13.12.2016.
The Nuggets were finishing a season-long six-game road trip and played like it, shooting 42 percent with their starters getting outscored 80-37. Backup center Nikola Jokic led Denver with a season-high 27 points and 11 rebounds. He scored 23 of Denver’s 49 second-half points. He had his third double-double in the past four games. I popravio je broj ubačenih slobodnih bacanja bez promašaja na jednoj utakmici sa 6 na 7. 7/7.7-7.
TheDNVR.com je iscrpno analizirao Nikolinu poziciju i igru u ovom delu sezone, i dao pogled na njegovu ulogu u nastavku sezone – In the Nuggets’ past six games, Nikola Jokic has recorded five double-doubles, is coming off a career-high 27-point performance against Dallas, and was somehow a +2 plus-minus in 26 minutes in Denver’s 20-point loss. On the season, the Nuggets are now 7.5 points per 100 possessions better on offense with Jokic on the floor and 2.4 points per 100 possessions better on defense, according to NBA.com.
Jokic has not only rebounded from his struggles at the beginning of the year but is currently the Nuggets’ best player.
He’s rediscovered his aggressiveness on offense, his playmaking ability from the post, and is getting back to the player who was such a joy to watch on his way to a third-place finish in last year’s Rookie of the Year voting during a historical 80 games where the Serbian posted some of the highest rated advanced statistics in league history.
It’s time for Denver to come home, start Jokic, play him around 30 minutes per game, a total he’s somehow only eclipsed twice this season, with consistent rotations, and figure out how to put him in the best positions to succeed. As a result, Jusuf Nurkic could move to the bench, still play close to 20 minutes a night and have the offense run through him in the post as he punishes second-unit centers, something he’s already shown he can do this season.
There have been many mistakes and pitfalls already made this year in Denver, but none stands out more than how the Nuggets have misused Jokic. After getting miscast as a four next to Nurkic in the starting lineup at the onset of this season, his confidence was shot and his performance on the court suffered, so much so that he asked to be moved to the bench, a selfless move that not many NBA players would go for.
Now, Jokic is playing inconsistent minutes as the backup center; 19 in a win over the Suns back on November 16, 27 two days later in a loss to the Raptors. Then, 18 in a home win over the Bulls, followed by 23, 29, 31, then 24 minutes respectively over his next five games.
Against Dallas Monday night, Jokic was on the court for two stretches. The first, a 10-minute stint from the middle of the first to the seven-minute mark of the second quarter. And the second, a stretch that would make even Russell Westbrook keel over, from the 4:48 mark in the third through the rest of the game – 17 minutes straight in total.
Getting Jokic consistent starter minutes should be a priority. Players like to know when they’ll play and around how much they’ll play night in and night out. It will set the Nuggets up to play better basketball for the rest of this season, even if that doesn’t mean playoffs, and lay a foundation for 2017-18 if Denver decides to look towards the lottery rather than the top-eight in the West
No matter which way Denver’s season goes, establishing Jokic at center, with the first unit should be priority No. 1. To his credit, Malone has given Jokic more consistent time, 21, 28, 26, and then 26 minutes since the big man recently returned from a wrist injury that sidelined him for four games.
The next step is starting Jokic and working towards a rotation that doesn’t require the big man to play a 17-minute stretch in the second half to close out a game.
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