The Denver Nuggets have with them one of the best young centers in the league today in Nikola Jokic. They have built around The Joker by adding some key players who compliment his game well, which shows how much trust they have in the Serbian international.

However, on Tuesday, Jokic only played in 25 minutes against the Dallas Mavericks. Head coach Michael Malone apparently saw the lack of effort and decided to field in his bench players ahead of him, according to Gina Mizell of the Denver Post.

It has also been reported that Jokic and Malone have not been able to talk yet after the game, although, the 23-year-old understands his coach's decision and thinks of it as a “normal thing.”

Jokic finished with only four points, nine rebounds, five assists, and two steals. While the other statistics look good, the points total is a far cry from his season average in the scoring department with 16.9 per game. Mason Plumlee and Trey Lyles saw some extended court action, but they failed to produce big numbers. The Nuggets ultimately lost to the lowly Mavs, 118-107, and saw their two-game winning streak snapped.

Malone's decision to bench Jokic can be seen as a strong message from him which he hopes will serve as a wake-up call to his prized big man to always play at his best. Despite his importance to the team, Jokic now knows that he can be asked to ride the bench when he plays poorly. Hopefully, this experience serves a lesson that will only make him better.

While his presence could've changed the tide for the Nuggets on the night. Malone figured that driving his point toward his best player is more important for the long haul.