In the quiet of the post-game press room, Nikola Jokić didn’t hide behind excuses. After another frustrating defeat for the Denver Nuggets, the reigning MVP offered a blunt and honest assessment of what’s truly dragging the team down — their inability to start games with urgency.
Jokić, who once again delivered a strong individual performance, admitted that the team’s biggest problem is becoming impossible to ignore.
“Our starts are holding us back,” he said, shaking his head. “We always need time to wake up, and by then we’re already fighting from behind.”
It wasn’t anger in his voice — it was disappointment. The Nuggets have been caught in a pattern lately: slow, sloppy openings that allow opponents to build early leads, forcing Denver into desperate comeback mode. And while Jokić has a habit of rescuing the team late, he made it clear that relying on late-game heroics is no formula for success.
He explained that the issue isn’t just tactical — it’s about mindset.
“We can’t expect to turn it on whenever we feel like it. Good teams punish you early. That’s what happened today.”
The coaching staff echoed this sentiment, noting that Denver has spent too much time chasing games instead of controlling them. But it was Jokić’s voice that resonated the most — not because he called anyone out, but because he called it exactly as it is.
Despite the loss, the star center said he still believes in the group.
“We know what we can be,” he insisted. “But we need to start games with the same energy we finish them. If we fix that, everything changes.”
