The Denver Nuggets have been without Nikola Jokic since he suffered a knee injury on December 29 against the Miami Heat. Jokic was diagnosed with a hyperextended left knee and was ruled out for at least four weeks.
Nuggets coach David Adelman spoke to reporters before Friday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks. Adelman provided a positive update on Jokic’s recovery and timeline for his return.
“It’s day-to-day with the effort-level stuff. He lifts to see where he’s at. I think it’s more about what he feels like the next day, more than what he feels like while he’s doing something, because that’s the barometer. It’s what you feel like after putting effort in, pushing his body a little bit,” Adelman said, via Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette.
Adelman added that he doesn’t feel like Jokic will be able to return on time to avoid becoming ineligible for NBA awards. The coach preached patience for the three-time MVP, who has not missed more than 13 games in a season in his career so far.
Jokic Still No. 1 in MVP Rankings
Despite not playing for more than two weeks, Nikola Jokic is still at the top spot of the MVP Rankings on NBA.com. Jokic is likely to stay at No. 1 until he becomes ineligible for the award or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder begin surging again.
“Nobody was having a better and more dominant season than the Serbian center before he pulled up injured. He leads the league in triple-doubles and double-doubles. Now ask yourself — has anyone come along since and done better overall, not just after Jokić was injured, but from opening night until now? Thought so,” Shaun Powell wrote.
Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown has climbed to the No. 3 spot, followed by Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers and Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs.
The other five players in the Top 10 were Cade Cunningham, Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Maxey and Kevin Durant.
According to Jeremy Beren of Sporting News, Jokic will have to return on January 29 against the Brooklyn Nets and not miss any more games to remain eligible for NBA awards. He’ll also miss out on All-NBA selection and other individual awards if he doesn’t reach the 65-game threshold.
Nuggets Still Plagued with Injuries
When Nikola Jokic went down with a knee injury, things went from bad to worse for the Denver Nuggets. They were already without three starters, Christian Braun, Aaron Gordon and Cameron Johnson, at that point.
Luckily for Denver, Braun and Gordon were cleared to return last week, though the Nuggets remained cautious about their minutes. Jamal Murray also had an issue with his ankle, missing two of his last three games.
Johnson was initially ruled out for four to six weeks, but it seems like he’s ahead of schedule. Vinny Benedetto of The Denver Gazette reported that the sharpshooting forward has started going through limited workouts.
In addition to Murray and Johnson, Spencer Jones sprained his ankle and Jonas Valanciunas is recovering from a strained calf. To make matters worse, Brendan Vogt of DNVR reported that there was an illness that took down several healthy players during the Atlanta Hawks game on Friday.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Nuggets Share Positive Nikola Jokic Injury Recovery News appeared first on Heavy Sports.
