UPDATE ON JOKIC: “I STILL FEEL PAIN”

FLA.» With the bulk of ORLANDO, his teammates already on the bus back to the Nuggets’ hotel after a shootaround, Nikola Jokic banged in the lane against strength and conditioning coach Felipe Eichenberger, converted shots at the rim and then stepped out for a series of attempts around the 3-point arc.

It was the most extensive basketball work Jokic has done since spraining his left ankle last week against the Chicago Bulls. The emerging star center also went through portions of the shootaround with teammates, coach Michael Malone said, and through running and conditioning drills during pregame warmups. Still, Jokic’s status remains day to day after missing his fourth consecutive game Friday.

“I still feel pain,” Jokic said, before taking his shoe and tape off to reveal an ankle that is still swollen and bruised. “… It’s better, but I still feel it. Every day is better, so hopefully it’s going to be better tomorrow.”

Jokic, who is averaging 15.5 points per game and leads Denver in rebounding (10.6 per game) and assists (4.6), said his primary problem is that he still cannot jump off that left leg. His ankle was also “so sore” when he woke up Thursday, a sign that pain levels can fluctuate during recovery.

Malone remains “cautiously optimistic” that Jokic can return at some point on this six-game road trip, which next heads to Indiana on Sunday, then Detroit on Tuesday and finishes up with Boston on Wednesday. But Malone continues to insist that the Nuggets will not rush Jokic back.

“As we’re struggling to win games, he’s kind of like a life raft,” Malone said. “I want to throw him out there, but he’s not even close to being at that stage where we can expect him to go out there and play in the game.”

Starting lineup tweaked again. The Nuggets went with their eighth starting lineup in the nine games since Paul Millsap went down with a serious wrist injury, going with Will Barton at small forward, Wilson Chandler at power forward and Mason Plumlee at center alongside guard mainstays Jamal Murray and Gary Harris.

Injuries to Jokic and Chandler have also forced Denver into different starting groups. Kenneth Faried and Juancho Hernangomez have also been part of the first five at various points during this stretch.

Quotable. Malone, on the Nuggets’ need to improve their oneon-one defense: “It’s so black and white … it’s not debatable. It is what it is. It’s the elephant in the room, if you will, right now. And it’s a very big elephant.”