Nuggets HOF coach gives damning take after Nikola Jokic's career-high 56-point night goes in vain
Nikola Jokic achieved another career milestone by posting a career-high 56 points Saturday night. But this feat came in a loss, prompting a well-known former Nuggets coach to chime in.
George Karl is infamous for never mincing words, and the 122-113 Denver loss to the Washington Wizards only gave him more motivation to be frank. Here's what the Hall of Fame coach had to say on X after the Joker's scoring outburst went down the drain:
"What the Nuggets are doing to Joker in his prime should be a violation of League rules."
This is not the first time that a Tweet from Karl has targeted the Nuggets. What's pretty clear, though, is his displeasure with an organization that he once took to the Western Conference Finals.
Does George Karl's take on Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets make sense?
George Karl's take underlines growing frustration in the fanbase, which is calling on the Denver front office to strengthen Jokic's supporting cast this season. Though key pieces of the 2023 championship core are intact in the lineup, they haven't quite hit their stride.
For one, Jamal Murray missed the Washington game (his fourth DNP of the season, to be exact) due to a hamstring issue. However, whenever he's been on the floor, Murray has put up just 17.8 points and 6.2 assists per game, his worst numbers in those categories since his sophomore year.
Similarly, Aaron Gordon has hardly been an asset as he's missed 11 out of 21 games thus far. He too sat out the game against the Wizards, making the scoring burden on Nikola Jokic's shoulders even tougher to bear. If the Nuggets don't address the injury concerns of their roster soon, they'll continue to suffer losses in which their offense just comes up short.
On the other hand, there's something to be said about staying patient and sticking to the old reliables. It's a tall task to find skilled players who can complement Jokic as effectively as Murray and Gordon can. As such, head coach Michael Malone and Denver GM Calvin Booth can't be blamed if they decide to invest in their tried-and-tested pieces.
Given the talent and performances Nikola Jokic is putting in on a regular basis, it will be interesting to see what the Nuggets elect to do in order to climb up from ninth in the Western Conference.