The Denver Nuggets have been over-performing this season, even though they are one of the most talented teams in the NBA. Flags were raised after the team's season opener against the Golden State Warriors when Aaron Gordon's 50-point game wasn't enough to walk away with a win, but they quickly became the team many expected this year.

However, they haven't been able to escape the injury bug, entering Monday night's contest against the Miami Heat with three of their starters ruled out due to injury. Still having Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, there wasn't much worry about the team's ability to remain competitive, until a moment all Nuggets fans have been hoping not to see happened. 

In the second quarter against the Heat, Jokic went down with a knee injury, drawing the attention of everyone at the Kaseya Center. Arguably the greatest basketball player on the planet, it's never a good sign for the game when someone of his level goes down. He ended up leaving the game after that, and the Nuggets eventually fell 147-123 to the Heat.

After the game, Nuggets wing Spencer Jones was asked about the mindset of the team following the injury to Jokic and going forward, as everyone awaits an announcement on his health going forward.

"See what we can do without him and everything like that, and grow from there. You know, that's going to be the priority throughout this trip is know who will step up; it's really going to put a lot on our leadership and everything like that and so we're excited for it," Jones said.

Jokic only played 19 minutes, but was still able to produce 21 points, eight assists, and five rebounds in such limited action. The Nuggets built up the necessary depth this offseason to get by without some of their starters, but being without Jokic is something that can't be replaced.

"It's really just more of a mindset than anything," Jones said of executing the next man up mentality. "We all know we got to do a little bit more just because he does so much for our team, but we're ready [to] pick it up for him."

If Jokic does end up being ruled out for an extended period of time, the Nuggets will likely look toward a combination of Jonas Valanciunas, Zeke Nnaji, and DaRon Holmes II to fill in the void. The verdict is still out on Holmes, a former first-round pick of the team, but then again, replacing Jokic is essentially impossible.

The Nuggets return to action on Wednesday against the Toronto Raptors.