Everybody knows just how good Nikola Jokic's offense is. The three-time MVP has been one of the best offensive players of the past six years. He's the engine of the Denver Nuggets' offense. But in 2026-27, Jokic has been much more active on the defensive side of the ball than fans are used to, especially this early in the season. He's been quick with his hands and feet, but has that added exertion contributed to the relative slow start he and the Nuggets offense are in?
It's possible. Jokic's been aggressive in the passing lanes, and he's been deflecting a lot of passes. He's averaging 1.9 steals per game because of it, and the Nuggets have a good 111.9 defensive rating in his 326 minutes played, which would be the 13th-best defensive rating in the NBA if it could hold for a full game.
Jokic's been helping trap on the lower midrange with Aaron Gordon and out on the perimeter with Christian Braun, often using the out-of-bounds lines as another defender. But covering that extra bit of court may be taking a toll.
Jokic's efficiency is down by a lot for him
Jokic is the career leader in PER (player efficiency rating). He's averaged 31.0 to 32.3 over the last six years. He's at 26.0 over the first nine games, the lowest mark since 2019-20. His TS% (true shooting) is down from 67.0% last year to 56.2% this year, which would be the lowest mark of his career.
Clearly, something is a miss. And it's not just Jokic's three-point shot that has been missing and getting worse since he returned from his 16-game knee injury absence last year. He's 57% from the two-point range this year, down from last year at 63.6%.
And the offense is suffering. With Jokic on the floor, the Nuggets' offense is just a 115.4 offensive rating. Last year, it was 128.2. This can't all be a "DeMar DeRozan is messing up the spacing" issue. Something else is up. Is there still an issue with Jokic's wrist? Or is there something up with his elbow? He has been wearing a sleeve on his right arm. And it was the "injury" the Nuggets used to put him on the injury report as a precaution from travel woes before the Rockets game.
Whatever is going on, it's certainly had an impact on Jokic. My hope is that his conditioning is just a little off from the extra exertion, and that he'll get that back. Thankfully, Jamal Murray has been playing at an All-Star level. But Jokic needs to find his efficiency again to raise the Nuggets' ceiling so they can start picking up some wins.
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