Troy Renck: National media can’t wait to dismiss Nikola Jokic, Nuggets. Time to stop giving them reasons to.

10/05/2024

Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves celebrates as Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon of the Denver Nuggets walk to the bench for a timeout during the fourth quarter of the Timberwolves’ 106-80 win at Ball Arena in Denver on Monday, May 6, 2024.

MINNEAPOLIS — The strength of the wolf is the pack. The strength of the champ is the heart.

Isn’t it time the Nuggets punched back?

The math demands it. The Nuggets enter Game 3 facing a two-game deficit with critics calling them a one-hit wonder. Eleven months ago, the Nuggets made history, winning their first title. Now, suddenly, they are Dexys Midnight Runners or Soft Cell?

I refuse to believe it.

I do not give the Nuggets much chance of winning the series against the Minnesota Timberwolves — we will know by halftime Friday if there is a sliver of hope — but I do expect them to play with passion, pride and purpose.

Stop crying foul more than Chick-fil-A. The NBA clearly decided internally that the playoffs were not going to look like the All-Star Game or the first half of the season. Want an unobstructed path to the rim? Go to Dave & Buster’s. Desire to be guarded without contact? Hire the Secret Service.

The refs are letting them play. It feels jarring, if not unfair. Such is life. Enough with the grousing. Time to start competing in a way worthy of the banner that hangs at Ball Arena.

That’s what we all want to see. It is difficult to maintain a razor’s edge after winning a ring. I covered the 2016 Broncos. They struggled with their identity once they sat on the throne. They were pulled in a million directions, coach Gary Kubiak battled a medical condition, Peyton Manning retired and they lost multiple players, among them fang-bearing defensive end Malik Jackson. They missed the playoffs. Haven’t been back since.

The Nuggets are different. Their starting five, considered the NBA’s best, returned. And while Jamal “Onto Minnesota” Murray is compromised by a left calf injury, the Nuggets have no excuses. So, their bench is weak. So what? Are we really going to let the absence of Bruce Brown and Uncle Jeff Green provide a pass for what has happened in this series?

Please.

This is about the hunter struggling to adjust to being hunted. The boxer hitting snooze for his 5 a.m. street work when he is sleeping in satin sheets. The Nuggets look fatigued. But with a three-day layoff, isn’t it time they show they are tired of serving as a speed bag for the Timberwolves?

It starts with Nikola Jokic and Murray. Jokic won his third MVP in four years on Wednesday. He is an all-time great. But the national media cannot wait to dismiss him and this team, heck a petty Shaquille O’Neal told him he wasn’t worthy of the league’s top prize three seconds after he won it.

Jokic needs to be selfish. This runs contrary to his basketball DNA. But making the extra pass is not working. With Rudy Gobert floating in the paint and Karl-Anthony Towns leaning on him, Jokic needs to establish position, dribble less and shoot more. Gobert is baiting Jokic to pass to Aaron Gordon at the rim. It is tempting, but a trap.

The Timberwolves want Jokic to relinquish the rock because they do not believe anyone else can beat them. Not Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Not Michael Porter Jr. Not Gordon. And especially not Murray, who has been awful.

The star guard lacks explosiveness, and his leg issue is affecting his jump shot. He has scored two points in the first half in this series. Murray must be better, not bitter. And the motivation will be ringing in his ears Friday as I expect him to be booed ruthlessly every time he touches the ball after he escaped suspension for throwing items onto the court during live play in Game 2.

Murray is capable of taking over a fourth quarter. The Nuggets need him to show up in the first. The Nuggets have had more trouble starting than my lawnmower, trailing six of the seven first quarters in the playoffs.

They do not need Bubble Jamal. But they cannot win with Baby Jamal. He must set an example as a leader. His intensity can bleed into the team’s defense. Pope and Christian Braun must poke the bear. Make Anthony Edwards uncomfortable and irritable. And no free layups. When Towns and Naz Reid drive the lane, contest the shot with contact. Give DeAndre Jordan a couple of minutes of roughneck duty.

I am not advocating for the nostalgic 1980s Pistons or the 1990s Knicks. But the Timberwolves need to feel the Nuggets’ presence. Denver needs to stand its ground.

Jokic and Murray are too good to let this team go out like this.

The Nuggets are still the defending champions. It’s time they acted like it.

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