Nikola Jokić made his point after the Nuggets’ overtime escape against New Orleans on Saturday: fans who booed at the home opener weren’t welcome.
“We got booed at our first home game, and I think those fans who booed us, they don’t need to come anymore. If you guys follow us, you know that we never quit and we’ve come back from much worse situations. So if they ask me, they are not welcome anymore.”
The problem for Denver is that Sunday’s message didn’t age well. Whatever frustration the crowd showed after that shaky start, the Nuggets didn’t exactly answer it with a statement performance Monday in a 134-114 loss to Golden State.
Jokić and Jamal Murray were the bright spots in the season-opening win over the Pelicans, when the Nuggets needed a massive 52-27 fourth-quarter surge just to force overtime. Jokić finished with 35 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, while Murray exploded for 42. New Orleans may be healthier and stronger than it has been in recent seasons, but that victory still came with plenty of concern attached.
Against the Warriors, those concerns only grew. Denver trailed by four at halftime, then watched Golden State seize control in the third quarter with a 40-28 edge. The Nuggets’ starters managed just 16 points combined in that stretch, while Steph Curry had 17 by himself.
That’s the kind of half that invites noise from the stands.
Not every fan wants to boo a home team, even when the effort looks off. Some will sit through it in silence.
Others let their displeasure be known. But when a team wants the crowd to stay quiet, it has to give people a reason to cheer.
Denver hasn’t done that enough through three games.
Jokić only sharpened the point after the Warriors game, doubling down on the idea that the fans who booed weren’t "real fans".
At 1-2, the season is hardly lost. But if this is the standard going forward, Denver’s title hopes will take a real hit.
Championship teams don’t just talk about accountability; they live it. That starts with David Adelman and runs through the veterans, including Jokić himself.
The Nuggets won’t be back at Ball Arena until Monday, Nov. 2, when they host Portland. Before then, they’ll play in New Orleans on Wednesday and in Phoenix on Friday.
Jokić won’t have to hear boos on the road. If Denver comes out flat again against the Trail Blazers, though, the building could sound a lot like it did on Saturday.
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