Nikola Jokic’s Backup Center Also Out For 4 Weeks Leaves Nuggets Fans Stunned – “What Did Denver Do To Deserve This?

The Denver Nuggets traded with the Sacramento Kings to land Jonas Valanciunas as the backup to superstar center Nikola Jokic.

Nikola Jokic’s Backup Center Also Out For 4 Weeks Leaves Nuggets Fans Stunned – “What Did Denver Do To Deserve This?

Nikola Jokic and Jonas Valanciunas are both out injured (Image via FirstSportz)

In the past offseason, the Denver Nuggets’ top brass knew that their most important player, Nikola Jokic, needed a good backup center. That would allow him to play fewer minutes in the hopes of avoiding fatigue when the postseason arrives.

Enter Jonas Valanciunas, who they almost lost to the EuroLeague when Panathinaikos offered the center a much more lucrative deal than what he would get in the NBA.

The Lithuanian eventually decided to remain in America, which came as a big sigh of relief for the 2023 champion franchise. After all, they required someone capable of running their schemes efficiently whenever the Joker took to the bench.

The trade with the Sacramento Kings turned out to be a good deal, as Valanciunas held his own, as Nikola Jokic has been playing two full minutes fewer than last season.

It might not seem like much, but the true impact of it will be felt in the postseason. Then, after the Serbian went down, thankfully just to a knee hyperextension, it was up to his fellow center to handle matters until he returned.

Denver Nuggets center Jonas Valanciunas will be re-evaluated in 4 weeks after sustaining a right calf strain in Wednesday’s win in Toronto, sources tell ESPN.

Shams Charania revealed on X

The 33-year-old suffered this injury during their controversial year-ending win over the Toronto Raptors. More importantly, this means the Denver Nuggets are now without a true center in their lineup.

Nuggets fans lament over Jonas Valanciunas’ injury day after Nikola Jokic went down

When Nikola Jokic first went down, grabbing his knee, fans feared the worst, as the usually reliable superstar would not be writhing in pain unless the injury was that severe.

Thankfully, he did not tear an ACL, and instead, will spend the next month recovering before slowly returning to the fold. Denver Nuggets fans were not completely rattled as they knew Jonas Valanciunas was an able backup.

Then, when they heard this news, they took to social media to vent their frustrations, believing their team must be suffering due to a curse. Check out examples of those reactions below.

Jonas Valanciunas‘ injury will push the Nuggets to look at the trade or free agent market to sign someone capable of handling the load until either he or Nikola Jokic returns.

Their easiest option is to trade for DeAndre Jordan, who spent the past three seasons with them. However, he is all of 37 years old, and the franchise will need to throw a bone to the New Orleans Pelicans to let him leave.

Injury-riddled Nuggets have to brace themselves until Nikola Jokic or Jonas Valanciunas returns

When one looks at the Denver Nuggets’ upcoming schedule, they will see that the team will not be facing many of the top franchises in the month of January.

Jamal Murray has to lead the Nuggets
Jamal Murray has to lead the Nuggets (Image via Nuggets Fan/X)

However, the number of injuries on their roster will make it difficult for the Colorado-based team to rack up some wins until their players return healthy.

The pressure will be on Jamal Murray and the other younger players to step up, as the team is currently 3rd in the hotly-contested Western Conference.

If they lose a lot of games this month, they could slide out of the playoff spots. That could be a difficult situation to come back from, piling the pressure on Nikola Jokic whenever he returns.

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