Denver Stiffs - JOKIC WEEK

JOKIC WEEK - Ultimate Nikola Jokic Highlight: Final Round

2018-12-15T13:47:00-07:00

Which highlight play is Jokic’s best?

First of all, thank you to the many Denver Stiffs readers who read our articles, listened to our podcasts, and participated in our many polls throughout Jokic Week. This was our first ever theme week and it was a lot of fun to produce. It helps that Jokic rewarded us all with two all-star caliber games this week including a 24 point, 15 rebound, 9 assist game against the OKC Thunder, and a 27 point, 12 rebound, 6 assist game against the Memphis Grizzlies.

To cap off the week, here is the final matchup in our Ultimate Jokic Highlight bracket. I was hoping to see the Slinger in the finals as that was one of my two favorite plays of his career (the other being one of the two in the final). Which one should be considered the absolute best of his career? An overhead, no-look pass against the hated Los Angeles Lakers or a casual, no-look flip pass against the hated Golden State Warriors?

Stiffs Roundtable: Enjoying the Nikola Jokic era

2018-12-14T14:16:26-07:00

Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Wrapping up Jokic Week with some reflection

We’re wrapping up Jokic week tomorrow and what a week it’s been. We’re down to the final four in our “Ultimate Jokic Highlight” bracket, we’ve had great guest columns and roundtables featuring Matt Moore, Andy Bailey, Adam Fromal, and Shane Young, we’ve taken a stroll down memory lane with some of Jokic’s best games, and we’ve talked a lot about what Nikola Jokic means to the Denver Nuggets.

For our final roundtable of the week, we want to share what Jokic means to us, Denver Nuggets fans, on a personal level. A truly iconic player connects with a fanbase and although Jokic is a somewhat quiet and reserved personality, his style of play and underdog nature resonates with everything Denver Nuggets fans like in their stars. Let’s take one last look at what he means to this team and to this fanbase.

How much are you enjoying the Nikola Jokic era of Denver Nuggets basketball?

Adam Mares: Everyone that has followed Denver Stiffs or Locked on Nuggets knows that I have enjoyed the Jokic era immensely. Among the many reasons that I enjoy his game, his unique style of play was very similar to my own from years ago, albeit at a much lower level of competition. I’ve always loved bigs who can pass the ball. Boris Diaw, Lamar Odom, and Chris Webber are all among my favorite players. Jokic is a better and more exciting passer than all of them and his ceiling is higher than all of them. At his best, Jokic is pure basketball bliss.

Brendan Vogt: It’s why I moved to Denver. The Nuggets are one of the most talented and entertaining teams in the league, and it starts at the top with the most unorthodox star I can remember. When everything is clicking on the offensive end, the Nuggets play a beautiful game, one that only they can play thanks to Nikola Jokic, the most interesting player in the league.

Ryan Blackburn: Adam and Brendan used the words ‘unique’ and ‘unorthodox’ when describing Nikola Jokic, and it’s those phrases and realizations that encapsulate why I love this era of Nuggets basketball. This team is different from anything I have ever seen. The personalities are a weird concoction of quiet and brash. The play style is innovative. At the center of it is one of the most ironic superstars of the pace and space era. Nikola Jokic doesn’t play at the pace that’s generally expected from the best basketball players in the world. He does things his own way, and it’s a joy to watch him to develop into the most bizarre superstar in NBA history.

Zach Mikash: To be honest the jury is still out for me. There’s been a lot of fun moments and its been awesome to see a star player rise from an unorthodox origin. This is also the second longest playoff drought in franchise history and I spent a good portion of my life living through the longest one already. The past two seasons have been great up until the last day or so of the season. I love what Joker brings to the court and the way he dominates games unlike anyone else, but I want to see him in the playoffs, I want to see him do what Melo and Mutombo couldn’t and have deep playoff runs over several years. When we get that, my enjoyment level will be at a max.

Gordon Gross: I came back on board Nuggets fandom when I moved back to Colorado in 2003 and the Nuggets rewarded me by drafting Carmelo Anthony. This Jokic feels like that to me: unbridled promise and untapped ceilings for this team at the current moment. I’m overjoyed at having such an immense talent on the team - while still being leery of Denver’s ability to correctly build around him.

Ashley Douglas: Now that things are really starting to click, it’s become so much fun to see. And, looking back it feels rewarding as a fan to have been a supporter of them through the dark times. I’m a big fan of unselfish basketball, and an even bigger fan of homegrown stars and the Nuggets have done both of these things so well via Jokic. What’s most exciting is that I think this is just the start of what the Nuggets can and will be in the coming years so I’m looking forward to seeing them continue to develop.

