Opinion: Nikola Jokic’s injury will significantly hurt the Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets are an elite team in the NBA when their stars are on the court. But on Tuesday, they received big news that star center Nikola Jokic of Sombor, Serbia would be out a month with a hyperextended knee according to Matthew Huff of The Sports Daily.

Jokic is coming off a monster performance on Christmas Day. He had 56 points in a 142-138 Nuggets win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Now, the Nuggets will not have Jokic in the lineup for the foreseeable future. He suffered the ailment on Monday in a 147-123 Nuggets loss to the Miami Heat. Jokic had his foot stepped on by teammate Spencer Jones, took an awkward fall, and in the process, his knee buckled. The injury occurred with three seconds left in the first half, and the game tied at 63.

The loss of Jokic is going to impact Denver dramatically. In the Nuggets game against the Heat on Monday, Denver gave up 84 second half points in a 24 point loss. Denver and Miami were even with Jokic in the lineup, and the Nuggets were terrible without having the three-time NBA MVP.

Jokic leads the NBA this season with 12.2 rebounds per game. However, what is also amazing is that he also leads the NBA with 11 assists per game. Jokic is literally averaging a triple double this season as he is averaging 29.6 points per game. He also has a field goal percentage of .605, three point percentage of .435 and free throw percentage of .853.

The Nuggets are third in the Western Conference at 22 wins and 10 losses. Expect the Nuggets to drop in the standings significantly with their star player out.