Nikola Jokic was reinserted into the starting lineup for last night’s victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Despite being limited with foul trouble, it was a triumphant return for Jokic, even if he doesn’t care about individual accolades.
When Jokic got demoted to a bench role back in early November, he was emotional, but later admitted to requesting to be taken out of the lineup for the betterment of the team.
Team is something Jokic has always taken to heart, and after last night’s game, a game in which he was a standout, he refused to give any credit to himself, rather curving the praise towards his teammates.
“I just do whatever I need to do to help my teammates,” Jokic said.
Throughout the duration of the game, Jokic made a couple of insane no-look passes, and when asked about them, he didn’t point out his positives, but rather talked about his mistakes.
“The one I didn’t pass,” Jokic said in reference to which pass was his favorite. “There was someone open in the corner, and I didn’t pass it. Hopefully I pass it next time.”
He even went as far to say that he enjoys passing more then shooting.
“Yeah I do,” Jokic said with a smile on his face. “I like to make my teammates better.”
Jokic is one of the best characters on the Nuggets team. He loves basketball, but he loves to share the sugar and make his teammates better.
Last night marked the first time Jokic has been inserted into the starting lineup since early November. Coach Malone has said time and time again that he needs to figure out a way to get Jokic more minutes, so expect to see Jokic as the team’s starting center moving forward.
Jokic is currently averaging 11.0 points and seven rebounds per contest.
