Nikola Jokic was not happy after the Denver Nuggets lost to the Los Angeles Lakers, and questioned their pedigree as champions.
The Los Angeles Lakers cruised past the Denver Nuggets last night. With a 123-100 win, the Lakers have snapped an over two-year-long losing streak against the Nuggets in the regular season.
In fact, combined with the playoffs, this is only the second win in their last 15 meetings. Needless to say, Lakers fans were ecstatic to see their team get the big win.
Last night’s loss also marks the end of a nine-game winning streak for the Nuggets. This loss against a fierce conference rival will not sit well with them.
However, with the loss last night, Nikola Jokic is starting to question how good the Nuggets actually are, and whether they can compete for an NBA championship.
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Nikola Jokic spoke after the Denver Nuggets loss. When a reporter asked him about the team’s record against teams that have a winning record, Jokic questioned whether their nine-game winning streak was a fluke as they played weaker teams.
“Yes, of course. We had a nine-game winning streak against teams that are injured and teams that aren’t really good.
“Maybe we tricked ourselves [into thinking] we are playing good (sic).
Jokic seems to think that the Nuggets got complacent against the Lakers and allowed their winning streak to get to their head.
The Nuggets are going to have to respond fast, as they have a set of difficult games against some very strong teams coming very soon.
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Nikola Jokic is playing incredible basketball and has a chance to win his fourth MVP trophy this season. He is putting on some of the best performances of his career.
Jokic is currently averaging a triple-double with 29.4 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 10.2 assists. His performances should lead to winning basketball.
However, the rest of the Nuggets players have not been playing well enough this season. They currently have a 37-20 record in the West, good enough for the third seed.
The Lakers are slowly making a push for the third seed, so the Nuggets must make a push to win as many games as possible in the years to come.
