In the first 15 games of the season, the Nuggets relied on Nikola Jokic and Will Barton to deliver a 9-6 record. Michael Porter Jr.'s shooting percentage plummeted, and later suffered a back injury that required a long suspension; the bench was almost useless except for a few flashes; and the team's other starters were decent, but they didn't help win decisively. The whole team has been being carried. Luckily, their MVP is currently healthy enough to bear the burden, but unfortunately no one seems to notice.
Jokic has missed only one game since the start of the season: he was suspended for one game in retaliation for a vicious foul on Markiff Morris in his victory over the Heat on November 8. He scored just one game without scoring 20: a 31-point loss against the Lone Ranger, where he shot 5-of-9 and delivered eight assists, but only played 25 minutes. Even though he's playing at a super high level, he doesn't seem to be in the MVP discussions of the season.
Different agencies have different estimates of his odds of winning, but overall, his chances of winning the MVP are sixth, behind Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid. Although each of them had some reason for winning, none of them played jokic's performance (except perhaps Curry). Durant doesn't have Kyrie Owen's help, but james Harden by his side. Doncic has Porzingis, who is recovering. Juju Holliday and Chris Middleton have started to play with Antetokounmpo, and their record is currently only 7-8. Embiid is missing because of the new crown and has not played in 6 games. Jokic, on the other hand, without Porter and Jamal Murray around, is still dragging the Nuggets to win the game.
It is difficult to stop in the forbidden area
This season, Jokic's shooting percentage has soared to 59.3 percent, and his two-point shooting percentage has increased to 65.4 percent. In the past, there have only been four appearances where a player can score at least 25 points at a rate above 59 percent. Since Shaquille O'Neal in 1993-94, the most recent thing to do is Last Season's Zehn Williamson. Jokic is accomplishing the feat and is the second-highest-shot of the five players. What can the 76ers do against the Nuggets? Jokic received the ball in the neutral zone with a big man on either side. But he was undaunted, squeezing straight past them and then hitting a layup. They kept raising their arms and tried to stop him from shooting without fouling, but he still managed to score. His offense was fantastic.
Looking at the following two rounds, note the time difference, the two rounds are exactly the same: in four minutes, Jokic was defended in the same area by two centers in two rounds. It didn't matter to him at all. He scored with exactly the same moves, and he couldn't stop either round. Defenders tried to push him to the bottom line, but Jokic met head-on and scored two points with a rebound. Even if you succeed in defending him in the ideal way, he can still take the move and find a way to score.
See everything when holding the ball
Anyone who knows me knows that as soon as LeBron James entered the league, I was a fan of him. I won't talk about his honors here, but he's widely regarded as one of the best passers of all time and may be the top player in the frontcourt. As far as the frontcourt players are concerned, even if Jokic has not yet surpassed him, it is at least worth discussing. Take a look at the goal he passed to Austin Rivers last night. He was on the left wing, with his back to the basket. If he passes the ball directly, there will be three defenders who will interfere instantly. He saw Sheik Milton turn his head for half a second while Seth Curry slipped into no man's land. He immediately lost the ball to Rivers, who was completely unprepared before receiving it. At this point, the 76ers defense is messy, and he can break through the score immediately. Jokic attracts all the defensive attention, which makes his teammates always have to be extra prepared to catch the ball when they get the chance and finish scoring.
One of the parts that I think was most underrated in the Nuggets' one-turn against the Lone Ranger was the perception that Jokic didn't see Aaron Gordon before passing the ball. In fact, it was a perfect combination of two teammates: Jokic knew what Gordon wanted to do, and Gordon was in the right place. Jokic saw Gordon in the bottom corner, but the passing route wasn't as safe as he had hoped. How do I open this route? He turned and leaned toward the basket, luring Doncic to assist. Once so, he was at a height high enough for him to spread anywhere. That's how he found Gordon to let him shoot in the open three-point position. Jokic is the perfect combination of size, strength and basketball IQ, which makes him an offensive core that is the best defense and hard to stop.
Defensive ends are not what they used to be
For years, the place you could target Jokic was on his defensive end. You can let him change his defense and hit him, hoping to deplete him in this way and make him less powerful on the offensive end. Now, thanks to his physical progress, he's also a problem for opponents on the defensive end. Both his offensive and defensive BPM hit career highs, with a defensive BPM of 5.0 compared to his previous high of 2.9. Take a look at the following round against the Lone Rangers: Jokic is alone and needs to start defending Porzingis at the 3-point line, as the latter is hot all night outside the three-point line. Porzingis initiates the breakthrough, while Jokic slides his feet, keeping Porzingis wrapped around him, allowing him to eventually be blocked. Porzingis couldn't get close to the basket, and the Dallas ended up shooting a bad shot. When Antetokounmpo won the MVP, he was praised for being an attack-defense one. Jokic may not get the DPOY trophy, but he's proving he's not a crane tail on the defensive end as many believe.
The final round is something that many NBA centers can't do. Jokic switched to a small player, striker Reggie Bullock. Bullock threatened to pull up a jumper and tried to fool Jokic with tentative steps. However, he finally broke through from the bottom line, and Jokic followed him every step. Bullock went to a rebound, and Jokic flew into the block, grabbed the rebound, and started the fast attack. Some centers switched to the point where the little ones were able to keep up with them. Some centers have enough athleticism and defensive skills to complete a block. Some can launch a quick attack on the offensive end, but there are only a few people like Jokic who can do everything.