Mike Olson: I am truly trying to not give in to the cult of “now”, but this is probably my favorite era of Nuggets basketball thus far, with some pretty stiff(s) competition in the mix. I think Ashley said it really well for me also...selfless basketball turns my crank, and Jokic has spread that habit amongst his teammates like a pathogen. These guys are so fun to watch, and that news is spreading across NBA fandom quickly.

Which season of the Jokic era have you enjoyed the most?

Mares: The 2016-17 season. He didn’t play enough his rookie season but the “discovery” period of Jokic was some of the best. I still remember the sound of Chris Marlowe’s voice when Jokic would grab a rebound and start the break, “Okay, here we go. Jokic out on the break...” The crowd on the edge of their seat as we waited for whatever magic Jokic would pull out of his hat. The 2017-18 season felt a bit more clunky. This season might go down as my favorite when it’s all said and done but we’re only a third of the way through. That sophomore season felt like Christmas day from December 15th until April 15th.

Vogt: At the risk of jumping the gun, I’ll claim this current season. The Nuggets sit atop the Western Conference with the resume of a legitimate top-five team. Despite all the injuries, this team has turned a corner and Jokic has been at the center of it all. The Phoenix game was one of the most impressive displays by an athlete that I’ve seen in person and watching him commit on the defensive end has felt almost too good to be true. This is truly Jokic’s team now, and it’s a damn good one.

Blackburn: I’m going with with 2018-19 season because it combines elements of the previous two seasons while adding in something new and unexpected. The magic is back from the 2016-17 season. Jokic and company are taking things more seriously this time around, but this is the year Jokic is starting to truly impose his will on everyone else, where his gifts as a dynamic creator of offense are on full display. In addition, the Nuggets are meeting him halfway by committing to defense as well, and it’s showing up in the win column. Most of the players on the roster haven’t shot the ball well, but once it happens, the Nuggets will reach a new pinnacle in their franchise arc, the team that committed to both ends of the floor and let the magic of Nikola Jokic guide them through a playoff run.

Mikash: I’ll be the odd one out and say the 2017-2018 season. It certainly had its ups and downs and obviously didn’t end the way we all wanted but you got to see Jokic step into the star role last season in my opinion. The way he played down the stretch, pretty much carrying the Nuggets to within seconds of a post season birth, that was the most special time I think we’ve seen from him in a Nuggets uniform.

Gross: The 2017-18 season because Jokic down the stretch was an absolute monster, as Zach said. It made me believe that when the chips are down, Jokic can rise to the occasion. With so many injuries at the moment the 2018-19 Nuggets are about to test that theory, but I expect him to step up again. He’s just too good.

Douglas: I’ll agree with Adam and say the 2016-2017 season because as Jokic’s identity emerged and began to shape the culture of the Nuggets it was such a hopeful time for the team. It was sort-of like the first light at the end of a very long and dark tunnel for the team and the Nuggets’ fan base. This season is a close-second though, and if Denver makes the playoffs (which they will) I think this season will move into first place.

Olson: Jumping the gun with Brendan and Ryan. While each of his seasons have been popcorn-munching fare, Jokic has not only become an even more complete player this season, but has added a defensive arrow to his quiver, and has carried the team through one of their worst spates of injuries yet, all while still winning games. Every season has been impressive, but this one has me shaking my head game after game.

Where does Jokic rank among your favorite Denver Nuggets of all time?

Mares: I know it’s early to say this but there’s no point in pretending otherwise - he’s my favorite. As I mentioned above, part of this is because he plays a style similar to my own. But the biggest reason is that he is just so much fun to watch and he makes it seem like anything is possible. Going to Pepsi Center, you feel like you’re in for something special on any given night. Whether it’s a triple-double, a highlight reel of no-look passes, or a 40-point scoring outburst. Jokic is my favorite Nugget of all time.

Vogt: Right behind Thomas Welsh.

Blackburn: I’m a young guy. 22 years old. I haven’t been alive for various eras of Nuggets basketball, and I only caught the tail end of the Melo era. The stars I enjoyed watching were Ty Lawson and Danilo Gallinari, but Lawson struggled with his inner demons and Gallinari struggled with injuries. Jokic is on another level of both skill and enjoyment from those guys. He’s a player one can identify with as well, somebody who had to earn and fight for everything. That’s puts him squarely at number one on my list.

Mikash: He’s top 5 for me. Laphonso Ellis is number one, always will be, and until someone replaces him Melo is still number two (calm down haters). Jokic falls into that next tier with Chauncey Billups and Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf and all three are pretty interchangeable. I think he’s got a good shot at overtaking the #2 spot though. Like I said in the first question, I’m just waiting for Joker to take us on some playoff rides like those other guys did, and they only did it for one year so it won’t be hard for him to leap them in the standings with just a little more post season success.

