Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic had a monster of a game on Sunday night against the Los Angeles Lakers, and now we know his motivation.

The Joker admitted after the 129-118 win that he absolutely wants to avoid the play-in at all costs. There is still a very small chance that they drop to seventh in the Western Conference standings, but he isn't risking it. That is why Jokic wants to win the Nuggets' remaining games to ensure they automatically make it to the postseason.

“We win them all… we don’t want to go to the play-in tournament,” Jokic sad on the ideal scenario for the Nuggets to finish the season, per Malika Andrews of ESPN.

It's easy to see where Nikola Jokic is coming from. If those teams on the lower seeds have a choice, they also wouldn't want to be part of it if they have a choice. It is definitely even more difficult for teams on the 7th or 8th seed since in normal circumstances in previous formats, they would have already made the postseason.

But then again, the play-in format has its merits. It keeps the games competitive up until the final day, so that is definitely good for the league.

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However, as Jokic said, he just doesn't want the Nuggets to be part of it.

Denver remain at fifth in the standings following Sunday's victory, increasing their chances of making Jokic's goal a reality.