The Denver Nuggets are once again in deep waters! Mile-High City’s centerpiece, Nikola Jokic, missed his third game in a row, keeping the Nuggets nation in worry. The 2023 NBA Champs have had a shaky and streaky start to the season with consecutive losses that can be derailing, and they’ve looked all over the place. But while they somehow managed to find their footing, the team had another setback. This time, Mike Malone and Co. lost two straight games again and headed into the third tonight without the Joker. 

NBA Insider Michael Scotto revealed via X that Jokic missed these games for personal reasons. In tonight’s clash against the Memphis Grizzlies, Dario Saric, who moved to the Nuggets this season, has taken over the #5 in the starting lineup. While the 30-year-old big can collect the rebounds just like Jokic, the team has to find someone to dish out the assists.

In the last two games without Nikola Jokic, the Nuggets put up an embarrassing show, losing against the Pelicans and Grizzlies. These losses made it very clear that the team can’t operate offensively without their MVP. The Serb, who is pushing his 30s, averages 11.7 assists per game while the Nuggets’ average assists per game is at 29.7. In the recent 90-105 loss against the short-handed Grizzlies, the team could only dish out 23 with Jamal Murray leading the team with 7 assists.

So, it’s convincingly clear that the Nuggets lack someone to operate their offense and make them a contender, again. As of now, they’ve been embarrassing themselves with a clueless offense and turnovers. How can the Denver side resurrect from this downtime?

Can Jamal Murray step up in Nikola Jokic’s absence?

Nikola Jokic’s presence wasn’t the only reason for the Nuggets to win the chip in 2023. It was Jamal Murray, who came back from a grave ACL injury and lit up the floor for the Mile-High City. However, in the following seasons, the point guard hasn’t been at his best. Even during Joker’s absence in the last two games, Murray didn’t show offensively, scoring 16 and 13 points with an embarrassing accuracy of 6-16 and  6-15 from the field, respectively.

On the other hand, Coach Michael Malone, speaking of the offense, said, “We have an inability to score the ball, and that’s two games in a row. Obviously, a lot of that is sitting home in Denver with Nikola and Aaron. It wasn’t from a lack of effort. We were able to get shots, but shots just didn’t go down for us.” Moreover, he also added his expectations from Murray.

Malone continued, “We need Jamal to be a guy that can lead us. But it’s not just on Jamal Murray. I have to help him. I’m drawing up plays, and we don’t set a screen. Teams are trying to take him out of the equation.” Nevertheless, the team looks completely shaken since their 2023 championship, and after the exit of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, they indeed look out of place.

For those wondering if their beloved Serb will be back for the next one, here’s Mike Malone’s response: “I have no idea about Friday.”

Notably, with Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon out for various reasons, the team currently has only 2 players from the starting lineup of the championship team. We’re actually expecting a lot from a broken team, don’t you think? Let us know your take below.