Monday defeat against the Los Angeles Lakers was a difficult one for that Denver nuggets to stomach. Even with Lebron James and Dennis Schroder Denver still couldn’t figure out which team beat them from the 2020 playoffs. Fortunately, however, the Nuggets had a chance of redemption against another major market competitor on Wednesday, and they made the most of it.

The New York Knicks came to Denver at the beginning of a difficult four game road trip and was decimated by the Nuggets (113-97). The score was so crooked to start this off Nikola Jokic scored twice as many points (24) as the Knicks as a team (12) in the entire first quarter. Now the nuggets are back on track and the Knicks have to straighten the ship with some difficult games. Here are three key takeaways from the Denver win.

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1. Is Jumbo Ball here to stay?

The Nuggets had never used Jokic’s four-man combo before Wednesday. Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Paul Millsap, nor should they have been expected. How often do teams ever play three power forwards and one center together? It was injuries that forced Denver to hand. Will Barton, Jamal Murray, Monte Morris and PJ Dozier missed this game due to injury. Without enough healthy guards to maintain a traditional starting grid, the nuggets improvised and landed on an interesting grid structure.

In particular, the effectiveness against the Knicks is not all that surprising. New York takes the fourth smallest 3-pointer in the NBA and relies on its drivers to take a good look at the basket. It’s harder against such a large line-up, but all four of the Denver greats can shoot well enough to keep the offensive afloat.

In a perfect world, the Nuggets will have some of their guards in time for the postseason and won’t be forced to use that lineup much. But staying in the quiver against bigger teams is an interesting arrow. The Lakers stand out as a possible matchup in the first round. If Kentavious Caldwell-Pope if it protrudes from behind the arch, so be it, but all that extra weight could be useful against such a large opponent.

2. Nikola Jokic really doesn’t care about MVP

“I never play basketball to win individual prizes,” said Jokic said about the weekend. “So MVP is just something people and the media are trying to make a story out of. When it happens, it happens. I don’t play for it. Like I said, as long as we win, I’m happy.” Players love to say these things but rarely really mean them. Winning MVP is a tremendous honor. There’s no shame in wanting to win it. This usually requires multiple marquee performances against the best teams.

Jokic had the opportunity to do so on Wednesday. He scored 24 points in the first quarter alone. The Knicks lack one of their centers, Mitchell Robinsonand you other, Nerlens Noelwas dealing with an ankle injury. If Jokic had wanted to, he could almost certainly have scored 50 points. Maybe more. It averages almost eight points per quarter. Still, he scored just eight goals in his last three games on Wednesday. He had felt full.

This is a relatively common occurrence for Jokic, scoring in groups rather than monopolizing the offense for entire games. This could compound an already iron MVP case, but it’s just not who Jokic is as a player. Nothing about his game suggests that he is actively pursuing the award or that he cares about posting big numbers against a top defense of a big market. He does exactly what it takes to win. No more and no less.

3. Trouble for the Knicks?

The Knicks have been the hottest team in the NBA for the past few months, but their stranglehold on number 4 in the Eastern Conference is officially in jeopardy. They have the fourth heaviest remaining schedule in the NBA, and the rest of that road trip is the meat of it. Your next three games will take place in Phoenix Clippers and with the Lakers. Now, LeBron James and Dennis Schroder may miss the last game, but on a date with him Boston Celtics Even on the schedule, the Knicks could still have some potential losses in their ledger before the ranking is finalized.

The Knicks lead Miami with only 7 games in the losing column. As unbelievable as it may be based on their recent success, the Knicks haven’t even secured a top 6 spot, let alone number 4 Boston will have a chance of not just adding one game to the overall standings when the two meet but also the tiebreaker. The heat Got the tiebreaker against the Knicks so buckle up New York, it could be two weeks before the playoffs hit.

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