Denver Nuggets: The return of Nikola Jokic

The Denver Nuggets regained their superstar Nikola Jokic after a five-game absence. With the Western Conference in flux, Denver could rise close to the top of the playoff picture.

After some major moves in 2017, the Denver Nuggets appeared to be firmly in the playoff picture for the 2017-18 season. The team sent Jusuf Nurkic to the Portland Trail Blazers so that they could hand the reins of the franchise to Nikola Jokic. Then, they traded away Danilo Gallinari shortly after signing Paul Millsap to fill out their frontcourt rotation.

So far this season, those moves appear to be paying off. Despite losing Millsap to a wrist injury in mid-November, the Nuggets won 12 of their first 21 games. They were firmly in the thick of the Western Conference playoff picture.

Nikola Jokic missed Denver’s first seven games in December, a stretch that saw the team lose four of seven games, including an embarrassing 17-point loss to the Dallas Mavericks. The Nuggets prevailed in Jokic’s first game back and could gain some ground with him back in the fold.

Offensive execution

The impact of Nikola Jokic on the Nuggets’ offense is abundantly clear to anyone who watches the team. Jokic will frequently bring the ball up the court himself, and run the offense in a truly unique way. Only Ben Simmons, LeBron James, and occasionally Blake Griffin are as central to their team’s scoring and passing as Jokic is every night in Denver among frontcourt players.

The Nuggets dished out 30 assists as a team in Jokic’s first game back against the New Orleans Pelicans. They did not do that once during Jokic’s absence to start the month of December. While 30 assists in a game is an almost impossible standard for any team outside of the Golden State Warriors, the team’s passing success in Jokic’s first game back is certainly significant.

Jokic’s scoring numbers are down somewhat (third on the team at 15.4 points per game) after averaging 17.9 points, 10.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game as a starter last season. However, Jokic is also a full-time starter for the first time in his career. With Millsap out for at least another month, Jokic will have plenty of chances to score and pass. Hopefully, he can get back into his dominant rhythm from down the stretch of the 2016-17 season.

Future outlook

Prior to their Dec. 18 game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Denver Nuggets were tied with Portland for the fifth-best record in the Western Conference. The dominance of the top three teams in the conference, coupled with Kawhi Leonard‘s return, make a top-three seed all but impossible for the rest of the West.

With that in mind, the race for homecourt advantage in the Western Conference will be critical for Denver’s playoff destiny. Beating any of the top three teams in the West will be out of reach (barring injury) for anyone else in a seven-game series.

However, the Nuggets could solidify their standing in the conference with a first-round win. Given the altitude advantage of their home floor, the 4-seed could mean the difference between a quick first round out and a chance to make some noise in the conference semifinals.

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The Denver Nuggets are doing quite well for themselves despite the extended absence of their second-best player. With their main superstar Nikola Jokic now back in the mix, a solid next few weeks for the Nuggets could easily determine their playoff ceiling.