![]() This prediction dovetails with the above projection for Denver’s all-around improvement on three-point shooting, which if it comes to pass should help boost Jokic’s assist numbers. Nikola Jokic has been progressively ramping up the number of triple-doubles he nets each season, with six in 2016-17, 10 in 2017-18, and 12 last season. Nikola Jokic Gets 20 Or More Triple-Doubles But all the ingredients are already present for the Nuggets to have not just a very-good but downright elite offense provided they stay relatively healthy. Likewise to that end, Jokic’s teammates will need to be mindful of moving, cutting and spacing the floor to optimize his playmaking opportunities. With the majority of their rotation returning, and nearly all players entering the season in good health, Denver should be able to pick up where they left off and then some.įor the Nuggets to be a top-three offense will likely require that Jamal Murray takes another big step which includes more focus on creating for others so Denver can diversify their offense beyond the Jokic-Murray two-man game. The Nuggets ranked seventh in offensive efficiency last season with an offensive rating of 112.9, but it’s safe to say that if Gary Harris, Will Barton and Paul Millsap had all remained healthy (injuries to the first two contributing to their drop-off in shooting percentages), they would likely have finished in the top five. ![]() With the likelihood that at least two or three of Jamal Murray, Gary Harris, Will Barton and Nikola Jokic will bounce back, along with the replacement of Trey Lyles (25.5% from the arc last season) with Jerami Grant (39.2%), conditions for the Nuggets to get back up above 37% and into the top 10 in the league look favorable. The cause in part was the drop-off in percentages by all four of Denver’s four most voluminous three shooters from the season before to last. According to Cleaning the Glass, which discards end-of-quarter heaves to get more accurate shooting percentages, the Nuggets were 19th in the league in three-point percentage last season at 35.6%, down from 9th at 37.4% in 2017-18 and 11th at 37.5% in 2016-17. Last July I wrote for Forbes on why I believe the Nuggets’ three-point shooting will bounce back this season (click the link for the deep dive). The Nuggets Improve To Top-10 In Three-Point Percentage, Shooting 37% Or Higher If he simply replicates his performance from last season he should be firmly in the mix, and if he can find ways of improving (see the next prediction), he should emerge as one of the front-runners. Last season Jokic finished fourth in MVP voting, and while he may be facing stiffer competition this year, he is also surrounded by the strongest team ever assembled through the course of his Nuggets career. Nikola Jokic Finishes Top-Three In MVP Voting, But Doesn’t Win The Award But the Nuggets team that enters the playoffs six months from now in 2020 stands a good chance of being considerably better than the current incarnation, so Denver just might be up for the challenge. The path to reaching the conference finals will almost inevitably go though at least one of the newly-formed “superstar duo” teams in Los Angeles or Houston, and that will be no small feat. ![]() Now Denver is armed with a solid dose of playoff experience and a roster with fewer weaknesses to expose, and are well-positioned to secure home court advantage at least through the first two rounds of the postseason. This effectively means that the only way to improve on that performance would be to at least make it to the Western Conference finals. In the first playoff appearance of the Jokic Era, the Nuggets got to within four points of winning game seven of their second round series against Portland. ![]() Please explainĤ Marcus Morris has been unhappy with his role on the Clippers, per “During recent weeks Morris has made known within league circles his displeasure about his abrupt role change late last season and the team’s sparse communication with him around itĥ Rudy Gobert, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid among the Wolves players in town working out.The Nuggets Reach The Western Conference Finals, But Their Road Ends There Bradley Beal (averaging 21 / 3 / 3) is the missing piece. New Post Game Thread Nikola Jokic dominates the 2023 NBA Finals and earns Finals MVP, averaging 30.2/14/7.2 for the series and the Denver Nuggets are NBA Champions! Top Team Subreddit Postsġ Per Eric Walden, Lauri and his wife view Utah as the place they want to buy a house, settle down, and send their kids to school.Ģ "Henderson's camp would welcome the opportunity for Scoot to be the primary ball handler in Toronto, where he would succeed Fred VanVleet, expected to leave in free agency this summer."ģ Harden (averaging 21 / 11 / 7) is washed.
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