The Nuggets recently reeled off back-to-back overtime wins and my immediate conclusion was simple: They owe Nikola Jokic an apology.

Denver is off to a clumsy start. Entering Friday night, Jokic, the reigning MVP, was averaging a career-high 31.5 points in 39 minutes per game.

Nobody cares more about winning than Jokic. But this template is making him selfish. He has to shoot three-pointers because very few go in when the others do. He is forced to log minutes and a half because Dario Saric seems lost as a substitute and Zeke Nnaji remains glued to the bench.

The idea is to maximize Jokic’s best moment. To raise another banner. Looking at this team, it seems like the goal is to raise your blood pressure. In a local story that has grown national this week, tension between general manager Calvin Booth and coach Michael Malone has become an open secret.

Booth is trying to win now and from now on, bringing in young players to increase athleticism and appease owners’ desire to avoid paying luxury taxes. Malone, always the competitor, tries to win every night, struggling to combine micro and macro goals.

And it’s hard to trust young players (Christian Braun is earning it) when two max-contract players, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., remain inconsistent and baffling. The Nuggets need a career year from Murray and he’s showing his age, looking tired and hurt between bursts of stardom. MPJ simply has too many nights off from filming. So while Russell Westbrook gets high marks as a teammate and for his energy, he doesn’t solve the team’s most glaring problems: the need for better three-point shooting and bench players who can defend themselves for 15 minutes a night.

The season is still in its infancy. But what the Nuggets are doing with Jokic is not sustainable. Requires rest. And more than anything, Jokic needs help: from his general manager, from his coach, from his teammates, not a bunch of “I’m sorry” after the end of a forgettable season.

Jetsetters: So we have to believe the Jets will go to the playoffs after snapping their five-game losing streak on Thursday night. Give me a break. They would have to finish the season 8-1. What about seeing that undisciplined team makes anyone think that will happen? Even with 10 wins, they would lose in the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Broncos. Aaron Rodgers was acquired to be Joe Namath for the Jets. He’s more like Willie Mays with the Mets.