It has always been said that it’s never easy for an opponent to head on the road to play the Denver Nuggets. The high elevation results in quicker fatigue and certainly can take time getting used to. The Nuggets have the opportunity to get used to it since they get to play 41 games in the Ball Arena each regular season.
On November 25, the New York Knicks didn’t seem to mind playing in Denver. They scored a whopping 145 points in a 27-point win. After the poor display, especially on the defensive end, Nuggets head coach Mike Malone called out some of his veteran players to begin speaking up when the performance isn’t up to standard.
Their biggest superstar, Nikola Jokic, took that to heart after Denver’s embarrassing loss on Saturday.
Nikola Jokic Comments After Embarrassing Loss To Wizards
Jokic’s Career-Best Night Goes For Naught
Entering Saturday, the Washington Wizards had lost 16 straight outings. They went the entire month of November without putting one in the win column. Proving the mantra that anyone can win on any given night to be true, Washington beat the Nuggets 122-113 at the Capital One Arena. What made the win more incredible was that it came in a career-best night for Jokic, the three-time league MVP.
In the loss, Jokic poured in a career-high of 56 points, besting his previous high of 50 which came on February 6, 2021. In his magnificent performance, the 6-foot-11 center shot 22-38 from the field, 3-5 from beyond the arc, and 9-13 from the foul line. He also added 16 rebounds and eight assists. Somehow, it wasn’t enough.
Bennett Durando of the Denver Post tweeted out some of Jokic’s comments after the game. Apparently, he took coach Malone’s comments from a couple weeks ago to heart. Durando tweeted Jokic’s response when asked what the team needed,
“A reaction. In my country, where I’m coming from, after this kind of stretch, you’re gonna get a paycheck that is a little bit less than you are worth. So maybe that’s what we need to do. Maybe a little motivation that way.”
Jokic is Serbian, so he is talking about what happens in Serbia. While they don’t skimp paychecks in the NBA, Jokic’s point is that the team doesn’t deserve their full paycheck after performances such as Saturday.
Durando wrote in the tweet’s comments that the 29-year-old Jokic also stated,
“What’s the name of it? Being benched? Being on the bench, I think that’s really good motivation, too.”
Now Durando added that Jokic was smiling as saying that, but it’s evident that the Nuggets, particularly Jokic’s teammates, need a little kick in the behind to get going.
Can Comments Motivate Disappointing Nuggets?
The loss to the lowly Wizards dropped the Nuggets to 11-10 on the season. That places them just ninth in the Western Conference and just a game above the 11th-place San Antonio Spurs. It has been yet another season where the on/off splits of Jokic are about as extreme as they can be. They essentially look like title contenders when he plays and like a tanking team when he’s on the bench.
Denver has now lost two straight and four of their last six. Their next opportunity to get things right is Sunday on the road against the Atlanta Hawks. Will Jokic’s comments motivate his teammates?
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