The lack of scratches make this a topic itching for discussion.
Seriously? One of the greatest players in NBA history opens the season with an uneven week and he is suddenly Peyton Manning hanging on by a thread in 2015?
You must realize how ridiculous this sounds. Jokic started the season with a thud, flailing, falling and clanking shots in an unnerving loss to Oklahoma City. In the six games since, he has averaged 25.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 10 assists.
If this is the start of a spiral, then somebody better tell Broncos receiver Courtland Sutton and running back J.K. Dobbins they should retire.
Come on. If any local athlete over the last decade has earned the benefit of doubt it is Jokic. It is fair to analyze his behavior and movement like a psychologist, but why the rush to declare he is aging in Pavlovian dog years?
Is it possible he takes a step back from being the top offensive player in the league to third best? Sure.
Is that any reason to start drenching him in criticism, talking like his shoelaces are dangling off a cliff? We can all agree that should be reserved for his awful take on home fans booing, not how he is playing.
Give Jokic some time.
Just because Bill Simmons declares that Jokic is no longer at his apex doesn’t mean you have to believe it. Or parrot it.
During the first couple of weeks there have been stretches where he has not looked like himself. Which brings us back to the lack of claw marks on his arms and shoulders, and the one reason for legitimate concern.
Nikola Jokic (15) of the Denver Nuggets and Toumani Camara (33) of the Portland Trail Blazers fight for a rebound during the first quarter at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
For most of a decade, it was impossible to miss the lacerations on Jokic, evidence of him bullying into the lane.
This season, there are scant gashes. Jokic is setting up further from the basket.
This is the one thing that bears watching as the season progresses. Jokic admitted after the win over Toronto — when he posted a triple double in three quarters — that battling in the paint, as he did in vintage fashion Wednesday, may no longer be worth it.
“I think defenders on the low post, officials are letting them do much more, be much more physical, much more pushing, much (more) grabbing than if you’re playing outside,” Jokic explained. “I think that’s why players are not willing to play in the low post anymore. Just because you’re gonna get fouled, and it’s never gonna get called, and you’re getting tired, tired, after possession.”
Now we’re getting to the heart of it.
Is it possible the early trend is tied more to Jokic no longer interested in battering his body and begging for calls than evidence of a dented spirit?
Coach David Adelman made it clear that the Nuggets are not purposely setting Jokic up on the perimeter. The three-time MVP is experimenting, tinkering.
There are going to be nights he must flex his muscles in the lane. He did it with force against good Toronto defenders, but Adelman has plenty of plays to maximize Jokic from the elbow.
Here is where questions about Jokic have merit. If he is going to take less delight in knocking, shoving and elbowing defenders senseless — he is noticeably thinner, so it makes some sense — his production has to spike from the 3-point line.
There was hope that his long-distance shooting would improve after rest and reps with the Serbian national team.
Jokic entered this season with an edge, embarrassed by his playoff performance against the Timberwolves. He made 7 of 36 from behind the arc in that series, continuing a staggering drift that began after he returned from his knee injury on Jan. 30.
He regressed to 31.9 percent over the season’s final 33 games. Then came the Minnesota thing.
It appeared related to a sore wrist, but Jokic never made any excuses.
Even after an offseason to hit the reset button, the results have not improved. He is 7-for-32 this year for a team that desperately needs to shoot and make more 3s in Tim Hardaway Jr.’s absence.
It has been a perplexing start, with added attention from Jokic’s potential free agency and his calling out of Nuggets fans. He extended an olive branch in his on-court, postgame interview Wednesday, saying, “I love you guys.”
Nikola Jokic (15) of the Denver Nuggets takes the ball up court during the third quarter against the Portland Trail Blazers at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
Co-general manager Jon Wallace insisted that Jokic’s situation — he can get an additional $81 million by re-signing with the Nuggets — would not change with a slow start. That story won’t go away, and it will be amplified if Denver isn’t a contender come February.
Again, I believe Wallace because it echoes what others behind the scenes have said.
Jokic has expressed frustration in usual ways over missed assignments or lacking defense. There is no sense that his mood is different.
Jokic is also self-aware. He knows the Nuggets will not be good if he is not great.
What we witnessed against the Raptors is who the Nuggets think they can be. An explosive offensive team with a functional defense led by Aaron Gordon — his inconsistency is more concerning than Jokic given his age — and caffeinated by rookies Trevon Brazile and Bryce Hopkins.
Jokic’s brilliance makes it easier to believe that the season is starting to normalize, leaving Denver as a 50-win team with a puncher’s chance in a Western Conference decimated by injuries.
The Nuggets, winners of three of their last four games, face the Pacers in Mexico City on Saturday. Over the next month, they confront the Rockets, Celtics, Pistons, culminating at Philadelphia on Dec. 2, a representative schedule for issuing grades.
So, let’s stop treating Jokic like he is on a two-way contract with fringe talent. He deserves grace, a morsel of patience.
He probably won’t win another MVP. But can we get a quarter of the way through the season before we claim he’s wandering into the pasture with his beloved horses?
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