Nikola Jokic didn't take much of the summer off from playing basketball. He played in six games for his home country of Serbia over the past two months, four of them in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers, with Serbia winning all four, and two exhibitions against the France national team, which Serbia split 1-1. However, there wasn't really enough of a sample size through those games to answer whether or not his wrist was well enough to make threes at the rate he was making them before the problem popped up last year.
Jokic was making threes at one of the highest rates in the league prior to the All-Star break. He was at 42.0%, just behind teammates Jamal Murray at 42.5% and Cameron Johnson at 43.7%. However, it was around that time that the issue with Jokic's wrist popped up. Post-All-Star break, Jokic's three-point shot started to suffer, registering just 31.6% on his three-point attempts. And it got even worse in the playoffs, where Jokic hit just 19.4% of his 36 attempts.
Jokic shot poorly, and the Nuggets might need to adjust
Over six games for Serbia this summer, Jokic shot just 5-for-18 from downtown, at 27.8%. That's not a confidence-inspiring number heading into the last couple of weeks before the Nuggets start training camp. But 18 attempts isn't a large sample. Jokic hoisted up 36 attempts from three against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the six games of the first round.
It's still too early to tell if this is the new normal for Jokic, but it's unfortunately starting to trend that way. And it means the Nuggets need to adjust the offense to account for it. One of the strengths Jokic had was drawing the opposing team's center out of the paint to guard him on the perimeter because of his accuracy from beyond the arc. But if he's not making shots, the center can sink into a zone and take away passing lanes, too.
It puts the Nuggets' offense into a tough spot. They need the extra space for Christian Braun or Aaron Gordon to cut to the rim. And it takes away the high pick-and-roll. Teams can double-team Murray off the pick and let Jokic stand out beyond the arc and shoot what they are betting will be a brick more often than a swish now.
When training camp opens in a few weeks and the Nuggets start playing preseason games, keep an eye on Jokic's right wrist. It could just be one of the keys to getting over the 50-win mark for the fifth season in a row.
Add us as a preferred source on Google