NBA
Nikola Jokic is Cementing his MVP Case in Jamal Murray’s Absence
Since the injury to Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokic has picked up the slack and cemented his MVP season with some fantastic performances
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Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets beat Portland in a close matchup on Wednesday night, and it was the Joker who stole the show. Jokic led the team in points, rebounds, and assists. Jamal Murray was recently ruled out for the season with a torn ACL against Golden State on April 12th, and Jokic has had no problem picking up the slack.
NIKOLA JOKIC IS CEMENTING HIS MVP CASE IN JAMAL MURRAY’S ABSENCE
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In the four games Murray has been out thus far, the Joker has led his team in points three times, rebounds three times, and assists in all four games. He’s had a triple-double once and a double-double three times. On top of this, Denver has won every single game since Murray’s absence (4-0), and the 2020-21 MVP is the main reason why.
Before Murray’s injury, Jokic was the odds-on favorite to win the league’s MVP award, and these last four games without their star guard have helped him cement his case. With the Joker averaging nearly a triple-double this year (26.4 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 8.7 APG), it is clearly his award to lose. Jokic has been playing at the highest level all year, but his performances in the past four games without Murray in four straight wins over teams like Miami and Portland further prove why he deserves to be this season’s league MVP.
25 PTS, 9 REB, 5 AST from Jokic helps the @nuggets outlast Portland for their 4th straight W! #MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/JdefBJeugv
— NBA (@NBA) April 22, 2021
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