The Denver Nuggets are without one half of their dynamic frontcourt duo, as Paul Millsap is out indefinitely after getting surgery on his wrist. On Thursday night, the worst possible scenario might have happened, as the other half of that duo was on the ground writhing in pain during Denver’s game against Chicago.
Nikola Jokic was driving to the rim during the second quarter. His left heel looked like it got a piece of Bulls guard Jerian Grant’s toe, which led to Jokic rolling his ankle and rolling around on the ground in serious pain.
Jokic tried to walk off the court, but as you can see at the end of the video, he could barely move.
#Nuggets big man Nikola Jokic rolled his ankle and went right to the locker room after shooting his free throws…. pic.twitter.com/N52B76uYz6
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) December 1, 2017
Denver diagnosed the injury as a left ankle sprain and decided that he would not return on the evening.
Nikola Jokić has a left ankle sprain and will not return.
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) December 1, 2017
With Millsap sidelined for up to three months, Jokic being out as he recovers from this injury for any substantial period of time would be absolutely devastating for a Nuggets team that has legitimate postseason aspirations. The third-year big man from Serbia has continued to do just about everything for Denver this year, and prior to Millsap going down, it looked like this had the potential to be among the most entertaining frontcourt duos in the NBA.
But now, Millsap is recovering from surgery, while Jokic has a sprained ankle. We’ll keep you posted on whether or not he’ll need to miss any time due to the injury.
