Nikola Jokic has nothing left to prove at this point, and for that reason, he recognizes what his team needs from him to optimize itself. The Nuggets and Jokic know that in the past couple of years, they’ve come close but haven’t had quite enough support. That’s why this season, Jokic has so far taken a back seat in the scoring department, allowing his teammates to get going.
As a result, we’ve seen Jokic take just 13.2 field goal attempts per game, scoring only 20.4 points a game. On the other hand, we’ve seen an energized Jamal Murray having one of his best-ever starts to a season, averaging 26 points a game on 19 shots.
We’ve also seen the bench get going, with Tim Hadaway Jr., Bruce Brown, Peyton Watson, and Jonas Valanciunas all getting involved early in the season. It’s a recipe for success, and it’s allowing players to grow into their roles and get fully comfortable.
The season is a grind, and there will be plenty of opportunities for Jokic to light up the score sheet. But this team is at its best when it can get points in a variety of ways. If this roster clicks and everyone is fully locked in by the playoffs, they may well be the team to beat.
Short-term frustrations will lead to long-term prosperity
Realistically, this long view is probably the right one, but it may lead to some frustrations in the short term. It’s going to take a while for everyone to get going, and with Jokic being less involved, the team will be more volatile. It may well cost the team some games during the regular season, but it’s about the big picture.
The Nuggets embraced a similar approach the season they won it all in 2022-23, and that obviously worked out extremely well. Sadly, they haven’t really had the luxury to even attempt it in the past two seasons.
Too much talent went out the door, and the team had almost no depth to speak of. Jokic was forced to light it up routinely just for his team to have a chance. They couldn’t afford to plan for the playoffs as they had to fight until the last day of the season to secure their seeding.
But this year, hopefully, things will be different. The bench is there, and the roster is healthy and fully loaded. The juice should be worth the squeeze, and as long as they don’t start hemorrhaging losses during the regular season, they should continue engaging the bench and complementary players for this team to reach its full potential when it matters most.