Denver Nuggets player Jalen Pickett praises Nikola Jokic for remaining engaged and involved as a leader while out injured.
Despite an injury to Nikola Jokic that will keep him sidelined until the end of January at the very least, the Denver Nuggets have found ways to keep winning.
On Sunday, they picked up a victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, 108-104 in a game where they were missing Jokic and Jamal Murray.
Despite not being on the court, Jokic is still lending his insights from the bench and in the locker room.
"He has a great IQ, everybody knows that," Nuggets guard Jalen Pickett told reporters after the game. "The way he coaches us, even in the locker room before the game, after the game, he's calling out plays from them even in the huddles."
"He's a special player. It seems like he knows every play that somebody is running, coming out. He tells us in the huddle what they're about to do and they come out and run it. It's like, I don't believe it."
Pickett finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists against the Bucks.
By Committee
Nikola Jokic has done everything for the Denver Nuggets over the years, leading the team in every major offensive statisical category en route to three MVP trophies and two second place finishes.
The injury to Jokic had many believe that the Nuggets would fall off without him, but the team has rallied together to get it done as a group.
"Having our best rotational players watching that game and seeing the complete buy-in by that group, and the way they won the game, just doing it by scrapping. Even the last play, it was a scrap play. It does instill confidence in yur better guys when they come back because they see that the other men in that locker room are capable, confident, and they can help them out when they come back. It's been a unique, stressful, last four games, but we've found a way," said Nuggets head coach David Adelman.
Replacing Jokic
There is no actual way to replace Jokic given his skill and IQ, but with him and Jonas Valanciunas out sidelined, Zeke Nnaji has made the most of his opportunity.
In the six games without Jokic, Nnaji is averaging 12.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 1.3 blocks in 24.7 minutes per game.
Nnaji has been seldom used in Denver since signing a four-year, $32 million contract extension in October 2023, but with Denver running thin on front court players, he's shown that he can step up when called up.