Golden Nuggets: Nikola Jokic's brilliance, Will Barton's injury and another strong defensive effort

Eleven nuggets for every shot Nikola Jokic made (and attempted) in Saturday’s 119-91 win over the Phoenix Suns.

1. If you’ve never seen Nikola Jokic on one of those nights before, it might be a little jarring to watch a player who doesn’t look that much different from the rest of us mortals go into God mode. Jokic is squishy. He lumbers up and down the court. To the untrained eye, he might have looked overmatched jumping tip against Deandre Ayton, who’s presumably carved from granite. And yet when the ball went up in Saturday’s home opener, Jokic completely dominated the No. 1 overall pick.

2. Jokic’s final line: 35 points (11-for-11 FG), 12 rebounds, 11 assists, four steals, one block and no turnovers. It was as close to a perfect basketball game as you’ll ever see — an effort right up there with the 30-15-17 game Jokic posted against the Milwaukee Bucks in February, when he recorded the fastest triple-double in NBA history. Ayton didn’t stand a chance. Neither did Tyson Chandler nor Richaun Holmes. Jokic looked like Ninja playing Fortnite against some first timers. He got his first triple-double of the season with 5:08 remaining. When the game was decided late, the Pepsi Center crowd serenaded him with M-V-P chants at the free throw line.

3. “Thank you,” Jokic said about those M-V-P cheers. “But it’s early, and I think it’s funny. I just thought it was funny.”

4. One thing that’s consistent about Jokic: It doesn’t matter if he goes for three or 35. If you ask him about his approach after the game, he’s always going to say he just tried to let the game come to him. “I was thinking I was going to score like 40,” he said sarcastically. “No. I never do that. The game opened up like that. I think I scored a lot in the first quarter, and I continued to be aggressive. I had a really good night.”

5. Perhaps no one on earth gets a closer look at Jokic’s brilliance than his front court partner-in-crime, Paul Millsap. The four-time All-Star has seen it all in his 12-plus seasons in the league. So what impressed Millsap most about Jokic’s night? “The dunk he had,” Millsap said. “That was definitely the most important thing. Triple-doubles, we know that. But the dunk was impressive.”

6. For those who followed BSN’s triple-double vs. dunk coverage last year: we’re even two games into the 2018-19 season. One Jokic triple-double and one Jokic dunk. Jokic was the rare player to finish with more triple-doubles (10) than dunks (eight) a season ago.

7. Saturday’s home opener at Pepsi Center featured some absurd Jokic play, the return of the Nuggets’ high-powered offense and an excellent crowd. It was too bad a cloud hung over it afterwards. Small forward Will Barton had to be wheeled off the floor on a stretcher in the third quarter. Barton felt a pop in his right hip when he went up for a layup and rolled on the ground in pain as he received medical attention. He will have an MRI on Sunday to determine the severity of the injury. “Sore,” Barton said when asked to describe the pain. “Real sore.”

8. The entire Nuggets’ bench rushed over and formed a circle around Barton while he was hoisted onto the stretcher. Losing Barton for an extended stretch of time would be an enormous blow to a Nuggets team that’s 2-0 for the first time since 2011. Denver is already thin at small forward with Malik Beasley, Juancho Hernangomez and Torrey Craig combining to fill in the gaps behind Barton. Plus, Barton is the team’s emotional leader.

“He’s the voice of this locker room to be honest with you,” Millsap said. “He’s the one that’s talking before games. He’s the one that’s bringing us together. It’s going to be tough to lose that if we have to. Hopefully, like I said, we’re going to pray that he’s OK, and he’s back with us soon.” 

9. This summer, the Nuggets re-signed Barton to a four-year deal with plans to make him the starting small forward. Through two games, that plan was going swimmingly. The Jamal Murray-Gary Harris-Barton-Millsap-Jokic starting five outscored the Clippers and Suns by a combined 29 points in 46 minutes on the floor. It would be a shame to see that unit’s chemistry get disrupted after it hit the ground running.

10. Denver got going offensively after a sluggish opener in L.A. It shot 50.6 percent from the field and 24 of 29 from the free throw line. Each starter scored at least 14. Just as important: the Nuggets pieced together two straight quality defensive efforts. They held the Suns to 37.7 shooting from the field and 28.2 percent shooting from 3.

“It was pretty good,” Murray said. “We’re staying really solid. I think we’re talking to each other. We’re communicating with each other. We’re helping each other out. I think we’re trusting each other right now on defense and offense.”

They’ve held their opponent to under 100 points in consecutive games — a feat they accomplished only once last season.

11. A two-game sample size is pretty meaningless. Only 1/41st of the season has happened. I say that to preface what I’m about to tell you: the Nuggets are No. 1 in defensive rating. They’re allowing 90.4 points per 100 possessions across two games. Denver won’t be first a month from now; it probably won’t even be close. However, the early signs suggest it could be much better defensively than it was a year ago.