Well, that was certainly a statement and an exclamation point from Nikola Jokic. Joker had his best game of the season, and he showed the critics that there's nothing wrong with him at all. He's just a notoriously slow starter, and he proved that he's got his touch while returning to "apex" form in the Denver Nuggets' 128-109 win over the Toronto Raptors.
Jokic got off to a hot start and finished the first quarter with 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, and he never took his foot off the gas. Jokic finished the game with his third triple-double in seven games, and his line of 32 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists came in just three quarters. Jokic shot 13-for-19 while focusing on dominating the paint, where all of his makes came from.
Jokic hasn't been as active in the paint this year, so it was great to see him focus on getting back to basics and ditching the three-point shot that has been abysmal. It translated to a 72.5% TS% (True Shooting), his highest of the year.
Jokic showed that he still has "it"
Bill Simmons had said earlier in the day that Jokic had lost his "apex" form. Wrong, Bill. This was just Joker's regular slow start. It took Jokic six games last season to look like "apex" Jokic, too. And from there, Jokic was off to the chariot horse races. Over his next 11 games, Jokic averaged 34.9 points.
Sure, Jokic's rebound numbers are still down a little bit, but that could be due to the scheming on defense, with Jokic helping out on traps outside of the paint. Obviously, that makes it a little more difficult to grab a board and is why Jamal Murray said everyone on the team needs to be accountable to get more boards.
But Jokic didn't even play the fourth quarter. Clearly, he has to be still near enough "apex" form to do that. It was the 90th such time that Jokic has had a triple-double by the end of the third quarter.
Jokic even played fantastic defense, and he had 3 steals in the game to lead the team, and it brings him up to 2.1 steals per game for the year, which would be a career high.
For now, it looks like a slow start for Jokic, and he's shaking off some rust. He likes to be in a rhythm and doesn't like to sit. He enjoys playing as often as he can to keep it, and it just takes him an extra couple of games to find his groove.
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