Is Malone’s offense holding Nikola Jokic back?

Nikola Jokic has been solid this year, but his assists are way down which begs the question, is the offensive scheme keeping him from flourishing?

Last season, Nikola Jokic took the entire league by storm with his crafty passing and surprisingly efficient herky jerky style of play.

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Going into this year, many were expecting him to pick up where he left off with his offensive production. In many ways, he has with the exception of one key facet. His assists numbers are way down. Granted, it is still the beginning of the season, but it still warrants some concern.

According to basketball-reference.com, Jokic is averaging 4.5 assists per game so far this season which is a slight dip from his 4.9 assists per game last year. The problem could possibly lie with Coach Michael Malone and his offensive scheme.

For whatever reason, Malone has not been playing Jokic as many minutes as he needs to play in order for the team to be successful in close games. Many times, we have seen him pull Jokic in the fourth quarter for whatever reason. The minutes conundrum is not the only thing one can point to when it comes to the possibility of Malone hindering the Joker’s potential. Many times, we have seen Jokic look almost passive on possessions and the offense getting ran through another player for a series of possessions which showcases little of Jokic and his abilities. In today’s NBA, your best player must get his fair share of touches in order for your team to be effective. Yes, you want to utilize the other players and their talents, but not at the expense of sacrificing your franchise player’s potential.

Could it possibly be a little bit of Jokic himself? Possibly. It could be a case of both Malone’s offense and Jokic trying to be too unselfish.

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Malone’s scheme may not be the issue, but it is worth analyzing and trying to figure out a way for Jokic to become more effective.