Nikola Jokić – A Jokić went right at Jakob Poeltl, and though he missed some bunnies, he finished with 17 points in the first quarter and put the Spurs’ starting big man in foul trouble. Jokić stayed aggressive, finishing with a career-high 35 shot attempts. But between that workload, what he had to do defensively, and the lack of rest...

Nikola Jokić – A Something looked a little off with Nikola Jokić in the first quarter. He scored an efficient 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds, but he turned it over five times in his first 8:30 on the floor. Jokić has struggled against the Dwight Howard/Anthony Davis pairing. It’s not just that he looks less dominant, he can also...

Nikola Jokić – A+ Jokić rose to the occasion. He went right at Karl Anthony Towns in the opening possession, then weathered an early storm as KAT couldn’t miss. Neither center could, and thankfully, Jokić was able to get Towns in some foul trouble. That kept Denver alive despite a near-perfect opening quarter from the Wolves on offense. Though Towns...

Nikola Jokić – A Briefly in the first half, when we were all still young and full of innocence, Jokić flirted with his own fastest triple-double record. Indiana couldn’t contain him, he was heavily involved in virtually every possession, and the Nuggets jumped out to a 31-point lead. Somehow, someway, the Nuggets were in survival mode by the end of...

Nikola Jokić – A Nikola Jokić left four points at the free-throw line. He also got off to a slow start, shooting 2 of 6 from the field and scoring only six points in the first half. Something seemed off. Anyway, he finished with 26, 19, and 11 on 9 of 17 from the field. He is incredible. He is...

Nikola Jokić – C+ Jokić turned it over eight times and only took ten shots despite hitting nine of them. After an aggressive first quarter, he shifted down to a deferential gear. He chose last-second passes over his floater and was reluctant to shoot a mid-range shot that rarely misses. It was strange to see such high-level basketball, featuring contributions...

Nikola Jokić – A The Clippers left their foot off the gas in the first half. Jokić drew a lot of attention, and occasional tentative double-teams, but for the most part, the Clippers shelved their blueprint for stopping the reigning MVP. He scored 17 points on 5 of 7 shooting in the first half. He was aggressive, not just as...

Nikola Jokić – C+ Jokić put this one on his shoulders after the game. He wore it, admitting the Celtics defended him well, and what he thought were “easy scores” turned out to be anything but easy. The Celtics doubled him with size and length, forcing Jokić to speed himself up to avoid dangerous traps. Rarely does he play at...

Nikola Jokić – A- It happened again. In the fourth quarter and overtime period, the Nuggets couldn’t get the ball to Jokić, which cost them a 3-0 road trip. There must be a solution here—the first layer is Denver’s surrounding cast should be able to punish the overload, and they can’t. The second is coaching—is Denver content to post him...

Nikola Jokić – A+ Nikola Jokić reached the 10,000 points, 5,000 rebounds, and 3,000 assists mark in the second-fewest games in NBA history. It took him one more (516) than Larry Bird (515), but Jokić accomplished the feat in 4,000 fewer minutes than the legend. He’s made it look easy so far, just as he did against the Wizards Wednesday...

Nikola Jokić – A- It was not looking good after 12 minutes of play. Jokić missed four shots and turned it over three times as he looked tentative while attacking his counterpart. Joel Embiid scored 12 quick points, and the Nuggets trailed by 15 before the second quarter began. It felt like a disaster brewing, but a close watch revealed...

Nikola Jokić – A- Jokić scored or assisted on eight of Denver’s first eleven buckets and looked ready to feast on Toronto’s lack of centers. But what Toronto does have, is length, and they made it difficult for Denver to get him the ball or punish them for selling out to prevent it. Does this sound familiar? Jokić did not...

Nikola Jokić – B Jokić went for it. He was, as it turned out, running out of gas, but he wanted the run on national TV, and he went for the win in his fourth game in five nights. Like several of his eight missed threes, he fell short, a symptom of tired legs. He forced the issue from deep...

Nikola Jokić – A+ Jokić is out of his beautiful mind. He followed up the Triple-Double madness with 38 points, 18 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks on 62.5% shooting. This run has reached absurd levels now. He’s playing on a level that, frankly, may have only been achieved by the Mt. Rushmore of NBA greatness. Even then,...

Nikola Jokić – A+ In truth, virtually every Nuggets fan felt worse about the game when they saw Golden State’s injury report. We know how these games go. We know the human element creeps in. But Nikola Jokić clogged the drain and prevented any spiral with a 32-15-13 triple-double, his second in under 24 hours. He was a space octopus...

Nikola Jokić – A+ We’ve been waiting to see Jokić kick it back into sixth gear. We were due for a reminder game. He’s excellent night and night out, but now and then, when the Nuggets need it most, he reminds us all what the best player in the world can do. The Nuggets were dead in the water entering...

Nikol—er, DeMarcus Cousins – A+ Late in the afternoon, hours before tip-off, Michael Malone learned Nikola Jokić might not play against the Houston Rockets with a non-Covid related illness. He and the staff thought long and hard about breaking up a bench unit that’s on a roll, but they settled on Cousins, a proven big at the NBA level. Boogie...

Nikola Jokić – C- Let’s address what was out of Jokić’s control first. His fellow starters literally could not knock down a three. The lone three from any starter came when AG connected on a Hall Of Fame Bad Beat at the end of the game, which we’ll address later. But the gang shot 0-24 prior, which helps explain Jokić’s...

Nikola Jokić – A Jokić is a fascinating player and an important one in the history of this game. As we move further from the era of scoring > everything, Jokić is lighting the league on fire in his way. Sure, he’s arguably the most efficient scorer in the world right now, but that’s seemingly reluctant—a by-product of Denver’s process...