{"id":631059,"date":"2026-02-28T22:02:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T22:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/631059\/"},"modified":"2026-02-28T22:02:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T22:02:14","slug":"lu-dort-is-lucky-nuggets-nikola-jokic-didnt-try-to-rearrange-dorts-teeth-after-dirty-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/631059\/","title":{"rendered":"Lu Dort is lucky Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic didn’t try to rearrange Dort’s teeth after dirty trip"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nikola Jokic had every right to be M-V-Peeved.<\/a><\/p>\n

Lu Dort knew exactly what he was doing late Friday night with 8:03 left in regulation of the Nuggets\u2019 loss at Oklahoma City. That collision with Joker? Watch the Thunder guard\u2019s right leg in real time. Then watch in slo-mo. Doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not a basketball move. It\u2019s a <\/a>Cobra Kai one.<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a plant. Or a jostle. Or even a trip. It\u2019s a stinking sweep of the Joker\u2019s left leg. The leg connected to Jokic\u2019s left knee.<\/p>\n

You know, the one No. 15 accidentally hyperextended in Miami back on Dec. 29.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s one thing to play on the edge. To play physically. Thunder players delight in making you earn everything they get. They push. They poke. They prod. They crawl inside your heads and pitch a tent there. They foul so many times that it\u2019s hard for officials to ever administer true justice.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a difference between dancing on the edge and knifing somebody in the back. There\u2019s a difference between setting a tone, getting a mental edge, and a deliberate cheap shot.<\/p>\n

Jokic keeping himself from ripping Dort\u2019s face off \u2014 A<\/p>\n

Team Grading The Week wants a good, clean hoops game as much as the next stiff. But if we were in Jokic\u2019s shoes, we would have threatened to re-arrange a few of Dort\u2019s teeth, right then and there. The OKC agitator should consider himself lucky that he ran into one of Jokic\u2019s Stone Cold Steve Austin stares and not into one of Jokic\u2019s knuckles.<\/p>\n

In fact, the GTW ruffians have to give the Big Honey some props for his relative restraint in the heat of the moment. It was one of those unfortunate incidents in which a star player often retaliates by swinging a justifiable fist. Replays showed that the most threatening thing Jokic did with his arms was try to dislodge himself from the Thunder\u2019s Jaylin Williams.<\/p>\n

It was the chippiest moment of a chippy, playoff-ish kind of game. Four techs, two flagrants and one ejection \u2014 Dort, for the aforementioned trip, which fit the definition of both \u201cunnecessary\u201d and \u201cexcessive,\u201d given the circumstances.<\/p>\n

Nuggets\u2019 up-down-up week \u2014 C<\/p>\n

While we now have a Joker \u201ccrazy eyes\u201d meme to play with for the rest of eternity, it was a tough finish to an up-and-down week for Nuggets Nation.<\/p>\n

Denver lost at Golden State last Sunday while the Warriors were without Steph Curry, Kristaps Porzingis, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler. They ended the week by being outscored 20-14 in overtime at OKC while the Thunder intentionally rested Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for the entirety of the extra period. That\u2019s the kind of stuff that can get between your ears. And linger.<\/p>\n

Broncos NFLPA grades \u2014 A<\/p>\n

The NFL lawyered up to keep the annual NFLPA team report cards for franchises from being released publicly, but that didn\u2019t stop reporters from getting copies and publishing the thing, naturally. And if you\u2019re the Broncos, you want those grades on every refrigerator in all 50 states. Especially the fridges that belong to potential free agents.<\/p>\n

With the exception of the locker room (\u2018D\u2019), which is small, cramped and scheduled to be replaced soon, Denver\u2019s player grades were kind to outright effusive.<\/p>\n

Head coach Sean Payton received a \u2018B\u2019 grade, same as a year ago. Every coordinator received an \u2018A\u2019 or A-minus\u2019 grade. GM George Paton received an \u2018A.\u2019 Ownership got an \u2018A-plus.\u2019<\/p>\n

Weight room? \u2018A.\u2019 Strength coaches? \u2018A.\u2019 Training room? \u2018A-minus.\u2019 Team travel? \u2018A-minus.\u2019 Home game field? \u2018A.\u2019<\/p>\n

Pretty good GPA, huh? The kind that tells you that the Broncos are going to have some serious veterans wanting to be a part of The Bo Show.<\/p>\n

Summit FC kits \u2014 A<\/p>\n

The GTW crew has never been praised for its collective fashion sense, granted. We don\u2019t know much about soccer kits \u2014 that\u2019s jerseys, to you non-footie fans \u2014 but we know what we like.<\/p>\n

Green is a tough color to nail. Yet Summit FC\u2019s new primary \u201cEvergreen\u201d kit does it perfectly. Although we\u2019re somewhat partial to the \u201cSnow\u201d secondary kit, which was also revealed last week \u2014 especially the way the team\u2019s green\/orange\/yellow badge, which captures a Front Range sunset, really pops in contrast to the shirt\u2019s white base.<\/a><\/p>\n

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver\u2019s teams.<\/a><\/p>\n

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