Denver Nuggets: 3 takeaways from 2017-18 season opener

2. Jokic and Millsap are going to be as fun as advertised

When Paul Millsap agreed to sign with the Denver Nuggets in the offseason, his partnership with Nikola Jokic was instantly tagged as one of the best frontcourts in the NBA. It’s a rarity these days to have an offense built around two big men, but these are two of the most balanced big men in terms of diversity of offensive skill-sets in the league.

While neither produced high-scoring nights, they played well off each other for their first time in regular season action together. Millsap had more spacing for driving and post-ups with Jokic pulling his defender out of the paint, and vice-versa when Jokic was on the block. Both had their struggles from deep, but the threat of making 3-point shots is good enough to create space for teammates.

What makes these two unique as a big man duo is their ability to drive and create for others. Millsap didn’t have the assist numbers, but there were plenty of times when he got around his defender, drew another defender and kicked it to an open teammate. Both are great passers out of the post as well, which will reward players who cut to the rim, if they do so.

One thing I’d like to see is some Jokic-Millsap pick-and-roll. It’s difficult to run this effectively against a dominant defensive team like Utah and their massive frontcourt pairing of Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors, but there will be size advantages if opponents switch. Millsap can turn the corner on most 5s and Jokic is too big for 4s to handle. Their developing jumpers could hurt teams that go under screens.