With the Denver Nuggets winding down the 2024-25 NBA season there may be some calls to ensure Nikola Jokic is in the best shape possible for the postseason. There are just a few problems with that.
The main one here would be the fact that the Nuggets are mixed up in a multi-team race for the second seed in the Western Conference. The Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Lakers, and Houston Rockets are all battling for a chance to secure the second spot in the conference. To a lesser extent, the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves should not be entirely counted out either.
In the midst of the 2024-25 campaign, Jokic has actually played the highest minutes per game of his career. The MVP candidate is averaging a career-high 36.4, easily exceeding his previous best of 34.6 in 2023-24.
When asked about whether he'd like to have more minutes to rest during a game, Jokic did not care for it much.
"I don't think it's a big difference between 32-36 minutes...you already warm up, you're already in the game. ... Two, three minutes is not a big difference," the three-time MVP told the media.
The follow-up question then built on the initial one and asked Jokic how he felt about resting games entirely towards the end of the season. The Serbian big man was less decisive with his response to that.
"I don't know...it's really far away," Jokic told the reporter.
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The question of whether the Nuggets can afford to rest Jokic with 16 games remaining is a tough one to answer. Denver, naturally, looks like a completely different team without the Joker. With this case, 'different' is a very kind way of saying worse.
The Nuggets have the 11th-toughest schedule remaining of any team in the NBA. The collective winning percentage of the teams they still have to face adds up to .512. There may be no rest for the wicked amid the Nuggets' push to the finish line.
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This story was originally published March 14, 2025 at 11:22 AM.