Nikola Jokic: Can he keep up the dominance?
By Mathew Huff
Nikola Jokic had a monster game against the Memphis Grizzlies, but can he keep up this level of play?
Nikola Jokic out played Marc Gasol recently where he was extremely close to a triple double. It helped the Nuggets bounce back with a 104-92 win.
With Paul Millsap out for a long time, he will be called upon to keep the Nuggets a float in the playoff picture. So, can he keep up this level of play in the upcoming stretch? It is not as far fetched as one would think.
Jokic became accustomed to being the star last season and being the clear cut number one option. Denver also has one of their easier stretches of their schedule coming up.
The Nuggets take on the Jazz, Bulls, Lakers, Mavericks, Pelicans, Magic and Pacers in their next seven games. All of these teams are teams Denver should defeat, but they must not get complacent.
They are also teams who are prone to succumbing to a huge game from the Joker. If Denver can go at least 5-7 in this stretch, they will be in good shape going forward without their other star big man.
However, getting this record will have a lot to do with Jokic. If Jokic continues the dominance he showed against Memphis, the rest of the NBA will be scared. Against these teams, it is possible for him to keep this level of play up.
The Jazz are still without Rudy Gobert and the only team he may struggle against is the Pelicans due to their All-Star front court. Against everyone else who doesn’t have a great big man, Jokic is bound to give these teams fits.
Jokic should have many more great performances in this upcoming stretch and it will be great for the depleted Nuggets.
Next: Takeaways from Denver's win over Memphis
Jokic may single handedly keep Denver in the playoff hunt.