"Legit MMA grappling" - Nuggets fans call out Alex Caruso as physical defense on Nikola Jokic eliminates Nuggets

Denver Nuggets fans were unhappy with Alex Caruso's defense on Nikola Jokic. In Game 7 on Sunday, the OKC Thunder put Caruso on Jokic, and the strategy worked in the Thunder's favor.

Jokic went 1 of 5 from the field with Caruso as his primary defender and finished with just 20 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the 125-93 Nuggets loss.

The Nuggets fans were not happy with Caruso's physical defense on Jokic, and they let it be known on social media.

"Dude is legit MMA grappling jokic on every posession its crazy lmfao," the fan wrote.

"If CB was playing this type of defense on Shai, he'd be arrested for bigotry and hate crimes," a fan wrote, referencing Nuggets player Christian Braun and Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Some of the fans blamed the officials for not calling fouls on Thunder players.

"OKC don't play amazing defense! They just foul so many times and hope the ref doesn't call it because there's no way the ref will call every foul of theirs!" the fan wrote.

Another fan wrote that the Thunder were deliberately fouling Jokic because they knew that it wouldn't get called.

"Literally just clobbering Jokic, great gameplan when you know you'll get away with it," another fan wrote.

Meanwhile, some fans slammed the Nuggets fans for complaining just because Nikola Jokic wasn't getting foul calls for his flops.

"Nuggets fans crying about calls like Jokic hasn’t been living at the charity stripe😂😂😂," the fan wrote.

Nikola Jokic gets real about Nuggets' chances of winning championship in future

Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets have crashed out of the second round in the two years since winning the title in 2023. They were defeated by the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2024 and the Thunder this season.

After their blowout loss in Game 7, Nikola Jokic was asked if the Nuggets team, as currently constructed, could win a title in the future.

"I mean we didn't. So obviously we can't," he said.

The Nuggets already made a big change when they fired championship coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth just a week before the playoffs this year.

Given how the last two seasons have turned out, the Nuggets front office will need to find more help for Jokic in the offseason.