Gross: Jokic is my favorite Nugget of all time. I watched the Fat Lever / Alex English Nuggets as a kid, saw the Mutombo Nuggets, and enjoyed the regular season Melo Nuggets to the fullest, but Jokic is an artist. I may not always like what he chooses to create on a nightly basis but I’m hooked and will try to catch every show in ways I didn’t always for previous eras.

Douglas: I’ll have to also agree and say Jokic because while I was a fan of the Nuggets for many years, I really became engaged in the Jokic era. I associate so many personal happy memories with the years Jokic has played for the team, and I’ve made so many new friends being a part of this incredible basketball universe so I’ll say that he has some slightly unfair biases working in his favor.

Olson: Top three so far, with a bullet that should easily carry him to the top by the time he’s done. Right now, LaPhonso Ellis and Chauncey Billups still sit above him, but he is climbing fast. Still cannot believe this is all coming out of a 41st pick. Astounding.

Paint the perfect story arc for the Jokic era in Denver.

Mares: Clearly this would mean a championship but part of what is so fun about the NBA is that the journey is often as much fun as the destination. I want to see this group of Denver Nuggets players, coaches, and front office personnel succeed step by step. So that would mean making it into the playoffs this season, possibly even into the 2nd round. Growing even stronger next season as Jamal Murray, Juancho Hernangomez, Michael Porter Jr. and Jarred Vanderbilt all grow into their roles on the team. Maybe a trip or two the Western Conference Finals or even NBA Finals before ultimately getting over the hump. I love watching Jokic, but part of what makes this team fun to root for is all of the pieces that fit so well around him. It wouldn’t feel complete to succeed without at least some of those guys completing the journey alongside him.

Vogt: In the brightest timeline, those who feel they are one big acquisition away from a championship are wrong. In the perfect story, they don’t need anyone’s help. It’s this team that’s bringing the fans back into the Pepsi Center, it’s this roster that’s captured our imaginations, and ideally, it’s this team that brings Denver it’s first ever championship, with Jokic leading the way.

Blackburn: How can anybody hate the underdog of this story? That’s exactly what the Nuggets are. Just two years ago, the Michael Malone era seemed like it was sputtering to a halt, but some Jokic-ball magic, the acquisition of Paul Millsap, and the development of players around those two have truly shaped this Nuggets team into a forced to be reckoned with. At the center of it all, Nikola Jokic is the maestro of chaos. Sometimes, the Nuggets run plays to free up certain players, but more often than not, Jokic is directing traffic and sending his teammates every which way to receive high passes, low passes, behind-the-back passes, over the head passes, and more. The Jokic era is defined by a superstar who is too unselfish for his own good, and that personality trait may just win the Nuggets a championship some day.

Mikash: The perfect arc is this core developing into something like the Warriors created. Sure they added Durant but lets be honest, even without KD the Warriors would still be favorites every year to win it all. This is the Nuggets 2012-2013 season in that arc. This is the year they need to show them selves as a young team going from being a nice story to being a legitimate threat. Get into the playoffs and make a little noise, start putting together the pieces for a championship run shortly thereafter. It’s honestly not hard to envision, if Jamal Murray and Gary Harris keep improving, if Michael Porter Jr gets 100% healthy, if Monte Morris turns out to be a starting caliber PG...it’s all there. As Adam said, the journey is almost more fun than the end game though so the perfect arc has to include Jokic winning a ring with this core.

Gross: The perfect arc finishes with a title, and a banner, and a jersey retirement, and a hall of fame ceremony where Jokic shouts out Serbia and Denver in the same breath. To get there with the correct movie arc you’d need a brutal loss to an eventual champ (let’s say Golden State), a surprise star who explodes on the scene the year after to help share the load (Michael Porter Jr or Jamal Murray, perhaps), a throwback performance for the ages from a grizzled veteran ( 20 /10 for Paul Millsap in the 2021 Finals?) and even a scene of Jokic with a championship trophy that might even supplant Dikembe’s classic as the top playoff memory for generations of Nuggets fans. I hope fervently to see all of that play out.

Douglas: In the NBA there have been many incredible Hall of Fame players who never won a ring, but if we are painting an ideal picture, I’d of course love to see Jokic bring a title to the Nuggets. That’s everyone’s ultimate goal, right? However, I think more realistically, Jokic will lead the team through some incredible years and maybe a Western Conference Championship. I’d like to see the city of Denver revive their love of Nuggets basketball, and I already see that happening now.

