Essentially, different statistics provide drastically different conclusions. The Ringer’s Zach Kram wrote a very thoughtful piece earlier this year, explaining exactly how hard it is to specifically quantify Jokic’s defense. However, that number increases to a whopping 116.2 points per 100 when he is not. Let that sink in: Jokic won the MVP award last season, and this year, he is recording an additional 5.8 defensive rebounds per 100 possessions.Ģ2 PTS, 18 REB, 5 AST, 4 STL /ZX1BNAjOvJĪs a whole, Denver is allowing 105.5 points per 100 possessions when Jokic is on the floor, per PBPStats. He has actually grabbed rebounds on 31.6 percent of all opponents’ missed field goals, which trails just Rudy Gobert for the best mark in the league thus far. That shatters his previous personal-best mark, which was 12.7 defensive rebounds per 100 in 2018-19. Jokic is currently recording a career-best 17.3 defensive rebounds per 100 possessions. Not only are opponents missing those shots more often, but when Jokic is active, the Nuggets actually do a much better job limiting opposing offensive rebounds and instead grab defensive boards on missed shots. Specifically, the Nuggets are shooting 8.2 percentage points worse on short, midrange shots when he is on the floor (40.5 percent) compared with when he is off (48.7 percent) so far this season. According to Cleaning The Glass, that currently ranks in the 97th percentile. Opponents have an effective field goal percentage that is 6.1 points worse when Jokic is playing than when he is not. He scores like KD, passes like LeBron, rebounds like Gobert, and defends like…slightly buzzed prime Marc Gasol? That’s good enough. Jokić is so far clear of the best player argument. For him, it’s the on-off metrics that illustrate his value. Jokic, indeed, has gotten better, but it’s not the counting stats, like blocks, that make him stand out. “He came up to me that following year and said something along the lines of ‘I saw what you said about my defense, you were right’ or ‘I appreciate it’ and he said ‘I’ve gotten better’, I said ‘you’ve 100-percent gotten better, I’ve been watching you this year, and you’ve 100-percent gotten better.'” As recently as September 2020, while appearing on TNT’s Inside the NBA, Golden State star Draymond Green was very critical of Jokic’s defense.īut here is what Green recently said about how Jokic took the feedback ( via NBC Sports): Moments like that remind us that Jokic has come a long way in just a short period of time. Nikola Jokic has 3 game-winning blocks in 2021. It wasn’t the first time that has happened this season! 28, the play that sealed the game was actually a block from Jokic. When the Nuggets defeated the Golden State Warriors on Dec. Presumably with the added confidence of his coach behind him, the big man has shown the ability to step up and make a difference as a defensive playmaker when it matters. Malone, however, also added that Jokic is the anchor of Denver’s defense. Jokic’s block percentage ranks in just the 36th percentile among players at his position, per Cleaning the Glass. Malone is right in that, unlike other centers, Jokic is not a dominant rim protector. Nuggets head coach Michael Malone called Jokic an “ easy mark” because he’s not that “shot-blocking athletic guy” who makes defensive plays at the rim. Some even worried that Denver could not become a contender if Jokic was the centerpiece of its defensive attack moving forward. However, his defense was always more of a concern. Because of a hamstring tweak, Murray didn’t even play into the second half of a preseason game.Īs much as Jokic wants to help Murray amid his long road back to normalcy, the franchise center told his point guard that his return from an ACL tear is “basically your war.As one of the most unique talents in the game, Nikola Jokic is the NBA’s reigning MVP due to his dazzling skillset on offense. Unlike last season, when Jokic was missing two max-salary players in Murray and Michael Porter Jr., the Nuggets have more than enough weapons to survive until Murray gets his legs under him and builds his conditioning back. If the two-time MVP expects you to underperform and has no problem with a slow build, nobody in the NBA sphere should have a problem with it either. In a round-about way, it was also him alleviating any undue pressure. This was Jokic acknowledging that the Murray who hits the court (likely on a minutes restriction) in Denver’s season opener won’t be close to the Murray we see at Christmas, or even at the All-Star break. Jokic’s humor tends to be so dry that the casual observer might construe his message as a jab. ![]() “I know he’s gonna be really bad for the next 20 games, but we’re gonna survive.” “I love to play with him, of course,” Jokic said. ![]() Digital Replica Edition Home Page Close Menu
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