No matter how you slice it, Nikola Jokic has been a bit underwhelming so far this season, at least by his standards. His stats are down across the board, his usage is a little lower, and his name isn’t popping up as much among the favorites to win MVP and the best players in the league.
It’s a far cry from what we’ve seen in recent years, and for most of Jokic’s prime, he’s been in the first breath when discussions of the best player alive pop up. At first blush, it’s hard to stomach; it’s frustrating to hear and causes an almost guttural reaction that makes you want to lash out and fight back.
But in terms of the Denver Nuggets and their chances of contending for another championship, this may be the best thing that could have happened. We know what it looks like when it’s the Jokic show. It’s amazing to watch, and the stat lines are laughably gaudy. But is that the best path toward sustained winning? Not exactly.
If anything, the team has just been too reliant on Jokic, and while he can mostly carry them through a regular season, when teams start game-planning for Denver in the playoffs, they become one-dimensional and easy to stop. The NBA has changed, and what works is a more diversified attack centered around team concepts rather than one offensive hub who does it all.
Less is more for Nuggets when it comes to Jokic
Obviously, Jokic is still going to be the fulcrum and the straw that stirs the drink, but if they can spread the usage around a bit more, they become more dynamic and unpredictable, and it empowers them to have multiple options, which will be a huge boost come playoff time.
In the Nuggets’ last two games, Jokic has put up 21/13/10 and 18/7/10 lines, attempting just 13 field goals in each game. And surprise, surprise, those were the Nuggets’ best two all-around performances of the season and resulted in two solid wins.
Now, this isn’t going to be the case every single night, and in some ways, they’ve been too reliant on Jamal Murray. But last game, we saw all five starters in double figures, and it was a beautiful sight to behold. If they can strike the right kind of balance, keeping Jokic heavily involved but not leaning on him for everything, that would make them much more legitimate as contenders in the West.
On the other hand, if the Jokic drop-off is because he has actually taken a step back as a player, then that’s a different story and a huge concern. But as long as this is part of the plan and a strategy to keep him fresher and get more out of his teammates, that’s a great thing for the Nuggets and makes them a lot more dangerous in a suddenly wide-open Western Conference.
Add us as a preferred source on Google