3. Unaggressive Joker
One of the biggest questions Nuggets fans had — perhaps even the league fans as a whole — was how star center Nikola Jokic would fare with a sleek physique. Jokic, who started at point guard in multiple scrimmages for Denver, was moving just fine. However, what’s concerning was his lackadaisical approach to scoring.
In three scimmages, Joker averaged just 9.0 points per game, ranking 6th among players who played in multiple scrimmages. True enough, he shot 66.7% from 3-point range but he only shot 43.8% from the floor. Compare that to his scoring numbers before the NBA hiatus (20.2 points per game on 52.8% shooting from the field and 31.4% from 3) and it’s a bit concerning.
Of course, Jokic might have simply been focused on getting his teammates involved, especially since he was playing out of position. He did average a team-high 6.7 assists per game during the scrimmages. However, if the Nuggets are going to make a deep run into the playoffs, they’ll need a more concerted effort to score points from the big man moving forward.
The Nuggets went just 1-2 in their scrimmages and while their defense left a lot to be desired, so did Jokic’s offense.