Olson: Hard to paint it any better than the folks above me, but after 50-plus years of basketball, the Nuggets and their fan base desire/deserve a trip to the Finals and a ring. I’m not sure they’ve ever given themselves a better long-term shot at that goal than with Nikola Jokic. While the 2009-2010 squad looked like they were on course for that same goal until tragedy struck, it was still pretty common knowledge among fans and the team that Carmelo was probably not staying in Denver long term. Jokic is a guy who falls in love with his place the same way Denver seems to be head over heels with him, and I hope he fosters that attachment to Denver, as he is truly a one-of-a-kind player. How often does any franchise get a crack at that? As fun as this has been so far, I see only bigger things coming from Joker and the Nuggets.

Ranking Nikola Jokic’s five best performances

2018-12-14T04:00:07-07:00

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

A subjective ranking of the Joker’s best games, leave your list in the comment section

As we approach the finale of Jokic Week, I thought it might be appropriate to rank the big man’s five best games to date in his NBA career. From record setting triple-doubles, to laying it down at the Garden, to playing the best quarter of his career in game 82 last season, we’ve seen Big Honey turn in some memorable performances since taking over as the starting center for the Denver Nuggets.

You might say that ranking his performances is an exercise in futility—they should simply be appreciated for what they are, and that we should be content in knowing there will be more to come. You might be right about that as well.

But it’s super fun and there’s a bunch of highlights in here.

Let’s rank ‘em.

5. The Garden - @ New York Knicks, February 10, 2017

The game’s best players may not want to play for the New York Knicks, but just about everyone who has picked up a basketball has fantasized of playing in Madison Square Garden. At its peak, the Garden was home to one of the best atmospheres in professional sports, and somehow, through all of the Knicks’ misfortune and failures, it remains a staple setting in basketball lore to this day. For decades the NBA’s most talented artists have treated MSG like their own canvas.

Nikola Jokic joined David Thompson as the only two Nuggets to score 40 points at ‘the Mecca’ when he did so back in February of 2017.

4. The National Spotlight - Oklahoma City Thunder, February 1, 2018

Jokic was in the national spotlight when TNT came to Denver for the Nuggets’ matchup with OKC in February. As the hype began to build around Denver’s budding star, the scrutiny from those who didn’t watch him as closely intensified. Nuggets fans were pleased to see him step up and deliver a 29 point, 14 assist, and 13 rebound triple-double on national television. They were particularly pleased to see that 14th and final assist of the game, an inbounds pass that found the hands of Gary Harris, who drilled the game winning three as time expired.

3. Fastest Triple-Double in NBA History - @ Milwaukee Bucks, February 15, 2018

Later in that same month, Jokic and the Nuggets traveled to Milwaukee to take on Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks. Denver won the game handily, thanks to Jokic’s historic triple-double. He finished the game with 30 points, 17 assists, and 15 rebounds, securing his triple-double in roughly 15 minutes, an NBA record.

For Jokic, these accomplishments are of the organic variety. There’s no concerted effort by him to get his numbers, which is what makes this so hard to believe. 15 minutes? You can’t even do that in 2k. Not unless you’re playing on rookie mode. Coward.

2. Game 82 - @ Minnesota Timberwolves, April 11, 2018

In the final game of the regular season, Jokic and the Nuggets traveled north to take on the Timberwolves as both teams looked to end extended playoff droughts. The Nuggets would ultimately lose this game, otherwise one could make a strong case for it holding the top spot. Some might remember the way Jokic appeared to run out of gas in the final minutes of regulation and overtime, but the real ones focus on his otherworldly third quarter performance. As the Nuggets began to lose control of an actual must-win game, Jokic put his foot on the gas, and unleashed a scoring display that the true stans won’t ever forget. He put up 17 points on a perfect 7-7 from the field, knocking down a variety of near impossible shots when no one else looked capable of generating points.

I know they lost. But seriously, watch those third quarter buckets again. That’s some All-World level scoring.

1. The Perfect Game - Phoenix Suns, October 20, 2018

I don’t care if it’s the Phoenix Suns, the Perth Wildcats, or a group of sweaty old dudes at the YMCA—if you go for a 35-point triple-double while taking just eleven shots, hitting all of them and not turning the ball over once, that’s probably your best game.

Jokic was flawless in what was the second game of the season, setting the tone for what’s already been an electrifying campaign. It was the most impressive athletic performance that I’ve seen in person, and it’s one of the moments that I’ll remember when this guy’s jersey is eventually hung from the rafters in Pepsi Center. The crowd went wild as he stepped to the free throw line for the final time, showering him with chants of “M-V-P”. Somehow, I think this performance has been overlooked.

Jokic played a perfect game that night.

December 15th, 2016 changed the Denver Nuggets franchise for years to come

2018-12-14T01:58:09-07:00

Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

How a reeling franchise took a chance on being different.

The Denver Nuggets were spiraling.

