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With the significant wrist injury to Denver Nuggets star power forward Paul Millsap that will force him to miss an indefinite amount of time, center Nikola Jokic is expected to become a major focal point of the team's offense.
According to a series of tweets from T.J. McBride of Mile High Sports, Nuggets head coach Mike Malone put a lot of confidence in his rising star center and praised Jokic for his toughness and character.
During the Nuggets' blowout loss to the Houston Rockets on Wednesday, Nikola Jokic suffered an ankle injury but wanted to play through it regardless of the score.
“I was thinking yesterday how – here is a guy who is one of the better young players in the NBA; one of the better big men in the NBA – we were down 35 and he hurts his ankle,” Malone said of Jokic. “He goes to the back and doesn't just call it a night. He wants to come back in and play. That meant so much to me. I think that is great insight into his character as a player and as a person.”
Mike Malone said that he believes Jokic is more than capable of seizing this leadership opportunity.
“Nikola — as i keep on imploring him to be — is learning to become a leader,” Malone said. “Especially with Millsap being out now, the importance of that is even magnified. I am very impressed and proud of Nikola for that.”
In 18 games prior to Friday night's contest with the Memphis Grizzlies at Pepsi Center, Jokic was averaging a double-double with 15.7 points, 11.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.4 steals per game.
The Nuggets eventually won over the Grizzlies, 104-92, behind the effort of , you guessed it right, Nikola Jokic who had 28 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists on the night.
