No joke: There’s no panic about Jokic’s rough stretch
With a crowd of reporters surrounding Nikola Jokic in the hallway outside the Nuggets’ locker room Monday, coach Michael Malone started jokingly hollering at his standout big man.
“Nikola, you haven’t scored in six quarters! Are you OK?” Malone yelled. “I still love you!”
Jokes aside, it has been a curious start to the season for the Nuggets’ best player. Heading into Monday night’s game against Washington, he had not scored in six quarters but still led the team in rebounds (21) and assists (15) through two games.
“If I don’t score, who cares?” Jokic said after Monday’s shootaround. “The more important thing is that we win. I’m here to help my team win. That’s it.”
Malone understands the outside expectations that Jokic should continue to develop into an all-star-caliber player, and that opponents are now game-planning to stop the third-year pro. Jokic is also still working to find chemistry with allstar free agent acquisition Paul Millsap, who finished with 18 points and nine rebounds Saturday. Pace of play could also be a factor in Jokic’s start to the season, Malone said, as the Jazz and Kings are two of the more methodical teams in the NBA.
Still, the coach shouldered a portion of the blame, saying he needs to call more plays specifically for Jokic early in the game.
“Now it’s up to him to make the right play,” Malone said. “I trust him 1,000 percent. Most nights he’s going to take what the defense gives him. I definitely don’t want him going four more quarters without scoring. That’s not good for him, that’s not good for us in the long run. He’s way too important to this team.”
Yet Jokic deadpanned that the people who have him on their fantasy team are likely the most upset about his lack of scoring.
Footnotes.
The Nuggets announced that rookie forward Tyler Lydon has been assigned to the G League’s Rio Grande Valley Vipers. Additionally, two-way players Monte Morris and Torrey Craig have been transferred to the G League’s Vipers and Sioux Falls Skyforce, respectively .... Richard Jefferson was activated for his first game with Nuggets after being acquired last week.
All three players were inactive for the Nuggets’ first two regularseason games. As part of their twoway contracts, Morris and Craig are permitted to spend 45 days with the Nuggets this season. Lydon was acquired as part of a draft-night trade with the Utah Jazz but was part of Denver’s logjam in the frontcourt.
“After a while, when you’re a guy that’s not playing in games for us, there’s only so much you can do in practice,” Malone said. “I think you have to put all that work you’re (doing) individually player development-wise, and start putting it into game situations and see how that transfers.”
— Gina Mizell, The Denver Post