In head coach Michael Malone’s second season, the franchise that tethered its hopes to 19-year-old Emmanuel Mudiay had struggled to begin the season. Trying to make things work with the raw and inexperienced point guard was difficult, and those issues were compounded by experimentation with an abnormally large starting lineup featuring Nikola Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic together. Both bigs were talented, yet inexperienced. That lack of veteran poise was showing. After a 3-5 start that felt a lot worse than it sounds in hindsight, Jokic volunteered to come off the bench for the betterment of the team. Malone obliged, leaving Nurkic as the focal point at center.

Things did not improve. With Nurkic as the starter for the next 17 games, the Nuggets went 6-11. The Bosnian center averaged the most turnovers per game during that stretch, and Jokic played more minutes than him in a bench role simply because the team was better with Jokic on the floor. On December 12th, 2016, the Nuggets were trounced on the road by the Dallas Mavericks. Only two players performed well for Denver that night - Jokic and Murray. Little did fans know that this game was the tipping point for the next several years of Nuggets basketball.

The Fateful Day

On December 15th, 2016, Michael Malone made the fateful decision to start Nikola Jokic and bench Jusuf Nurkic against...the Portland Trail Blazers. The team immediately reaped the benefits. Jokic had what is now considered a pedestrian stat line of just 13 points, four rebounds, and five assists in just 19 minutes, but the way the team played around him personified everything Denver wanted in an offense. They scored 132 points by spacing the floor, cutting backdoor, letting Jokic facilitate from the top of the key, and running hard in transition.

In addition, it gave Nuggets fans what may still be Nikola Jokic’s best highlight of his career.

Danilo Gallinari had 27 points that night, and when asked about how the new starting lineup impacted his ability to score, he spoke highly of the spacing and passing ability of all players on the floor.

“My teammates were finding me open at the right time,” Gallinari said. “Everybody, especially Jokic, is a great passer. So they can find you at any moment.”

The Blazers had no answer for Jokic facilitating and scoring on the short roll to the rim. With his basketball acumen and spatial awareness, Jokic picked apart Mason Plumlee, Noah Vonleh, and the rest of the Blazers front court by putting himself and his teammates in the best position to score. It was truly the beginning of Jokic-ball.

The rest of the 2016-17 season

From that moment on, Denver’s year completely changed, finishing the year by going 31-24 and narrowly missing the playoffs. More importantly though, the team had discovered their identity by taking a significant leap of faith. At the time, Jokic was a 21-year-old second round pick from overseas with decisive weaknesses to his game. He wasn’t an anchor on defense, but what he did provide was an outlet for excellent offense for the rest of the season.

The 2016-17 season was the year of Nikola Jokic’s arrival.

With Jokic as the starter for the rest of the season, the Nuggets dominated on the offensive end, so much so that they posted the best Offensive Rating in the NBA by far. Ahead of the Golden State Warriors. Ahead of the Houston Rockets. For a team that struggled to do anything well for awhile, the Nuggets finally found something they were good at: moving without the basketball. Jokic was at the center of it, throwing highlight passes, scoring with high efficiency, and making the team better. Among qualified starters, Jokic’s 118.2 Offensive Rating after December 15th was the third best in the NBA behind Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.

Jokic himself went on to have one of the most unique seasons of all time, averaging 16.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 4.9 assists on 64.0% True Shooting. The only big man in NBA history to ever match or exceed those averages was Charles Barkley, according to Basketball Reference. His synergy with teammates, most notably Gary Harris, helped Denver immensely throughout the year, as Jokic could rely on others to share the scoring burden as long as they directed the ball through him.

Jokic wasn’t perfect. He struggled to assert himself in crucial moments and his defense left a lot to be desired. Despite that, Denver had clearly found their cornerstone of the future. While first round pick Emmanuel Mudiay was initially deemed the savior of the franchise, second round pick Nikola Jokic nonchalantly saved it in the only way he knew how: being himself.

For a franchise defined by the phrase NuggLife, a singular representation of how unlucky things can get, the Nuggets finally lucked out. But that luck required opportunity, and an opportunity that could only be given if the head coach was willing to take a leap of faith. Michael Malone was under no obligation to commit to the young Serbian, and frankly, it could have been justified if he didn’t. Denver believed in Jusuf Nurkic as a potential cornerstone, and he had shown enough flashes to justify sticking with the Bosnian center for the purpose of development.

In addition, hindsight depicts how Nurkic reacted to the benching once it happened, something that Malone and his coaching staff may have foreseen. Still, they did it anyway. If things did not work with Jokic, Denver’s chemistry with that cast of characters may have gone up in flames much like other rebuilding organizations at various points in their march to relevancy. If that happens, coaches are usually fired. As it happens, the team responded well to Jokic in the starting lineup, but that doesn’t make it any less gutsy.

