“Still the Hunter”: Ex-Clipper Praises Nikola Jokic and Co for Not Letting Success Play With Their Head

The defending champions are not letting last season’s hangover be a diversion with back-to-back wins this season. The team now stands as the No. 1 in the Western Conference table, with an 8-1 and four-game winning streak till now. It seems like the bounty leader, Nikola Jokic, has started right where he left off.

Although the Nuggets are right now going through an injury scare with the star guard, the other players stood strong even against the Dubs. With its spectacular winning record, the question is whether the franchise is set to win yet another title in the 2023–2024 season. Do you think the hunter still knows how to hunt?

Nikola Jokic and co. are still the hunters

On the Knuckleheads podcast, Q. Richardson and Darius Miles decoded the major developments that have happened this season. Ranging from the major James Harden trade-off to the LA Clippers, the debut play of Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren, and a lot more. However, the one thing that the duo starts the discussion with is none other than the all-defense dominance of the Denver Nuggets. When asked about how the Nuggets didn’t have a hangover from last season’s victory and come back with an impressive performance, the ex-Clipper agreed to the team’s resilience.

Darius Miles said, “The Denver Nuggets are the defending champs, and they really, really looking like it. They looking like they have something else to prove again. They don’t feel like the people getting hunted; they still the hunters.” 

While fans are expecting another title win when this season approaches the end, the greed to conquer even more might not be satisfied. The one thing worth noticing is that the Jamal Murray-less franchise can stay afloat, too. However, is the same true for Jokic?

Jokic managed the court in Murray’s absence

The star point guard is down with a right hamstring injury and might have to stay off the court until late November. However, in Murray’s absence, Nikola, along with Michael Porter Jr. and Reggie Jackson, handled the strong ball-handling skills of Steph Curry and the sixth man, Chris Paul. Although the Joker was a big fail in terms of shooting three-pointers with only one successful attempt out of eight attempts, the big man handled the game with two-point layups.

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In Murray’s absence, Malone is sticking with an 11-man rotation and just trusting the veterans with major minutes on the hardwood. Because in yesterday’s match, it seemed like the ball just traveled between Jokic, Jackson, KCP, and Porter. Another instance that proves that the head coach is far too cautious about not breaking the winning streak is that he didn’t let Jokic off the court for far too long in any of the four quarters.

Jokic played 37 minutes on the court, amassing a total of 35 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists. Murray is set to miss around 11 games until he is capable of catching up. The question is: can the franchise maintain this momentum and keep hunting without their star point guard?

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