Troy Renck: The team with the Joker has ended up as a punchline in the opening round series. The Nuggets were among the favorites to reach the NBA Finals, and entering Monday night they have dropped three straight games to the Timberwolves in humiliating fashion. They have been punked by Jaden McDaniels. They have been called out by Minnesota coach Chris Finch. And they have not punched back. Lost in the drama is the unsettling play of three-time MVP Nikola Jokic. With the season on the brink, it has to be asked: Is this Jokic’s most disappointing playoff series?
Sean Keeler: Al Pacino had “Jack & Jill.” Tom Hanks had “Cloud Atlas.” Michael Caine had “Jaws: The Revenge.” Jokic has “Minnesota: 2026.” Even great performers aren’t immune to laying a stink bomb on an unsuspecting audience. And let’s be frank: This stinks. To high heaven. We’ve been spoiled, granted. But this is the second straight Nuggets postseason series in which the Joker has produced three straight games of 40% or worse shooting percentages. Denver is 1-5 in those six games — 1-2 vs. Oklahoma City a year ago; 0-3 vs. the Timberwolves this spring. But given the timing (first round), the context (Rudy Gobert, Anthony Edwards, McDaniels, Tim Connelly, etc.), the stakes and the explosive confrontation at the end of Game 4, this one just … hurts … more.
Renck: The only thing worse than the optics of Jokic running 50 feet to shove McDaniels for a bush-league layup are his statistics. Why did it take breaking an unwritten rule to make Jokic upset? And why is he shooting so poorly? It will be his most disappointing series if the Nuggets exit in the first round, unless it is revealed he is hurt. For now, it is a statistical nadir. Before facing the Timberwolves, Jokic averaged 52.5% from the field, 38.8% from 3 and 56.5% from 2. In the first four games against Minnesota, the 31-year-old is shooting 39.1% overall, 18.5% from 3 and 48.3% from 2. Jokic deserves blame for not winning his one-on-one matchups with Gobert (he shot 51% against Gobert as his primary defender in his career, compared to 33% in this series). But it is not all his fault. Coach David Adelman has not forced the ball into his hands with Gobert off the floor, and Jokic has received zero support from rim-clanking teammates, including Jamal Murray (37.1% shooting, 26.5% from 3) and Christian Braun (missed 16 of 27 shots).
Keeler: What’s worse is that, even from afar, you can see the frustration and desperation mounting. Where it looks as if the old wounds from Games 6 and 7 of that 2024 Western Conference semifinals choke start to pop open and throb. Where the psychological baggage from two years ago creeps right back in and weighs everybody down. Jokic gets that look of “It’s happening again. Blankety-blank-it, it’s happening AGAIN.” Shots are short. Nerves are frayed and fried. The NBA playoffs are an emotional meat-grinder. The Timberwolves can see the blood and smell the fear.
Renck: The reason this stings is that Jokic has not been aggressive. Unable to finish against Gobert, he has settled for 3s, despite being mired in a slump from behind the arc since the All-Star break (29.0%). Gobert is a terrific defender, but it should not preclude Jokic from drawing fouls on him. The spacing on the floor has not worked because no one else is hitting buckets. That is why he should have demanded the ball in matchups against Naz Reid. Jokic has been a unicorn for the Nuggets. Nothing will change that, but his play in this series has been a similar outlier that cannot be excused by poor coaching or a lackluster supporting cast.
Keeler: The NBA is a stars league, though. The big names get the shots. They get the commercials. They get the calls. You’re a star, right? Find a way. Don’t settle for jumpers behind the 3-point line. Yes, the Joker is a distributor by nature and a point guard first — The Nuggets are 17-8 in postseason games where Jokic logs 10 assists or more. When it’s four dimes or fewer? They’re 6-13. Sure, he needs more help. But when that’s not happening, the greats know when to take a game by the scruff of the neck and do it themselves, by any means necessary. If Jokic can’t, it’s going to raise more questions — and they’re the kind nobody’s going to like the answers to.
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