Nikola Jokic's ruggedness an underrated part of Nuggets' success

In the 37th minute of his 78th game, Nikola Jokic took over. The Nuggets had just absorbed a series of body blows against the Trail Blazers on Friday, so to start the fourth quarter, they counterpunched by going to their star center. Jokic dropped in a turnaround hook over Enes Kanter, lined up a straightaway 3 and then drove right at Kanter again to earn a pair of free throws, which he converted.

Jokic’s seven-point flurry in a 1-minute, 11-second span changed the game. The Nuggets beat the Trail Blazers 119-110 — sewing up a Northwest Division title and home-court advantage in the first round — by relying on their best player when they need him the most. Jokic played all but 12 seconds of the fourth quarter, and scored 10 of his 22 points in the final frame.

“I didn’t,” Jokic said afterward when asked if he was feeling the effects of nearly playing the entire fourth quarter. “You feel tired after. You don’t feel tried during the game because you want to win. It’s kind of a normal thing. You get tired after I think.”

For a player whose conditioning level is often questioned, Jokic has been been remarkably durable and consistent this season. He has appeared in 78 of 79 games, and the one that he missed wasn’t related to injury or, to put in the league’s weird language, “load management.”

“Only when they suspended me,” said Jokic, clearly still salty about the penalty he got for leaving the bench during a shoving match between Mason Plumlee and Derrick Favors on Jan. 23 in Utah.

Jokic might not look like he’s cut from granite, but he’s far from fragile. He’s one of four players and the only starter on the Nuggets’ roster with a chance to play in at least 80 games this season. In four years, he has appeared in 94% of Denver’s games. Quietly, his ruggedness has been a significant factor in his team’s success.

“That’s our job,” Jokic said. “That’s why I get paid. That’s what I want to do. I want to play games. I think it’s a lot of fun. If I can play all of them, I want to play all of them.”

What separates good players from franchise players is the ability to carry a team night after night. Players of Jokic’s caliber are expected to shoulder the load whether it’s 70 and sunny in Los Angeles or below freezing on the second night of a back to back in Milwaukee. Jokic has set the tone for his team on and off the court. At times, he has challenged his teammates to keep pushing through the rigors of an 82-game season.

“For me, to be honest, there can’t be fatigue,” Jokic said after going for 40 points in a Jan. 13 win over Portland. “It’s just half of the season. I think I did a really good job (preparing) this summer, and a lot of guys did a good job this summer, so I think we can’t even mention fatigue.”

Last summer, Jokic focused on building up his base. He returned home to Sombor, Serbia, and developed a regimen with Nebojsa Vagic, his godfather and trainer, to help him address one of his biggest weaknesses: defending in space.

“Maybe 40, 50% of our weight gyms were based on legs, leg work, lateral moves,” Vagic told BSN Denver in December. “There were so many things in the weight gym to improve Nikola’s lateral moves on defense. I think this summer helped him a lot.”

Jokic has done a better job of holding his own when he switches onto guards this season. His matador defense against twitchy might mites has become a thing of the past. The Nuggets have a chance to land in the top 10 in defensive efficiency after finishing 25th, 29th and 23rd in Jokic’s first three seasons.

Jokic has also developed into Denver’s undisputed go-to guy late in games. He’s 35 of 71 from the field (49.1%) in what the NBA considers “clutch” situations. His dependability during crucial moments is a big reason why the Nuggets are a league-best 30-14 in games that were within five points at any point during the final five minutes.

“Nikola is already a tough player,” Vagic said. “He doesn’t look aggressive. He doesn’t look like a soldier type, but when it comes to let’s go do it, he’s the man to do it. He doesn’t want to look tough. He doesn’t want to be somebody who media is talking about his toughness and looking mean and seeing his face like a warrior or something. No, he doesn’t want that. But he wants to actually be tough.”

Teams take on the identity of their best player. The Nuggets have become synonymous with unselfish basketball because of Jokic. What’s not discussed nearly as much is how their resiliency is related to him. On the second night of back to backs, Jokic is averaging 21.5 points on 52.4% shooting, 11.2 rebounds and 6.8 assists. The Nuggets are a ridiculous 11-1 on zero days rest this season.

“I think this summer when he signed that contract he understood heavy is the head that wears the crown,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “There’s going to be much asked of him now that he’s our franchise player. He hasn’t shied away from that.”

Jokic has pushed through bumps and bruises, fatigue and other teams game planning to slow him. He has looked every bit the part of franchise player, even if he doesn’t relish the attention that comes with that title.

“Being regular guy but with superpowers like Clark Kent and Superman,” Vagic said. “Being regular guy but nobody has to see what he can do.”