Several players and coaches are on referees’ case early this season for what they think are irregularities in their call. That’s one thing Nikola Jokic is trying not to copy this season as the Denver Nuggets superstar wants to avoid losing money.
The three-time MVP may play calmly but he has history of being a hot-headed player when things don’t go their way. He had every reason to go off in his team’s latest win when they hosted and won against the Indiana Pacers.
Jokic got ejected for something that Draymond Green does 20x a game pic.twitter.com/uXT7Lf4rEi
— dean 🦂 (@DeanScorpion_) November 21, 2023
Jokic said he is practicing to become a more zen figure on the court.
“That’s my new thing this year. I’m not going to get stressed or yell at the refs or whatever,” he told reporters after the game.
“I talked to them really respectfully, but I think it’s just that there’s no point to waste energy if they already called something. You just try to control what you can control.”
Nikola Jokic should feel good these days
Jokic have more reason to stay in the game against Indiana as they did not have his two best supporting cast Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon.
Good thing for him, new back up big Jonas Valanciunas is stepping up. Julian Strawther and Tim Hardaway Jr. also provided huge boost.
Jokic thinks they can still improve as a unit.
“I think the guys don’t know how good he is. I think they can see he’s really a consistent big man,” Jokic when asked about Valanciunas.
“Definitely, he helps the second unit. Sometimes when you’re going up and down, you can just throw him the ball inside and slow down the game, and he’s such a big guy, he can screen for the guys.”
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