Fallout from a gutsy move

In the years to come, the Nuggets transitioned to become Jokic’s team. Scoring forward Danilo Gallinari was replaced by a two-way veteran in Paul Millsap. Scoring guard Jamal Murray replaced Mudiay and Jameer Nelson in the starting lineup, effectively forcing Jokic to adopt more playmaking responsibility. Since then, the Nuggets have gone full Jokic-ball, using sets that revolve around Jokic’s ability to see the entire floor, make the right read, and sometimes pass to teammates before they even know they’re open. In doing so, the Serbian center is averaging 7.6 assists per game, more than any center since Wilt Chamberlain, who averaged over 45 minutes per game during those high volume assist seasons.

More importantly though, the Nuggets are really good. Their learning experiences over the last two years have taught them about the necessity of defending at a high level, leading to an 18-9 record, Denver’s best start to the season since 2009-10. Even with the injuries piling up, the Nuggets remain really good because of their identity: run the ball through Jokic on offense and defend as well as you can.

In the end, none of this happens without the fateful events of December 15th, 2016. Jokic probably doesn’t turn into a player worthy of a max contract. Nurkic, Gallinari, and even Kenneth Faried might still be on the team. Michael Malone may have lost his job that year had he not done something drastic.

Nuggets fans - as we close out Jokic Week, take solace in looking back on the events of two years ago. The Nuggets were in trouble. They had just sustained one of their most demoralizing losses of the Michael Malone coaching era. Morale was at an all-time low, and there was very little to be hopeful for after an awful start to the year.

It may sound hyperbolic to call Jokic a franchise savior, but the two-year turnaround from that point to Denver’s current position (first place in the Western Conference, an abundance of young talent, and injury reinforcements on the way) clearly warrants it. None of this is possible without the Nuggets lucking into one of the best players drafted in the second round of all-time.

The Jokic era began two years ago, and it’s been so much fun every step of the way.

We are running out of reasons to doubt Nikola Jokic

2018-12-14T01:46:52-07:00

Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

A guest column by one of the best in the biz, Matt Moore

“Yeah, OK, sure.”

That, I will admit, was my reaction to pretty much everything Jokic related for the first solid year and a half of his career. When it was announced he was coming over, I thought that was nice. I was still very torn on European players then, with concerns about how games translated. It wasn’t that I thought European players were soft, it’s that I had watched a lot of those players just not work out. (Jan Vesely, come on down.)

”So he’s like a passing big?”

”I mean, he’s not a superstar.”

”The stats are nice but his defense is terrible.”

”He’ll never, ever be a good defender.”

”I don’t know if you can build around him.”

These are all things I’ve said about Jokic. He’s made a believer out of me at every turn, proven me wrong about everything. Do I still wonder about things, like what it will be like in the playoffs when teams shut down any and all cuts because attention to detail and effort is so much higher? Sure. Am I concerned about what happens when team abandon their systemic offense and decide to just have the best perimeter player attack him over and over? 100%.

But I also know this: Jokic has the goofiest, most hilarious way about him of any NBA superstar in recent memory, and yet the results bear out time and time and time again. No matter how much you think this guy can’t beat you, he does. And even with his pouting and occasional fits of malaise brought about by whatever is inside his head, I do know this: Jokic wants to be better. He doesn’t want to rip your throat out and step on it or shut the haters up, or any number of cliches that drive your typical superstars.

He wants to be better every night. He wants to play the game the right way. He understands this year that to do that means defense, something I never though he’d commit to.

Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

When I did a sitdown interview with him a few years ago to look at his passing, what really struck me was how much of an artist he is. NBA players are either artists or scientists. Paul Millsap is a scientist. Angles and numbers, body weights and verticals, mechanisms and counter-mechanisms. Jokic is an artist. He’s a player driven by the force of creation that basketball enables. He paints the canvas in a way we’ve never seen a player, much less a center, do so.

There’s always a lot of discussion in media circles about what Jokic is thinking going into a certain game/ matchup or about a situation. I almost never engage there, because I really don’t think anyone, not even Adam Mares, the Jokic Whisperer as I call him, can really get him. He’s different in a way that’s fascinating and frustrating and exciting and most of all confusing. That’s also part of what makes him great, though.

He’s not perfect, no player is, and anyone that watches him closely knows that. The most impressive thing about him continues to be clear however.

Every player on the floor is better with Jokic on the floor with them. Guards. Wings. Bigs. Shooters. Slashers. Screeners. Playmakers. Everyone excels when Nikola Jokic is on the floor. There are so many comparisons thrown around about him, from Sabonis to Gasol, but my favorite is Steve Nash. A different personality who never liked doing media, a funny guy who could see the court in remarkable ways, a guy who shot an obscenely high percentage but never wanted to get up shots to get shots up.

