Malone offers vehement defense of Jokic’s mistake

Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic doesn’t generally enjoy his media obligations, but he’s almost always friendly, funny and affable.

It’s not uncommon for Jokic to laugh at himself or slip a dry joke into his typically mundane interviews.

But Friday was a different story. Jokic fielded seven questions in under a minute, shedding little light on his recent struggles and offering a simple “no comment” when asked specifically about the $25,000 fine he incurred for using a slur in a postgame news conference in Chicago on Oct. 31.

Later, during Nuggets coach Michael Malone’s pregame news conference, the coach offered a vehement defense of his young star.

“There’s so many things being said about this poor kid, and I understand some of it, but those of us who know him, give the kid a break,” Malone said. “He made a mistake, he’s paying for it, get off his back a little bit. He’s a great kid. He loves everybody, and he meant no offense to anybody.”

Consider Malone’s response as the Nuggets’ de facto statement on the matter.

Two days earlier, Jokic walked out of the visiting locker room in Memphis after telling reporters that any interview would yield a “no comment” following the Nuggets’ 89-87 loss to the Grizzlies. Jokic, who is averaging a career-high 7.6 assists, took just one shot that game — a missed 3-pointer at the buzzer.

He took just three shots in Denver’s win over Boston on Monday, the same night Jamal Murray scored a career-high 48 points.

On Friday, Jokic was brief. His answer for getting the Nuggets’ offense back in sync after the Grizzlies’ physical defense affected them?

“Just score more,” he said. And for him individually? “Shoot more.”

The only real insight he offered was that Gary Harris had talked with him “a little bit.”

Nuggets small forward Will Barton, who offered no updated timeline for his return following surgery to repair hip and core muscles on Oct. 23, had perhaps the best perspective on the Jokic situation.

“He’s not in a slump,” Barton said. “He’s just not shooting the ball. I talk with him all the time, and I think we’ve been doing this the last two years when he had these stretches where he doesn’t shoot, and I just tried to tell him, it’s not about his shot attempts. It’s about him being a threat, looking at the rim, looking like he’s being aggressive. … When he looks at the rim you have to respect so much that he does, and I feel like the last couple games he hasn’t been doing that.”