Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets have a counter for everything

1. The mapping out of a play is less than half of the battle in basketball. The timing, rhythm, and subtle reads that each player makes are what determine if a play will generate an open shot or not. The two clips below provide nice examples of this.

In the first clip, both Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon elect to cut towards the basket rather than run the scripted pindown screen. Porter’s defender overplays the pindown, opening up a cutting lane to the basket. Gordon, on the other hand, cuts without his defender jumping out of position.

The second clip shows Porter mistiming a pindown off of Jokic.

2. On the flip side, there is a counter for everything a defense can throw at an offense if the five players are all able to read the defense and react quickly and cohesively. The first clip below shows how each action in the chain of a possession are triggered by decisions that the defense makes. From the screen by Facundo Campazzo, the cut by Nikola Jokic, the cut by PJ Dozier, and the slide by Porter. Each movement is a response to the defense.

In the second clip, Jokic goes from curl cut to ball screen when he sees that big Val goes under the screen.

3. Porter is making quick progress as a basketball thinker. The clip below is all about Jokic and Porter reading the defense quickly, forcing favorable switches, and attacking with proper spacing and timing.

4. Porter is an elite cutter who possesses a natural feel for the subtleties that make each cut a little bit more effective. He’d make a good wide receiver with the hesitations, stutter steps, and changes of direction.

5. One of the most encouraging subplots of Porter’s 31-point performance against the Memphis Grizzlies was his willingness to initiate contact in the paint. Porter has been reluctant to get physical around the rim thus far in his career. You might even say he’s been soft around contact. These two possessions may indicate Porter turning a new leaf.

6. Porter has more of an off the dribble game than he is given credit for. He has an enormous amount to grow as an isolation scorer or PnR scorer but he is still capable of beating players to the paint with long strides and a quick first step. I predict his off of the dribble scoring will increase quite a bit in the coming games.

7. Porter got a flagrant foul for sticking his leg out on a three-point attempt against the Golden State Warriors. It might be a habit that is difficult to break. This may be a natural motion for him when elevating to avoid contact.

8. One of the things that makes Porter such an efficient scorer is that he has the memory of a goldfish.

9. Last week I broke down the “elbow get” action that the Nuggets run to get a Jokic-Gordon PnR at the foul line. On Monday, the Nuggets swapped Jokic with Dozier to run a more traditional PnR with Gordon while extending the rim protecting center out onto the wing with Jokic.

10. Plays like the one below are what worry me the most about the Nuggets in a playoff series.

11. PJ Dozier has been an elite defender over the last two games, especially as a help side defender. He stays locked in to his assignments, reads the offense well, and anticipates the play one step ahead.

12. The number one thorn in Michael Malone’s side over the last few games has been transition defense. More specifically, the kind of transition defense that arises from a failure to recognize floor balance.