Windy sees it now, too. But Nuggets fans really started to take notice of Nikola Jokic's poor rock-handling after their last-second loss to Cleveland was spurred in part by a last-minute Jokic turnover. It was amplified after he nearly finished with a quadruple-double in points, rebounds, assists, and turnovers, finishing with a season high of 9 against lottery-bound Memphis.
On the latest edition of the Hoop Collective, Brian Windhorst talks about Jokic's return to action, and how he hasn't quite "looked like the same player before the injury." Windhorst goes on to say, "While he's playing, he is not looking like the MVP." Don't rain on our parade, Windy.
Sure, he may not be protecting the rock like we're accustomed to, it's hard to say he isn't playing like an MVP. Jokic's having his best season yet! Now that he's qualified again after missing 16 games due to a knee injury, he's leading the league in both rebounds and assists, a feat no player has accomplished. He's also leading the NBA in just about every advanced metric, setting career-highs in categories where he's already the all-time leader.
However, this debate may not matter, as Jokic is startling close to running into the NBA's 65-games played threshold to qualify for the NBA's postseason awards. Jokic needs to play all of Denver's remaining 27 games to hit 66. He can miss one more before our debate shifts to why the NBA has this arbitrary rule in the first place.
Help has returned to the lineup
For all that has been talked about the Nuggets' injury woes, they're more on the mend now than they have been in weeks. Cam Johnson and Christian Braun have both returned to the starting lineup, and both have played great. Cam is shooting 55% from three, and Braun had 20 points against the Cavs, scoring double digits in three straight games.
Jokic's leading the league in assists while he's been passing the ball to guys nobody expected to see start games for the Nuggets this year. Spencer Jones. Julian Strawther. And he's gotten them looks so open that they're leading the league in three-point shooting and scoring more points than anyone else.
He missed 16 games, and the Nuggets played the best teams in both conferences. Maybe he's a little tired? Maybe he's a little rusty from the time he missed. Whatever it is, it's hard to deny the three-time MVP is having his best statistical season yet.