It’s no secret that Nikola Jokic hasn’t looked like himself. He just had one of the worst games of his career, and he’s been committing turnovers since his return from a knee injury at a much higher rate than normal. Along with a bad loss to a tanking Grizzlies team, the signs are saying the MVP award is likely gone.
And if that’s the case, the Nuggets should focus on rest for the playoffs and securing a sixth seed instead of going for broke and securing a home-court series.
It’s not the reality Nuggets fans envisioned when the season started, but it’s here, and it feels brutal. But it also feels like resting the Joker, taking care of Aaron Gordon, and making sure everyone is well rested for the playoffs is the right thing to do now.
Jokic hasn’t been himself for a while
Jokic just committed 10 turnovers, a season-high that tied his career high. The Memphis Grizzlies, by contrast, had 10. The whole team. That’s a problem, Joker. And it’s part of a troubling trend that’s been progressively getting worse.
Jokic was one assist from a quadruple-double. He scored 29 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, dished 9 assists, and had 10 turnovers. It’s not clear if his wrist was bothering him or not, but it has been bothering him for weeks, and his shooting and ball handling have clearly taken a hit.
Jokic’s only been shooting 53% over his last 15 games, down from 57% on the season. And from three-point range, Jokic's a pedestrian 31.1%, down from 38.8% on the season. But keep in mind, those season numbers are much lower than they would be if the Joker hadn't been playing at a diminished level the last few weeks.
Jokic has been frustrated, and it’s showing
The frustration has been building for Jokic, and it showed up in Memphis. The Joker was animated with the refs a couple of times. Rightfully so. He was getting clawed on buckets and not getting follow-through calls on off-balance threes that went in after the whistle.
Those frustrations couldn’t have aided in his ball control. And that lack of ball control led to 27 points off turnovers for the Grizzlies.
Signs, they’re everywhere. The Nuggets need to read them and make the right call. The regular season only matters enough now to secure the sixth seed. The Nuggets want to avoid the play-in seventh seed, but as long as they hold sixth, they should just focus on rest.