I was skeptical of everything with Jokic for so long and was proven wrong each time. So those concerns I brought to the table above? They’re also met with a very clear understanding that just like there’s no understanding Jokic’s mindset, there’s no understanding his ceiling either. Now I have that same response when met with what lofty things he could accomplish, only without a hint of sarcasm.

”Could he be the best big man in the league?”

”Yeah. OK. Sure.”

”Could he be an MVP candidate?”

”Yeah. OK. Sure. “

”Could he bring this ragtag franchise stuck in the mountains near the clouds and lead them to the promised land?”

Yeah.

OK.

Sure.

Matt Moore is a national NBA writer for The Action Network. He has covered the NBA for over a decade including as a columnist for CBSsports.com. He also founded Hardwood Paroxysm and the HP Basketball Network.

The Ultimate Jokic Highlight: Final Four

2018-12-14T01:24:15-07:00

We’re down to four of the best Nikola Jokic highlight plays

Overhead to Thrill vs. Trap in the Corner

There’s not a lot of context needed for the overhead pass to Will Barton. After the game, Thrill explained, “I knew he was going to throw that pass as soon as he picked up the ball. And exactly like that. I knew he was going to throw it behind his head. Once you start playing with guys, you know their tendencies. And I know Jok.” I know Jok too but he still surprises me and this pass caught me completely off-guard.

The trap in the corner pass does need some context. Jokic was en route to the fastest triple-double in NBA history. Not in modern NBA history. Not among centers. Among every player to ever play the game. Jokic was in his bag in this game and everything he did was pure gold.

One handed slinger vs. Casual flip pass

When the slinger happened, I distinctly remember Vic Lombardi tweeting out, “That pass by Jokic just now made me swallow my tongue.” It was a perfect comment. We weren’t used to Jokic throwing never-been-done-before type passes so this was still a new feeling. Here is this 7-foot center from the 2nd round who was throwing the types of passes you wouldn’t even attempt in your local YMCA league. Little did we know that this was only the beginning.

The casual flip pass came in the preseason following Jokic’s breakout sophomore season and it was like finding an oasis in a desert. How did we go an entire offseason without him? And it’s not some run of the mill pass. Have you ever seen this pass before or since? Joker is an original, man.

The Ultimate Nikola Jokic Highlight: Round Three

2018-12-13T09:11:19-07:00

Which plays will make the final four?

We’ve narrowed the pool down to 8, now it’s time to see which Nikola Jokic highlights make the final four in this bracket style elimination contest. There’s already been a few big surprises, including both bottom seeds making it to the regional final in the Flatirons Red bracket. There have also been a few very narrow wins. Let your voice be heard! Vote for all four finalists below and argue in the comments for whichever highlights you think deserve to go on Jokic’s Mt. Rushmore.

One handed slinger vs. No look wraparound

A battle between two classics. The one handed slinger won the last round by just 12 votes!

Game-winning assist vs. Trap in the corner

Pepsi Center was so loud after that game winning assist. And even Bucks fans were impressed with the behind the back pass.

One handed oop vs. Casual flip pass

I’ve never seen another player make either of these passes.

Overhead to Thrill vs. Over the head

These two passes are almost identical. The first was the original, the second the remix.

Nikola Jokic: the Transformer

2018-12-13T02:03:24-07:00

Nikola Jokic: plug and play | Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

The Denver Nuggets multi-tool center keeps improving as he goes. Surely he’s not a robot in disguise...

I was six hours into what was then the longest airplane ride of my life, when a friend sitting by the window started rummaging through his bag. He placed several items on his seat back tray before adding what I was pretty sure was the smallest Transformer I’d ever seen. I picked it up, trying to decide if it was supposed to turn into a plane or a laser gun. I couldn’t seem to get it to “transform”, as it were. I finally asked for a little help.

“Dude, what the hell is this?”

He stared at me for a second. “It’s my travel adapter. Why, what does yours look like?”

Travel... adapter? I spent the better part of the next half hour learning about travel adapters, coming to realize that I’d made a very dumb mistake and poorly prepared, which would leave me unable to charge or run any of my gadgets when we got to London. I was a teen, and hadn’t considered that everyone everywhere didn’t have type-B sockets. The damned thing actually was a transformer, and one I needed rather badly. Superb. I stopped in the first luggage store I saw at Heathrow, and asked about travel adapters. The lady behind the counter didn’t even look up from her book, and pointed me toward the back corner. It would seem I was not the first genius to cross the Atlantic without a way to plug his stuff in. I saw a rack of adapters, and wisely grabbed the cheapest one I saw.

