Nuggets haters cry now: Nikola Jokic is better than ever
By Mary J. Russell
As of this writing, the NBA Leader in Scoring, Assists AND Rebounding is the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic. Having been blessed to watch this man play every night for my favorite team, this season is like nothing we have seen yet. Night in and night out, Jokic produces, orchestrates — he masters the action on the court. Joker’s game right now is Total Domination. The numbers do not lie. Neither does the Ring.
Many “experts” don’t understand who Jokic really is. Words like “lumbering” and “nice guy” have been used to describe him. Uh ah. Jokic is fiercely competitive, supremely strategic, and in fact has massive athletic ability to do what he does; he charges the lanes in the same way a Great White Shark would emerge quickly from the depths to capture a seal. Poor seal.
LeBron James made a mistake last season when picking the NBA’s ridiculous-format All-Star Team selection process. Jokic was left standing there, made to look totally awkward. LeBron didn’t even pick him, though Jokic mistakenly stepped up, not knowing exactly what to do. Like a 2-time League MVP gets picked second-to-last. James called Jokic “Mr. Triple-Double.” That seemed like a tribute, yet not really… Therefore, with all the powers of sports karma in play, the Lakers fully deserved to be swept 4-0 by Denver in the Western Conference Finals.
The Nuggets’ run to an NBA Championship was the greatest achievement by a sports team in Denver since the Broncos won their second Super Bowl in 1998. Sure the Avalanche, triple Stanley Cup Champions, are an outstanding NHL franchise and the pride of Colorado in many ways. (While the Rockies are mostly something to do downtown in summer, and unfortunately not much else.)
The Nuggets are most special because they accomplished the ultimate success by leaving every doubter in a cloud of Rocky Mountain dust. Since the Avalanche have never faced the kind of resistance that the Nuggets have faced (the Avs have been embraced and celebrated by the NHL while the NBA would like to pretend the Nuggets don’t exist, but Denver has made that impossible.)
What Jamal Murray did in Games 2 and 3 vs LA was like a dream sequence. You had Murray and Michael Porter Jr. hitting back-to-back 3’s in a game-winning situation in Denver to put LA down — in that moment those two players became everything they could ever be in the hearts of Denver Nuggets’ fans — it was a dream come true, smacking the Lakers like that on their way to the NBA Finals. (As of this writing, Denver has won 13 straight games over Los Angeles, between the Lakers and the Clippers. As “Queens Mike” Malone would say, “Put that in your pipe and smoke it.”)
Meanwhile, the NBA should understand, Nikola Jokic is not a nice guy. He is in fact, a total bad-ass. As the ROCK of the Denver Nuggets, Jokic is putting up insane numbers right now, very likely as a result of Murray’s absence. Certainly Murray will pick up the load when he returns and Jokic’s numbers may level off a bit. The early-season schedule has been nearly inhumane, with the team playing 5 games in 7 nights, ending in high-flying Sacramento of all places. Denver had no legs left last night, still only losing to the Kings by 5. Who made up that schedule must be a Lakers fan.
It remains to be seen if Denver will repeat as NBA Champions. All we can say is that it has been an amazing ride, seeing all of this unfold. I would say, when Denver gets healthy and remains undefeated at home — only Miami has managed one win in Denver since I can’t even remember when — look out! The rookies are inconsistent, though Peyton Watson is going to be a great defender and Denver needs rookie Julian Strother to find his shot coming off the bench. Most of all, Denver needs Murray healthy alongside Jokic, as well as MPJ, Aaron and KCP, to get a second ring.