The Denver Nuggets didn’t have Nikola Jokic last night in a matchup of the recent championship winners with the Boston Celtics. The results clearly showed.

Denver defended the perimeter better without Jokic, but interior scoring issues, rebounding and overall center play showed through as problems, unsurprising given Denver played all three of Dario Saric, DeAndre Jordan, and Zeke Nnaji.

The Nuggets hung around but ultimately let go of the rope in the fourth quarter. Did they learn anything about their team in the process? Did Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. show that a core with them, Nikola Jokic, and Aaron Gordon is still enough to compete?

On the latest episode of Pickaxe and Roll, Ryan Blackburn reacts to the Denver Nuggets loss to the Boston Celtics that happened without Nikola Jokic in the lineup due to illness. Jamal Murray, Russell Westbrook, Peyton Watson, and Julian Strawther all had their moments, but Denver simply didn’t have enough without Jokic and Aaron Gordon.

Ryan breaks down the hard-fought loss, discusses what was missing for Denver, and previews tonight’s back-to-back against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Pickaxe and Roll is a Nuggets podcast streamed live on YouTube every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at 10am MT. You can catch episodes live by subscribing to the Mile High Sports YouTube channel and turning on Bell Notifications.

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If you can’t catch Pickaxe and Roll live, listen to the audio version on the BLEAV Podcast Network, or download this podcast episode wherever you get podcasts.