By james art If we were to make a list of teams that depend heavily on one player, the Denver Nuggets would definitely rank very high there. Nikola Jokic showed off one of the biggest NBA surgeries of the past few years. However, this is not always a good thing.
included Gil’s Arenahost Josiah Johnson pointed out that Nuggets fans will worry that Jokic and Co. narrowly edged the Raptors, a team that hasn’t been a title contender the past few seasons, in an overtime thriller in Toronto. Former NBA star Gilbert Arenas blamed the loss on the Nuggets’ over-reliance on the Joker.
The three-time All-Star believes the Nuggets don’t know how to perform without the Serbian spearheading the offense and shouldering most of the responsibilities. In addition to being the main scorer for his team, Jokic is also known for giving his teammates easy shots when double-teaming.
The three-time All-Star believes those kinds of plays have made the Nuggets weaker on the offensive end when their leader isn’t on the floor. arenas said “When your offense runs through it [Jokic]scoring and passing the ball, that makes sense. You know the crime is him.
Surprisingly, the Nuggets roster is full of good players. The likes of Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon, among others, are capable players. However, they have all become too comfortable creating their own mud pictures.
“These guys are like royal animals in a cage. You know. They’re so used to being fed that they don’t know how to hunt when he’s off the court.” Added Arenas.
Since the 2020-21 season, Jokic is averaging 12.2 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game. So we can see how that makes things easier for the Denver players. Rather surprisingly, Jokic was 17th on the list in usage rate last year at 29.3. So it’s not like he’s super ball-handling like some of the other guys in the league.
But as Denver’s only superstar, the Joker is the ultimate authority on offensive possessions.
Despite two triple-doubles and two 40-point performances so far this season from the Serbian big man, the Nuggets are 2-2. This can easily be improved if everyone does their part.
Denver Nuggets ratings without Nikola Jokic are worrying
The Nuggets are one of the strongest teams in the league. According to many people, they are also title contenders, but they will not get there by simply relying on Nikola Jokic. Since he made his debut, the Nuggets are 18-26 in the regular season without him.
Additionally, the Nuggets have an offensive rating of 166.1 when Jokic is on the floor. In his absence, their offensive rating drops to 66.7.
That needs to change immediately for the Nuggets to be a balanced side. Michael Malone has his work cut out for him as the season progresses.