The forgotten chemistry between Gary Harris and Nikola Jokic

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While the connection between Emmanuel Mudiay and Gary Harris has been well documented, it’s the chemistry on the floor that Nikola Jokic and Harris share that has been even more impactful to the Nuggets’ offense since Harris returned from injury.

Going back to last season, it was clear that the off-ball movement of Harris was a perfect complement to the laser precision passing of Jokic. Regardless of what type of offensive set was or was not put into motion, it seemed that Harris and Jokic were always on the same page and there was substantial hype around the pairing going into this season.

That hype was forced to be put on hold after Harris partially tore his right groin just ten minutes into the first preseason game of the season. That injury would extend through the first four games of the season until Harris returned to the starting lineup against the Detroit Pistons on Nov. 5. By Nov. 12 Harris was again sidelined due to a foot injury that kept him out an additional 16 games.

After a long wait we finally have gotten the pleasure of watching both Harris and Jokic not just share time on the court, but start alongside each other and it has been a joy to watch.

When the two share the court the Nuggets’ assist percentage, a metric for how many of a team’s baskets were assisted on, is a staggering 66.4 percent and the unit is posting a blistering 115.7 offensive rating in 137 minutes together.

In the 79 minutes they’ve played together the past four games, when Harris returned from his foot injury, the Nuggets best two-man lineup that has played 15 or more minutes has been Jokic and Harris. They have a +19.4 Net Rating together while boasting an insane 129.6 Offensive Rating combined with 2.7 assists per turnover.

Not only do the advanced metrics like the pairing of Jokic and Harris but they pass the eye test with flying colors.

Jokic’s chemistry with Harris was easily visible on two lob passes from Jokic to Harris from the high post against the Portland Trailblazers. In both clips below, Jokic sees that C.J. McCollum is trailing Harris when coming off of screens. Jokic then uses perfect timing and pinpoint accuracy to hit Harris in stride for two easy alley-oops; one a layup and one a dunk.

Those perfectly timed passes are not just a result of good ball movement and a smart off-ball cutter. Harris and Jokic need an innate understanding of what the other is thinking to execute each play and they make that connection look simple.

Their chemistry is shown even more in the following two clips; both of the plays are directly connected to the chemistry that Jokic and Harris have. The inaudible communication they share has led to a plethora of easy buckets directly at the rim.

Take a look at the way that Harris and Jokic make eye contact the second Jokic receives the entry pass from Danilo Gallinari. At that exact moment, both of Jokic and Harris know what the other is thinking. Jokic has the mismatch with Wesley Matthews forced to guard him in the low post while Harris has the much slower Salah Mejri on him. Harris gives the slightest hesitation as Jokic receives the entry pass to keep as much court spacing as possible and then disappears down the baseline effortlessly in-tune with Jokic who drops the perfect no-look drop pass that leads to a reverse layup for Harris.

This time Jokic ends up with the ball at the free-throw line after Mudiay nearly commits a turnover. In the chaos, Ian Clark, who is guarding Harris, gets caught ball-watching and ends up too far in the paint. Harris recognizes the baseline being wide open and cuts to the rim after, again, making eye-contact with Jokic. Jokic then goes up for what looks like a jumper from the free-throw line but he never truly intended to take the shot and hits the streaking Harris for another easy reverse layup.

It goes both ways as well. While Jokic’s passing ability is far superior to Harris’ that does not mean Harris has not learned to feed Jokic.

Harris could have easily just reset the offense through Jokic in the low post but elects to drive baseline into two defenders instead. While usually this is an awful decision, Harris had the premeditated thought that if he drove baseline he could collapse the defense while forcing the weak side defense to slide over to help. This leaves Jokic by himself in space with a wide-open layup at the rim.

This time, Jokic and Harris use a dribble-handoff action to create space. Harris receives the pass and realizes that JaMychal Green hedges hard leaving Jokic open. Harris immediately passes out of the double team and hits Jokic on the pick and pop for the jumper. Harris was eyeing Jokic the entire way and was sliding toward the top of the key waiting for the perfect chance to get the ball to Jokic.

With Harris and Jokic it does not matter what offensive set the Nuggets are attempting to run. The two of them share a level of chemistry that makes the Nuggets offense substantially more potent.

Harris continuing to mature as a pick-and-roll ball handler while Denver feasts on Jokic in dribble-handoff actions, means that the Nuggets have two players familiar enough with each other to get consistent buckets even when their offense breaks down; a luxury Denver has lacked for quite some time.