THE LIST: Crafty Jokic and Speedy Bones

1. The Nuggets have made this 5-4 screen in transition a staple of their fastbreak offense whenever Nikola Jokic brings the ball up the court. One forward will either rim run or sprint to the corner while the two guards occupy each wing. The other forward will set a transition PnR at the top of the key and roll hard to the empty painted area.

This action does two things. It either forces a 5-4 switch that the Nuggets will use the rest of the possession exploiting or it forces the low defender to roll hard into the paint to cover for the rolling big man, like in the example below. But the beauty of this action is that even if you do not create an immediate open shot, the floor is perfectly spaced to get right into the dribble handoff game, with an outlet for Jokic readily available on each wing.

2. The action above works because of the unique talents of Jokic. Similarly, plays like the one below are hilariously uncommon in the NBA. Jokic makes it look so natural that you might not even realize that within the flow of the offense, Jokic runs off of a DHO with Jeff Green. That is, the center receives the DHO from the power forward. Most defenses are not prepared or familiar with this type of action from the center and they are especially unprepared for that center to come off of the handoff and sling a pass for an open shooter on the opposite wing.

3. Last week on the DNVR Nuggets podcast I talked about the fact that for a player like Jokic, it is usually more beneficial to not make contact on a screen than it is to set a good old fashioned, bone crushing screen. Hard screens can force switches but they often result in the ball handler getting open for a pull-up mid-range shot. Not a bad option for late shot clock or end of game situations but Jokic is the world’s best short roll playmaker so his screens have a different emphasis.

Watch how Jokic positions himself in a spot that makes it equally unfavorable for the guard defender to go over the screen or under the screen. Go under, and Monte Morris has a comfortable open three-point shot. Go over, and the big defender has to step up and hold position for a second too long, allowing Jokic to receive the roll pass at his favorite spot: the nail. This is one reason why the Jokic-whoever two-man game is so deadly.

4. And when you get tired of running 1-5 PnR, just flip the script and run 5-1 PnR.

5. Bones Hyland’s most underrated skill is his ability to push the ball in transition and make scoring plays at full speed. It’s a trait that will really help the Nuggets for years to come.

6. Bones is also a very good off-rhythm passer, keeping the defense guessing until the final moment that he makes his read.

7. The Nuggets need to find ways to put pressure on the paint. The most common way that teams accomplish this is either with an above the rim rolling big who is a lob threat or with a speedy ball handler who can get by the first line of defense off of the dribble. The Nuggets don’t a rim roller and the second unit in particular struggles to get by the first line of defense (although Bones playing more minutes has helped in that regard).

You can put pressure on the paint with offensive rebounding but the Nuggets don’t really have an elite offensive rebounder either. You can put pressure on the paint with low post scoring. Perhaps Boogie Cousins will provide that in the coming weeks but he has not shown that ability in his limited time with the Nuggets so far.

The last way to put pressure on the rim is to make, hard, deliberate cuts all the way through even when the cut does not open up an immediate shot. Jeff Green does a great job demonstrating this below. His sprint draws in the defense and opens up the skip pass to the corner.

The bench unit could learn from this play and increase their cutting while also focusing to make sure every cut is deliberate and timely.

8. The worst thing you can do is just not cut at all. Here, Austin Rivers just doesn’t see the obvious cutting lane for a wide open layup and it visibly pains Jokic.

9. Below is a perfect example of how dunker spot gravity forces a defense into uncomfortable decisions in help side.

10. It seems like every week I clip together something fun from a flare and slip action. Below are two back-to-back examples of the Nuggets generating easy buckets off of properly reading how the defense chooses to guard that action. On the first, the defense guards it one way and Monte Morris scores. On the next, they adjust their coverage and Denver scores another way.

11. Even Jokic has started adding that flare and slip action into his scoring arsenal.

12. Defensive rebounding and offensive rebounding are different skills. Below, Zeke Nnaji attacks the offensive glass as if it were the defensive glass. As a result, he gets scooped by Jrue Holiday.

13. For all the Barton haters out there. Rhythm in basketball is such a delicate thing. Disrupt it once and you are not guaranteed to find it again anytime soon.

14. If Jokic is (correctly) not going to get these fake shot attempt calls when he is at the three-point line, it’s probably time for him to scrap it all together.

15. But even if those attempts annoy me, I can’t help but laugh at Jokic harassing the official about it through the next play, while also throwing a perfect and-one dime.