Nikola Jokic Injures Elbow Ahead of Nuggets’ Game Against Rockets

Nuggets center Nikola Jokic injured his right elbow while warming up for a game Wednesday night and was ruled out 45 minutes before Denver’s opener against the Houston Rockets.

The Nuggets described Jokic’s injury as inflammation in his right elbow. After the game, coach Michael Malone gave no clarification on the severity of the injury or whether the late removal from the lineup was simply a precaution.

“I haven’t talked to the coaching staff yet,” Malone said. “So I’m going to have a conversation with (vice president of sports medicine) Steve Short, and kind of see where we’re at.”

Jokic wore a sleeve on his right arm while warming up at Ball Arena, something he doesn’t usually do, but Malone said there had been no prior pain or discomfort. “Just something that happened at the last minute,” the coach said.

Jokic has now missed six games this season. The three-time MVP is averaging 30.6 points, 13.2 rebounds and 9.9 assists while leading the league in 3-point percentage at 47.1%.

He attended the Nuggets’ visit Wednesday as they prepared for the game against the Rockets, and he was not listed on their official injury report.

The team is scheduled to fly out of Denver on Thursday for a two-game road trip to Florida. The next home game is the following Tuesday, when Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers visit Ball Arena.

“To have that curveball thrown at you after (the walkthrough), it definitely makes it a little harder to adjust on the fly,” Malone said. “…We just didn’t have any information. It just happened.

Aaron Gordon also didn’t play in the 118-98 loss to the Rockets, but his absence was an injury management play for his calf. He’s currently coming off the bench on a minutes restriction, and the Nuggets didn’t want to push him back-to-back.

“I think both games in Dallas, you saw the first game, it looked like he didn’t miss a beat. And obviously the second match, a little harder. We lead by 30. A little different feeling in this match. But it’s something we’ll continue to monitor.

Braun’s perimeter shot

Christian Braun has been a consistent source of transition offense for Denver this season, but his consistency as a 3-point shooter is still a work in progress. By the end of November, he was shooting 48% from beyond the arc. Since the beginning of December, it has been at 27%.

Which made his 22-point outing on Wednesday even more encouraging. Braun made 10 of 11 from the field, including 3s on the dribble and catch, plus a step-back mid-range jumper.

Malone has stressed in recent weeks the importance of Braun continuing to take open 3s and getting out of slumps, even if he’s missed several in a row. Jamal Murray echoed that sentiment on Wednesday.

“Confidence. It’s about confidence,” Murray said. “That’s two, he’s going to shoot the next one.” He misses two, he starts to hesitate, you know what I’m saying? Re-screening. “Shoot it, man. Shoot it. It will come. I’m trying to prepare all these guys, to give them confidence. We’ll need every single one of them in the playoffs. So shoot it now and get used to it. Get used to missing three, four in a row.

Braun shot a solid 38.4% from three last season, but his increased role also inherently leads to increased volume.

“I’ll never be the guy who forces 3s or tries to take bad ones to increase my attempts. This doesn’t move me. I don’t think it’s good for our team,” he said after the loss to Houston. “When I’m open, I’m going to shoot it. When I’m not, I’ll move it. So that’s kind of how I’ve always played. That’s what I’ve always been. And I won’t change that. I obviously have to make sure to photograph the ones that are open, and not let them pass by. I think I did a really good job in the first couple of months and then I missed a few and maybe missed a few that I should have shot last month.

Meanwhile, Braun is averaging an efficient 1.24 points per possession in transition, and he ranks third in the league in fast break points per game with 5.0, behind only Giannis Antetokounmpo and RJ Barrett. In his first year as an NBA starter, Braun scored 10 or more points in 32 of the Nuggets’ 39 games.

He now has five 20-point performances in his career.

“I think sometimes you have to find positives to take out of a loss,” Malone said, praising Braun for “competing, playing hard and, most importantly, his confidence and his aggression.”

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Originally published: January 15, 2025 at 6:39 p.m. MST