The Nuggets will have to do without Nikola Jokic for the second game in a row on Sunday

Nikola Jokic was listed as questionable ahead of Sunday’s game against the Grizzlies, but he has now been ruled out for personal reasons. Jokic will miss his second straight game after missing Friday night’s loss at New Orleans.

This comes after Jokic played in all of the team’s first ten games of the season, getting off to a torrid start and declaring himself the heavy favorite to win his fourth MVP award in five years. But without the Joker, Denver looked lost and managed just 94 points in an ugly loss to the Pelicans on Friday night.

The good news is that Jokic doesn’t have an injury, he’s just away from the team for personal reasons – which appears to involve the birth of his son. This is a happy moment for Nikola and his family, which he should enjoy as long as possible. He should return to the team later this week and pick up where he left off.

Unfortunately for the Nuggets, this puts them in a difficult situation on Sunday night, as the team simply isn’t equipped to play without Jokic. Aaron Gordon also remains out with a hip injury, meaning the team will miss the starting frontcourt in Memphis.

This would be a great opportunity for Jamal Murray to break out and show that he can still be the star and leader of the team on any given night. It has been a slow and worrying start to the season for Murray, missing a few games due to concussion. The team needs him more than ever without Jokic, and on Friday night he wasn’t able to pick up the slack. .

Otherwise it will be a very heavy dose of Russell Westbrook and Michael Porter Jr. are. Hopefully they can get some sort of offensive boost from Christian Braun, Julian Strawther and Peyton Watson. But even against a Grizzlies team playing without Ja Morant, the Nuggets may be clutching at straws in this matchup.

Realistically, Jokic will likely be listed as questionable again on Tuesday night for personal reasons as well. What further complicates the situation is that the Nuggets remain in Memphis to play a two-game mini-series. That will be the Nuggets’ second group game in the NBA Cup, and one they must win to stay alive for the Cup.

But there’s a chance Jokic doesn’t make the trip at all, needs a few extra days and rejoins the team when they return to Denver on Wednesday. And that would be completely understandable. Jokic deserves as much time off as he wants.