The Denver Nuggets are growing wary about the defensive pressure and physicality that Nikola Jokic has been facing recently.
Denver Nuggets / Schedule
ESPN's Marc J. Spears dropped the revelation on Monday's segment of NBA Today.
"I'm actually hearing that the Nuggets are a little concerned about how he's being defended of late," Spears said. "Teams are guarding him 18 feet from the basket, leaning on his legs, fronting him, putting their arms around him. But he's still figuring out a way to ball out."
Jokic notably suffered from a left knee hyperextension and a bone bruise in late December. This marked the most significant injury of the three-time MVP throughout his career, forcing him to miss 16 consecutive games.
The Nuggets endured injury issues across their roster all season long. Beyond Jokic, Aaron Gordon (hamstring), Christian Braun (foot), Cam Johnson (knee), Peyton Watson (hamstring) and Jonas Valanciunas (calf) also missed significant time.
Heading to the final stretch of the regular season and with the NBA Playoffs already nearing, the Nuggets are taking a cautious approach in managing the Serbian superstar's health.
Jokic is off for another historic season, dropping triple-double averages of 28.0 points, 12.6 rebounds and 10.6 assists. He leads the Nuggets to the No. 5 seed of the West with a 43-27 record.
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