The Nuggets didn’t handle the absence of Nikola Jokic well last night. Perhaps they were as surprised as everyone else that he didn’t play. Jokic was a late scratch, and the Nuggets were forced to match up with a very strong Houston Rockets squad without him. They turned the ball over 20 times and couldn’t get any stops. That made things difficult without the three-time MVP.

Will Jokic be out for any extended period of time? We don’t know yet. If he is, that changes everything for Denver. If he’s out for a short time, the Nuggets can survive, but Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., and others will have to step up.

On the latest episode of Pickaxe and Roll, Ryan Blackburn reacts to the Denver Nuggets 128-108 loss to the Houston Rockets on the second night of a back-to-back. The Nuggets defense was poor, and the Nuggets offense committed too many turnovers early, fueling the Rockets fast break. In addition, Nikola Jokic didn’t play and was a late scratch with an elbow injury suffered in pregame warmups.

Ryan breaks down the loss, discusses Jokic’s injury, and what the Nuggets can do if Jokic misses extended time.

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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