HotRocks34 wrote:Jokic and the Nuggets hit bottom 8 games ago at home against the Rockets.
It was the second straight game in which Jokic shot poorly (at least for much of the game) and despite a late comeback, Denver got mauled and had their first loss at home.
Following the Houston loss, Denver's offense has become a bit less Jokic-centric. The thinking seems to be that if he's not going to get calls then the team needs to feed him a bit less and give the defense more looks.
Since then, Denver is 6-1 which includes a 4-0 road record (they are not a good road team).
In this stretch, Jokic had an 8/9/7 game in a win over the Mavs. He took just 8 shots.
Denver is currently on pace for around 54 wins (20-10). The most games they've ever won in a season since Jokic arrived is 54. At this point last year they were 19-11.
Long term, all of these roadblocks are going to help Denver. Jokic will probably get a better whistle in the playoffs than he's getting now, which is the opposite case from most players. Denver having to expand its offense will give it more ways to play in the postseason and it's making individual players besides Jokic grow their games and accept more responsibility. The young bench is making large strides.
The key to everything is that Jokic is accepting the situation rather than fighting it. He's been really ticked off about the reffing this year and he's been tossed from a couple of games for it, but now he seems at peace and isn't whining about things like scoring just 8 points. If he wasn't like this, everything would collapse.
Anyways, Denver has regained their groove. Jokic is slowly working through how to attack the newest schemes against him while not blowing up at the refs.
Denver is methodically plugging along, just slightly under the radar, but in increasingly good position to defend its title.
The more adversity now, the bigger the payoff come the playoffs.
Well said. He's like Duncan in that regard - WE not ME. Ready to do whatever is needed to win.
How many superstars do you see upping their FGA consistently, taking a backseat (< 15 shots a game!) last year, then upping it again? He conforms to whatever style wins games.
During this 6-1 streak, he has only shot 13.3 FGA. This is less than any season he has played as a full time starter (3rd season)
He has gotten it done in other ways though (21/10/8/2/1 with only 1.3 TURNOVERS A GAME), and his efficiency has skyrocketed (60/53/86 shooting splits). He also sets an incredible amount of screens during this stretch, even more than usual. He seems resigned to "Alright, I'm not getting obvious fouls called, let me just do whats needed to win, and the whistle will be correct in the playoffs".
I gotta give him credit for that. He never disappears.
wouldn't bet on it. I know my people 