Denver Nuggets wing Spencer Jones takes the high road after team suffer first loss since Nikola Jokic injury
The Denver Nuggets have to prepare for games now without Nikola Jokic, the team's offensive engine and arguably the best player in the NBA. After suffering an injury against the Miami Heat, it was reported that the star center will be sidelined for a few weeks, adding to the list of Nuggets starters who have missed time this season.
In the team's first game without Jokic, they pulled out a win over the Toronto Raptors, but were unable to get the job done in their next contest against the Cleveland Cavaliers, falling 113-108. It was the Nuggets' lack of scoring in the fourth quarter that ended up being a deciding factor, but just because they lost doesn't mean they can hang their hats on the performance.
Spencer Jones Takes The High Road
Asked after the game, Nuggets wing Spencer Jones spoke to the team being competitive despite being down several key players, and whether or not there was still positives to take away in a loss.
"100%, I mean, we're down four starters. We're down two other guys, too. Everybody expects us to be losing by a lot, not being competitive, against one of the more better teams in the East and stuff like that. The fact that we've hung on...just speaks to how deep this team is and what we can do," Jones said.
With the Raptors being a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference and the Cleveland Cavaliers being among the top six, it's not as if the past two games for the Nuggets have been easy. To be without four starters and still manage to go 1-1 against two teams in the top half of the Eastern Conference is nothing small at all.
What Does The Upcoming Schedule Look Like?
On Sunday, the Nuggets will look to get back on track against the Brooklyn Nets as they enter the final three games of their seven-game road trip. To close out the trip, they'll face the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics, another pair of teams ranking inside the top six seeds of the Eastern Conference standings as of Sunday.
Luckily, both Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun seem to be getting closer to getting back on the floor, so help is on the way for the Nuggets. Being without Jokic is still a massive change to this roster, but adding two starters back should improve the depth and give Jamal Murray, especially, some more space to create offensively.