Nikola Jokic Wants to Drown in a ‘Lot of Beer’ after Stellar Playoff Run Ends

Nikola Jokic and his Denver Nuggets ended their season in the second round for the second straight season since winning NBA title.

Nikola Jokic Wants to Drown in a ‘Lot of Beer’ after Stellar Playoff Run Ends

Nikola Jokic will drink a lot of beer the next two days to lament playoff loss (Image via FirstSportz)

The Denver Nuggets had pushed the league-leading Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games, and Nikola Jokic and his teammates willed each other to tie the series in Game 6. They knew the final game would be tough, considering they struggled with fatigue and injuries.

The importance of fatigue was in full display in Games 4 and 5. In those battles, Jokic and his teammates struggled to score in stretches. But since the Thunder were not struggling with fatigue, they could score in those stretches to snatch the lead back and win those games.

Had the Nuggets taken care of business in those two games, the series would have been over, and the entire team could have enjoyed some crucial days of rest before facing the Minnesota Timberwolves in the West Finals. But that was not to be, and reporters asked Jokic how he was going to spend his offseason.

The next couple of days is gonna be a lot of beer probably.

Nikola Jokic said

Taking a casual approach and revealing that he would drown in a lot of beer might draw some laughs. But it also could be that the Joker will use beer to lean on while lamenting how his season ended. The Denver Nuggets were considered to be an NBA title contender earlier in the season.

But now, they have more questions than answers as the last couple of months have been eventful. Nikola Jokic does not know if he will play with the same players next season or if he will have to adjust to another head coach.

Nikola Jokic throws support behind interim head coach David Adelman

David Adelman took over as interim head coach after the Denver Nuggets fired Michael Malone. That put the son of the great Rick Adelman in a tough spot, knowing he had to lead a team in the worst form of this season into the playoffs. When a reporter asked Nikola Jokic about Adelman’s situation, he said:

It’s a tough spot to be. He had 3 games to change something. I think he changed the energy. I think the guys were woken up. The guys had more energy. He made us believe in something and we played good. I think he did a really good job.

Nikola Jokic said

The reporter who fielded this question followed it up by asking if Jokic had any opinion about David Adelman’s future. But The Joker clarified that it was ‘above his pay grade’. Despite that, the Serbian did clarify that his second NBA head coach did not have enough time to make the changes he wanted to implement.

They were in a fight to cement a playoff spot, and then were battling against two in-form teams in both rounds of the playoffs. To Adelman’s credit, the Nuggets pushed both teams to seven games. Now, it is up to the ownership to decide if he deserves a chance to implement his schemes.

Nikola Jokic needs help in the form of better role players

If fatigue and injuries prevented the Denver Nuggets from advancing to the Western Conference Finals, then the onus is on both the front office as well as the coaching staff. Last season, they lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves due to similar reasons.

Nikola Jokic needs a better all-round roster around him
Nikola Jokic needs a better all-round roster around him (Image via Open Source/X)

If a team has struggled with the same problems in back-to-back seasons, it needs to fix the problem before next season starts. Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray had lobbied the front office to bring in Russell Westbrook. Had that also not happened, it is doubtful that the 2023 champions would have made it this far.

Westbrook was instrumental in the first-round series against his old team. But in the second round series again against a former team, Westbrook could not overcome the lack of help from the rest of the Nuggets’ bench.

If the Colorado-based team wants to stop wasting the Serbian superstar’s prime, they need to act quickly. He needs players who can help him rest in between games. Pushing him to play nearly every minute while also asking him to take on the bulk of scoring and playmaking, while asking him to do his part to protect the interior, will drain him.

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