When Even He Gave Up on Jokic: "I Don't Think We'll See Nikola in 10 Days..."

Pulse Sports Team 22:27 - 24 April 2026

The Denver Nuggets are down 2-1 in their Western Conference Quarterfinals series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and reasons for their struggles can be attributed to Nikola Jokic's somewhat subpar performances.

Jokic has underperformed in the series so far, not playing at his usual level, and will need to step up if he wants to lead Denver to the second round.

Renowned journalist Bill Simmons, a big fan of the Serbian basketball player, also discussed the issues Nikola is facing.

He emphasized that our star needs to perform better and is struggling against Rudy Gobert.

As someone who has rooted for Jokic for a long time, I don't think we'll be watching him in 10 days. It's a huge problem that he's unable to get the team going against Rudy Gobert, especially when things aren't clicking in these last two games. Bill Simmons

His co-host, Rob Mahoney, agreed with him.

We often give Jokic a pass when these things happen. When circumstances aren't ideal, when guys are out of the rotation, he gets a lot of freedom and room to make mistakes. Rob Mahoney

Finally, Simmons highlighted that Nikola's biggest problem is his inability to hit a three-pointer throughout the entire series.

I think it's fair to talk about different standards. We talk about him as a player who doesn't need ideal conditions to be effective and doesn't need everything to be 'set up' to win. Yet, in this series against Minnesota, that's the feeling. It's tough because he can't hit a three-pointer. Bill Simmons