Nikola Jokic returned to action Friday night against the Clippers after missing the last month with a knee injury.
Jokic hyperextended his left knee and suffered a bone bruise on Dec. 29 during a loss to Miami. He has missed 16 games — the longest sustained absence of his NBA career — but returning this weekend keeps himeligible for end-of-year awards such as MVP and All-NBA teams. He can only miss one more game this regular season.
Jokic will be on a minutes restriction as he settles back in, but he was in David Adelman’s starting lineup Friday for his first game back.
“People should be excited. It’s great to have him back. But let’s temper (expectations) a little bit,” Adelman said before opening tip. “The guy’s been hurt. He’s been out. So having the best player, in my opinion, alive obviously is a major thing to get back. I just want to make sure we temper the idea of what it could be like.”
The Nuggets (32-16) exceeded expectations without Jokic, going 10-6 while also dealing with a list of other injuries. Adelman said on Thursday night that he’s confident Denver will have Cam Johnson (knee) and Christian Braun (ankle) back in the lineup before the All-Star break in mid-February. Aaron Gordon is due to miss at least four to six weeks.
With backup center Jonas Valanciunas also on a minutes restriction, Adelman is hoping to balance their minutes somewhat evenly for the time being.
“I told the medical staff it’d be cool if the minutes average to 48,” he said, laughing.
Jokic is matching a career-high with 29.6 points per game while leading the league in rebounds (12.2), assists (11) and true shooting percentage (71.3%). He’s shooting 60.5% from the field and 43.5% from the 3-point line. Earlier this month, he was named an All-Star for an eighth consecutive year despite the time he’s missed.
The Nuggets’ net rating is 15.5 points per 100 possessions better when Jokic is on the court than when he’s on the bench. That remains one of the most substantial discrepancies among any star player in the NBA, even with Denver’s depth improving this season.
As he neared a return, Jokic started doing his usual pregame shooting routine last week while the Nuggets were in Washington. His ramp-up process was one week behind the return of backup center Jonas Valanciunas, who missed 11 consecutive games, leaving Denver without an active player taller than 6-foot-10 for most of January.
“He’s always been great about being honest about how his body feels. And outside of this injury, I’ve never seen someone play through some of the things he has quietly,” Adelman said. “So he’s a tough, tough guy. There’s also a stubbornness to him that’s a positive, that he believes he can play through things.”
The Nuggets will host Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday in the first head-to-head matchup this season between the two Western Conference contenders.
Want more Nuggets news? Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis.