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Denver Nuggets: Player grades from OKC

By Michael Longhofer

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - MARCH 30: Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets shoots the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 30, 2018 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)Getty ID: 940296864
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - MARCH 30: Nikola Jokic #15 of the Denver Nuggets shoots the ball against the Oklahoma City Thunder on March 30, 2018 at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)Getty ID: 940296864 /
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CHICAGO, USA – MARCH 21: Nikola Jokic (15) of Denver Nuggets in action during the NBA match between Chicago Bulls and Denver Nuggets at United Center in Chicago, USA on March 21, 2018. (Photo by Bilgin S. Sasmaz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, USA – MARCH 21: Nikola Jokic (15) of Denver Nuggets in action during the NBA match between Chicago Bulls and Denver Nuggets at United Center in Chicago, USA on March 21, 2018. (Photo by Bilgin S. Sasmaz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images) /

It’s a good thing that Nikola Jokic has the comfort level with his game that he does.

Amid calls for more aggression and more shooting/scoring, Nikola has maintained a steady diet of just exactly what his game is.  At times, that can look like Jokic is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers.  A February setback, coinciding with the return of Millsap is the lone hiccup in a stellar Junior outing for the Serbian big.

If last night’s game is any indication, we can expect even bigger things from our Unicorn.  His assists are down recently, an indicator of his acceptance of his leadership role and the current push for the playoffs.

He is trying to take more responsibility for the performance of the team.  A welcome development.

Think about it, he’s already, at 25 within reasonable striking distance of most triple-doubles by a foreign-born player (Olajuwon).  It took “The Dream” 18 years to set a mark, Jokic should surpass in his fourth.  His advanced stats, regardless of how anyone feels about the metric, are off-the-charts.  He’s nowhere near complete and he’s so good people don’t know how to react.

Asking for more individual performance from Jokic is, in my opinion, absurd.  While I’d like to see his 17.2 points per game improve to 23, that’s purely to get him to all-star games.  There’s a status to players that average over 20 points that Nikola deserves.  Rather than make the case that his overall game mitigates the need for him to score, I’m confident Jokic can squeeze six more points into his scoring average.

When he can defer, as needed, to Millsap in half-court sets, this team will be complete on the offensive end.  The combination of Nikola’s basketball IQ and play making with Millsap’s more traditional abilities should be lethal.  Too bad we missed out on that this year.

Too bad they made it work just in time to miss the playoffs or get destroyed by the Rockets in the first round.

Next: Takeaways from Denver's win

As a Nuggets fan, there’s always that voice, though.  That voice says maybe if The Joker and Millsap have found a common place, maybe Houston isn’t as unbeatable as it seems.

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