Where Nikola Jokic can improve most
By Evan Siegel
Nikola Jokic is one of the league’s best all around players, but there is one key area where the superstar can improve his skill set.
It may not always look particularly pretty, but Nikola Jokic is one of the smoothest scorers in basketball. His lumbering, stumbling drives through the lane make him among the less graceful scorers in the game, but he seemingly gets it done every single night. He is unquestionably the league’s best passing center and one of the best pure facilitators in the game at any position.
Jokic averages 20 points and ten rebounds a game, but is rather lacking as a rim protector. Jokic ranks only 59th in the league in blocked shots per game. His 0.7 blocks per game checks out behind multiple guards who come off the bench often times for their respective teams. Matisse Thybulle and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander both list ahead of him, and even James Harden, long known for his defensive shortcomings, is all the way up the list at 43rd.
Jokic has documented a dramatic weight loss since the suspension of play in the NBA. This could make him less susceptible to pick and roll defense because of his difficulties with lateral quickness. Jokic does rank eighth in player efficiency rating in the entire league, and first among all centers. Denver has multiple premier perimeter defenders like Torrey Craig, Jamal Murray, and Will Barton, and getting a strong rim protector would make them impenetrable defensively.
Jokic has a similar enough game to Nikola Vucevic of the Orlando Magic, but Jokic is a better three point shooter. Both struggle mightily on the defensive end, but Jokic has the cast of perimeter defenders to allow him to take lighter assignments defensively and not be forced into guarding the toughest perimeter scorer night in and night out.
Denver is close to a championship, and while they won’t have too much flexibility available to them going forward under or above the salary cap, some small internal improvements will push them over the top. One of the best ways for them to get better will be for Jokic to make himself as useful on defense as he is on offense.