Well, maybe not so wisely. Super smart... until we got to Paris a few days later. Then I discovered that my cheapo travel adapter had only been designed to help me out in London, as I was staring at yet again a whole new set of holes in the wall. Damnit. This shopping trip, I got some advice from the person behind the counter, listing the next several countries we’d be traveling through, in what was broken French at best. Unsurprisingly, I ended up with the most expensive adapter this time around, paying in a currency I was struggling to translate quickly. But everywhere I went after that, everything I needed to work did exactly that. My new little “transformer” was my translation tool to the entire European power grid, and it only cost me five times as much as it would have if I’d just studied up a little before departure and purchased one in Denver. Plus, I had the luxury of the instructions being in French. So dumb. I deservedly got dinged.

Conversely, Tim Connelly got his Transformer in Denver on the cheap.

Four scant seasons ago, the Denver Nuggets picked up a second-round insurance policy for their first-round draft pick at center. Seems Nikola Jokic could have used a travel alarm of his own during the NBA Draft, being fast asleep in Serbia when Denver used the 41st pick to pick him up. Jokic may have dreaming of the quesarito. Hard to say. Stiffs own Daniel C. Lewis tells that story far better than I ever could. Long story short, GM Connelly picked up a player who may be one of the NBA’s great “adapters” of all time - at 41st-pick prices. Were you to re-draft that class knowing what you know now, one would be hard-pressed to imagine Jokic falling any further than the second pick, and one could make a pretty solid argument to take him over Joel Embiid, that year’s third overall pick. It all depends on how much you like your winshares.

One of the key attributes of the Joker’s game that has taken him from impressive to awe-inspiring is in his abilities as an adapter. Jokic is more adaptable than the pricey cube I purchased above. He’s the AllSpark that transforms every player he plays with. The magic in Jokic’s game is in his ability to transform himself and others on the fly in every play he comes down the court. Need him to be the team’s leading scorer? He can give you that. Need him to lead in passing or rebounds? No problem. Need him to play strong and capable defense? Well, geez, apparently he can even do that too.

Need him to change which of those guys he is according to the team on the floor? Even switching roles several times during a play? Jokic can be any or all of those things. He can transform himself into (almost) whatever his team needs him to be, a talent that will only pay deeper and deeper dividends as this team matures and group indecision continues to recede.

But the league sees complete players all the time. They’re rare enough, but there are typically three to ten of them scattered across the league in any era. Where Jokic sets himself apart is in his abilities to help make any of the parts greater than the whole. With just about any other adapter for these parts, a number of the players who have seen time on the floor for the Nuggets this season would not be able to “plug in”. They don’t all fit a common theme. With a typically-abled center in the middle of this crew, you have mismatched and too-similarly matched parts surrounding him at best. With the uber-adapter that is Jokic in the middle, you can yank some pretty key pieces out of the Nuggets’ Jenga tower and still be standing solidly enough to win games. To be fair, Denver has some excellent players surrounding the Joker this season, and is one of the deepest teams in the league. But they’ve also lost a ton of games to injury for key players, and have routinely had guys playing in new and unfamiliar roles, with Jokic routinely keeping the engine running when on the floor. I’m not saying Nikola Jokic could win with four guys from a solid YMCA squad. I’m just not NOT saying it either.

What is missing from Jokic’s game any more? Not much, really. The ability to jump, we hear. The desire to spend a lot of time with the media, possibly. Desiring attention of any sort from anyone other than those he loves and trusts, for sure. Eventually Jokic will come to understand that Denver loves him almost as much as Sombor does, and wants a long time to deepen the relationship. He may still be missing an All-Star appearance, but that will be coming some season soon, and then this little adapter secret will be out for all to see. Once the All-Stars get a chance to play with Jokic once a season, they’ll want him back every time. Who doesn’t want to be made to look as good as the Joker makes you look? He’s the ultimate giver. He showed flashes of the same during his sophomore season All-Star appearance in the Rising Stars USA vs World game:

Nikola Jokic simply makes the guys around him better, and exponentially improves that ability with someone as he gets to know them well. He has already proven himself to be a rarity, routinely accomplishing things that few players in the league ever have, let alone a player from Denver, let alone a guy in his first four years. When you can raise your own game, you’re special. When you can raise everyone else’s... Well, that’s something else’s.

The best part of Jokic’s gift is that at it’s core, it’s cerebral, and should only get better with age. Add that his style of play could well be described as low-impact, and know that his career could very well be as long-lived as any. Should he fulfill his long-term potential, he could become one of the NBA’s all-time greats, and hopefully all of those years and stats will be courtesy of the Joker powering and empowering your Denver Nuggets. He’s certainly more than meets the eye.

Enjoy Jokic Week on Denver Stiffs. Hopefully Nuggets Nation will be enjoying him for years and years (and years) to come.