Is Nikola Jokic playing tonight against the Atlanta Hawks? Latest update on 2x MVP’s availability

Nikola Jokic has played in the Denver Nuggets’ last five games. That trend will continue on Monday against the Atlanta Hawks. The two-time MVP is not on the team’s injury report so he should be available for the said encounter. Jokic is hoping to lead the Nuggets in snapping a season-worse three-game losing streak.

“The Joker” has struggled, shooting-wise, in his last two games. He was only 9-32, including 2-7 from deep on Dec. 6 against the LA Clippers. Two nights later, his shooting touch remained cold. Jokic started 1-10 and finished 9-26 versus the Houston Rockets on Friday.

Nikola Jokic, having back-to-back bad games, has been almost unheard of over the last five years or so. Denver’s opponents, following a subpar performance from the Serbian, usually have a tough time dealing with him in the next game.

After the loss to the Rockets, some were wondering if has been playing through with an injury. He was asked by a reporter to comment about his recent struggles. Jokic answered that he simply had consecutive nights where he couldn’t get the ball to go in. He added that he is healthy though.

The Denver Nuggets sidelined “The Joker” on Nov. 27 against the LA Clippers. He was ruled out due to lower back pain. The Nuggets were playing the second night of a back-to-back set and also didn’t have Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon. They likely just wanted to give him a rest.

Other than that, Nikola Jokic has been healthy. After a two-day rest, he should be raring to end their three-game losing streak on Monday in Atlanta.

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Nikola Jokic remains the favorite to win the NBA MVP award

Despite back-to-back subpar games, Nikola Jokic remains the favorite to win the NBA MVP award, which will be the third of his career. FanDuel and DraftKings have him +180 to go home with the Michael Jordan Trophy.

Luka Doncic is now second with +500 odds to win his first MVP. Joel Embiid, the reigning holder of the said award, is third with +750 odds. Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton has pushed himself to contention after his impressive last two weeks. DraftKings is giving him +2,200 while FanDuel has him at +3000.

Nikola Jokic started to regain his shooting touch as the game versus the Houston Rockets progressed. The Atlanta Hawks will be in a lot of trouble if that was a harbinger of things to come on Monday.