The NBA has a new book on Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, and it not only weighs more than the old Encyclopedia Britannica, the league now throws every volume at him every night.
“I told the fellas at halftime: ‘Get used to this. We’re going to see this for the next 20 games,’ ” coach Michael Malone said Wednesday, after Denver escaped with a too-gritty-to-be-pretty 116-110 victory against Sacramento.
“Teams are not guarding anybody not named No. 15, Nikola Jokic. You can take it personally, but it’s going to happen. How do we react to that?”
In the stack of modern analytics that measures everything from effective field-goal percentage to usage rate, and with all those statistics suggesting that no pro basketball player has ever been more consistently spectacular, one big number gets overlooked with Joker.
On a tender, puffy left ankle he obviously dragged up down the court in Ball Arena, Jokic played his 2,000 minute of this NBA campaign against the Kings. In his 10th season, the three-time MVP has never played more than the 36.1 minutes per game he’s averaging now.
“He’s not at 100 percent,” Malone said. “Availability is one of the most important stats in this business, and his availability is among the greatest players that play this game. His availability is through the roof.”
Jokic will almost certainly finish this season ranked among the top 12 in playing time. He’s an ironman in an era of load management. Not too shabby for a guy that some hoops pundits still ignorantly regard as unathletic.
“It’s not just the minutes, he plays. But think about what he shoulders every night that’s in those minutes,” Malone said. “He’s the anchor and centerpiece of our defense, which he doesn’t get enough credit for. He’s a guy that we play through (offensively). He’s got to score for us, he’s got to play-make for us, he’s got to rebound for us, he’s got to make everybody around him better.”
Jokic hauled down 15 rebounds and chipped in 22 points, but the way the Kings harassed him to cut down his normally uncanny court vision showed up with an uncommon seven turnovers.
This was one of those nights in the NBA where pride matters as much as talent. From the opening tip, Denver had no jump, looking too pooped to pop a shot, much less guard anybody.
After Christian Braun hit a long jumper to put the Nuggets ahead 3-2 only 50 seconds into the first quarter, they did not lead again until Zeke Nnaji hit a three-point shot from the top of the key to give them a 96-95 advantage with 8:17 remaining in the final period.
Led by a late scoring outburst by Russell Westbrook, who led the Nuggets with 25 points, Denver secured an ugly victory at home by outscoring Sacramento 32-17 during the 12 minutes before the final buzzer.
“Hell of a win,” Malone said.
“As I was walking off the court tonight, somebody said: ‘We’ll take it.’ You’re damn right we’ll take it.”
Denver now owns a thoroughly unremarkable 15-16 record against foes playing at least .500 basketball. During recent losses to the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics, two teams the Nuggets might well have to beat in the playoffs in order to hoist the championship trophy in June, it has become blatantly clear that rival coaches disrespect Denver’s ability to shoot from beyond the three-point arc or even consistently nail mid-range jumpers under duress.
The strategy is about as subtle as how the Lilliputians took down Gulliver back in the day. Teams are not only swarming Jokic with two and sometimes three defenders, they’re stinging him, scratching and clawing the Nuggets center, unashamed to draw blood on his arms in a cynical attempt to rattle his composure.
Malone was asked if refs tend to turn a blind eye when smaller defenders treat Jokic like a punching bag.
“Next question,” replied Malone, biting his tongue to avoid a fine from the league office. “I appreciate the question, I really do. There are so many things I want to say. If you guys want to start a GoFundMe …”
Nobody on the planet is capable of turning basketball into a pure art form the way Joker can.
But there’s a new book on how to beat the Nuggets:
Muck him up.
How well Jokic and his teammates deal with this dirty dancing will determine how long they survive and advance in the NBA playoffs.
