There is absolutelynothing rather like enjoying a encouraged Nikola Jokić play basketball.
At his finest, the Serbian superstar hardlyever leaps more than anumberof inches off the flooring, and he’s still in total control. In the present NBA’s pantheon of elite skill, no one else has the capability for the verysame favorable effect as Jokić duetothefactthat of his capability to produce unreasonable death lanes, his supremacy in the post, and his underrated protective hands. It is this variation of Jokić that makes the ruling NBA champ Denver Nuggets appearance unequalled. No one is pounding Denver in a best-of-seven series if Jokić is bringing his A-game every night. No one.
But after the Phoenix Suns snapped the Nuggets’ six-game winning streak out of the All-Star break by using Jokić down, it’s worth questioning when they needto start focusingon upkeep of his health and energy in the coming postseason over pursuit of the Western Conference’s top seed. It’s quickly the mostsignificant concern about their champion repeat hopes.
Because when Jokić is exhausted and annoyed, he leaves absolutelynothing to doubt. He uses it all on his sleeve:
Nikola Jokic was BEGGING Michael Malone to obstacle this 😂
pic.twitter.com/49KE8sTywo
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 6, 2024
To the Nuggets’ credit, they appear to comprehend the fragile balance they have to strike with Jokić and his colleagues in the coming weeks. Head coach Mike Malone has currently revealed that Denver will not pull out all the stops to have home-court benefit throughout the West playoffs if it indicates the Nuggets gamers are used down in the procedure.
At a specific point, having a renewed playoff rotation takes precedence over possibly having one additional home videogame in every series in the spring.
Michael Malone on the Nuggets: “The #1 seed is not the most crucial thing to us. Being healthy is the most essential thing to us.”
— Matt Brooks (@MattBrooksNBA) February 23, 2024
The numbers bear out this conclusion.
Between Jokić, Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, Michael Porter Jr., and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Denver has perhaps the NBA’s finest beginning 5. This group will mostlikely typical 40 minutes each night in the postseason, simply like throughout last year’s champion journey, lightening some of the issues about Denver’s thin bench when onceagain.
When the Nuggets have had all 5 gamers readilyavailable this year, they have a sterling 30-9 record. That is the comparable of a 63-win rate in an 82-game regular-season. It would be in relative lockstep with the league-leading Boston Celtics, a muchdeeper group some paint as this year’s title favorite and whom Denver may square off versus in the NBA Finals.
But even while each member of Denver’s beginning 5 plays a essential function on a night-to-night basis, none of its operation works almost rather as well without their 6-foot-11, 284-pound Serbian engine — Jokić.
According to Cleaning the Glass, with Jokić on the flooring, Denver is, on typical, 10.7 points muchbetter per 100 belongings. Per StatMuse, they likewise have a 131.3 offensive score and 109.1 defensive score when he’s playing. That is not sustainable, however it’s worth keepinginmind to step the mathematical difference inbetween Denver’s notorious “non-Jokić minutes” and when the finest gamer in the world is doing things like this versus all-worldly protectors:
Jokić beats the shot clock and banks it in 🤯 p