More on Nikola Jokic Injury
Charles F. Gardner: Denver coach Michael Malone said this morning forward Nikola Jokic will return from hip injury tonight vs. Bucks.
Chris Dempsey: Will Barton (ankle) is out of tonight's game vs. the Lakers. As are Jokic and Mudiay. Everyone else is in. #Nuggets.
Chris Dempsey: Wondering when Nikola Jokic could return? #Nuggets coach Michael Malone gives a bit of a glimpse into that here. This is from Saturday. "When we got the news that it was a lot less severe than we all anticipated and he could be back as early as sometime in the middle of next week, that's great. That's great for him, most importantly because you don't want to see a guy hurt. And it's great for our team."
Chris Dempsey: It has already been determined that Jokic will not play tomorrow vs. Phoenix. He is not making the trip there. #nuggets
Jokic was helped to his feet and limped straight back to the locker room. The scare, though, that this could have been a significant injury, appears to be only that. Jokic is said to have a left hip strain. X-rays were negative, but Jokic, who led the Nuggets to a 127-120 victory over Phoenix on Thursday, will have an MRI on Friday. “It’s good news for us,” teammate Will Barton said. “He’s been playing out of this world for us; our best player. It would be tough to see him go down for a long time. I’m just happy he’s fine.”
Alex Kennedy: Nikola Jokic is getting X-rays on his hip and knee, per source. We may get an update on his status tonight.
The short-term outlook for Nuggets center Nikola Jokic’s sprained wrist isn’t great. He’ll likely at least be out the next three games, Nuggets coach Michael Malone said Saturday. Jokic missed his second consecutive game Saturday night. “Talking to Nikola, he wants to play right when he can catch the ball,” Malone said. “I think we’ll probably be a little more cautious than that on this road trip, maybe get it looked at again just to kind of see where it’s at once the swelling goes down.”
