There is a German word, torschlusspanik, that translates to “gate closing panic.” It is, essentially, the frantic feeling that time has run out, the opportunity has passed, the gate is slamming shut. While often used to describe worries like missing the chance for career advancement, having children, or getting married, every year during the NBA playoffs it can also easily be applied to the teams that must accept their inferiority. While he grew up in a different part of Europe, I wonder if Nikola Jokić is familiar with the phrase. During his Denver Nuggets’ first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the 31-year-old Serbian star has been abruptly confronted with the gate. It is rapidly shutting on his team’s chances of advancing, as the Timberwolves took commanding control of the series with an assertive win on Saturday night to go up 3-1. But the gate is also swinging closed for Jokić himself, threatening to crush his long-held status as the best player in the world. This sobering encounter with reality—the feeling that, despite one’s best efforts, …