what Jokic does or doesn’t do, the Nuggets are doomed to lose by two points every game from now on. It’s called math, people. Ever heard of “trends”? There is no other conclusion to be drawn.