Fans of the Denver Nuggets are no strangers to seeing Nikola Jokic complain about contact, especially in the low post and the paint. Rightfully so! He's always getting bumped and hit down low. But after hearing his comments following the Denver Nuggets' 128-109 win over the Toronto Raptors, we can start to understand why Jokic moved out to the three-point line more often at the start of the year.
Nikola Jokic has always been great in the paint. That was the case again against the Raptors. Jokic put up a vintage triple-double in just three quarters, and 26 of his 32 points were in the paint. The other 6 came at the foul line, and he should have had even more from the charity stripe, as he was continuously pushed and hand-checked by the undersized Raptors defenders. But that's the issue, according to Jokic.
The low post has become "more physical," according to Jokic
Jokic didn't hold back his thoughts after the game.
"To be honest, in today's NBA, I think there is no size advantage....I think we have a lot defenders or players on the post and defensive side [who] can do much more pushing, grabbing," Jokic said. He continued, "Officials are letting them do much more, be much more physical, much more grabbing than if you're playing outside."
Jokic even theorized that the low post is going to go away in the coming years because of all of the physical play that's been allowed to go on.
And if that's the case, Jokic needs to be careful for his longevity in the paint.
Jokic needs to utilize his mid-range and floater more
Jokic was off to a slower start in the paint to begin the year. His touches were down from 8.9 last season to just 6.3 before the Raptors game. Was that Jokic trying to avoid some early-season wear and tear? Maybe. His basketball IQ is off the charts, of course. He could also have been in the paint less due to scheming and matchups.
But it makes sense if Jokic was testing the waters early on to see what kind of calls he would get and if the physicality would lessen. Physicality is one of the things that Jokic has often had (minor) struggles with. When he listed the defenders who give him the most trouble, they were all physical centers, like Ivica Zubac or Jusuf Nurkic. Rudy Gobert did the same against Jokic in the first round of the playoffs last year.
But Jokic can still get around the physicality if he just uses his mid-range jumper more often. He's as close as you can come to automatic in the mid-range, and he led the league in mid-range FG% last season at 55.9%.
And if it's not the middy, he can spin out quickly and hit his floater, too. The Nuggets just need to make sure to get him the ball closer to the elbow or the nail rather than in the lower post first, and help him create some space to get either shot off. Joker will take it from there.
If there's one player who can maximize themselves given the constraints that he perceives, it's Jokic. He'll continue to dominate the low post and paint, but he may have to adjust his game a little to take advantage of the rules being applied against him.
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