Renck: Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic deserves better from teammates, David Adelman in fourth quarter

Nikola Jokic deserves better Tuesday night should have been another chapter in his legendary theology Instead it called for an apology In the wake of a - loss creating a must-win Tournament on Thursday at Ball Arena there were various fingers to point but one shameful truth The Nuggets let Jokic down Again The final seconds incorporated all the themes of this season The principal one Denver was once again painfully short one more legitimate performer That is what has made the past seven months so frustrating even when sprinkled with moments of brilliance by the supporting cast Knowing he had to play better after the worst three-game shooting stretch of his career Jokic delivered scoring points The image that we should be talking about the present day is the three-time MVP spinning to his right jumping off one foot and sinking a -footer over Chet Holmgren to knot the points at Instead we are left to explain how jump shots become the equivalent of bumper cars bouncing off the rim When we had the battle in our hands like that guard Jamal Murray explained we just let it slip away over the program of a minute or two When the Nuggets lose like this they marvel at Jokic explain they are frustrated and then nothing changes They have to know what is obvious to the rest of us Jokic necessities help and there is nothing they can do about it At least not consistently Tuesday only reinforced the notion that Jokic is dominant and the Nuggets are incapable of restoring their place as NBA champions The blame lands on Murray Michael Porter Jr Christian Braun and for the first time interim coach David Adelman Related Articles Nuggets Michael Porter Jr blames self for losses in Games and I haven t been contributing PHOTOS Denver Nuggets fall to OKC Thunder - in Encounter of NBA Playoffs second round series Nuggets-Thunder Event -pointers Nikola Jokic identified his legs Will he ever find a whistle Nuggets allow another fourth-quarter lead to slip despite Nikola Jokic s epic night fall behind - to Thunder David Adelman revels in more involved role in Nuggets defense as interim coach Denver opened up a -point lead after halftime and spent the final minutes dry heaving it onto the Paycom Center court The Nuggets ability to finish is what has sustained their mystique this postseason especially on shots by Aaron Gordon It just doesn t turn up on demand like it used to in And that s what it takes one of the Other Guys to have Jokic s back Three of the unit s majority significant pieces have been punchless in the fourth quarter of the past two games both losses Michael Porter Jr a magnet for fans scorn because of his maddening inconsistency has zero points Zilch Christian Braun has no points Living La Nada Loca Murray has eight points That is not enough The trio is a combined for from the floor and for from -point range in the past two fourth quarters when Denver has been outscored - Gordon has provided an unexpected boost late in games but he is not capable of camouflaging this type of blemish On a multitude of contending teams it would not matter because the star would take over With this group Jokic s unselfishness becomes his curse He is so good he should take almost every shot in the two-man competition with Murray But instead he gets the ball in the paint defenders surround him and he passes to the open man On back-to-back possessions the recipient was Porter He bricked a and Jalen Williams opened a - lead with a -footer MPJ then airballed another and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drained a -footer At - it was over The Nuggets were done They shot for in the fourth Jokic was for and the rest of the Nuggets went for Jokic was not upset saying I think we had the open looks we just didn t outcome in those moments Jokic is the greatest Nuggets contestant ever And it would be cool if sometimes he screamed YOLO pump faked open teammates and shot straight possessions In the end that is not him Jokic trusts his guys and his new coach But Adelman failed him too He predicted that Jokic would snap out of his slump but when he was simmering down the stretch why not run plays through him to draw contact Volley passes back and forth until Jokic turns his shoulder into Holmgren or Isaiah Hartenstein Jokic after all was for from the free-throw line Adelman has preached to his players that they have to take open shots But that contestant should not have been Porter with under two minutes left He was the evil of two lessers Porter is for over the past two games Russell Westbrook whose argument to play over Porter centers on defense is for There are those who want Julian Strawther who is a liability defensively and Peyton Watson who is a liability offensively to get more run That would make sense in October but not May The Nuggets are stuck They cannot fix the airplane while it is flying Thanks Calvin Booth and ownership When it lands this offseason adding another piece or two even if it means trading Porter or Gordon must be strongly considered A lot of the reason we lost the last two games is because I am not helping Porter disclosed I haven t been contributing in any way Porter is right And that is what is wrong with the Nuggets As constructed they are letting Jokic down and if it happens again Thursday they will be out Want more Nuggets news Sign up for the Nuggets Insider to get all our NBA analysis