Malik Nabers putting up superstar-level numbers the Giants need

Matt Nagy answered a question about Malik Nabers’ targets with a joke.Then, unprompted, he later made another telling joke about the same subject. There is a little bit of truth in the best jokes.

And there is a clear emphasis from the Giants offensive coordinator to get the ball to Nabers as much as possible.  Get texts from Paul Schwartz with all the latest Giants news and insights, exclusive to Sports+ subscribers.“I guess some of that goes to the beginning of the season when he threatened me,” Nagy said before practice Thursday.

“When you get threatened, you have to be able to make something happen.” Then later, when asked about Malachi Fields: “He can give us a lot more, [but] the deal is there’s only one football.So, we have this fiduciary responsibility to get Malik a bunch of catches, right?” At a time when star receivers around the league — and in particular, across town with Garrett Wilson and the Jets — are struggling to get targets, Nabers is being peppered with passes. And he has delivered a superstar-level output — in the four games in October, he recorded 36 receptions (on 51 targets) for 509 yards and two touchdowns.

The 36 catches were second most in the league during that span.He surpassed 100 receiving yards in all four games — tied for the longest active streak in the league and tied for the second-longest streak in franchise history, after Odell Beckham Jr.

did it in 2014.He was named NFC Offensive Player of the Month. That streak — and a chance to beat Beckham’s franchise-record six straight games with 100-plus yards (set in 2015) — could be in jeopardy during Sunday’s game against the Eagles in Philadelphia, as Nabers is dealing with a knee issue that held him out of practice Thursday.

But Nabers said “I’ll be good” for Sunday and did not at all seem worried.He was not on the injury report Wednesday. Nabers praised Nagy for finding ways to get him open.

But he also credited his own play-des...