The List: The Jokic and JaMychal buddy comedy

1. “I love to play with him.”

That’s what the reigning MVP said about JaMychal Green when asked about playing alongside him in the starting lineup over the last two games. You can see a certain chemistry between those two on the court. More importantly, you can see a certain skillset that JMyke brings that is unique to the Nuggets’ roster. Namely, baseline gravity.

Jmyke does a good job of bouncing between sitting in the dunker, screening for the corner, and setting the table of offensive rebound position. In the clips below, he does a perfect job of sliding from flare screen to inside seal for an easy dropoff.

2. That chemistry extends several chains away. Below, instead of Jokic attacking off of the dribble we get a Barton cut that leads to a bang-bang sequence, resulting in a wide open dunk.

3. Halfcourt offense can be made easier by pushing the ball in transition. Allowing a defense to get set in the halfcourt makes every read easier. But pushing the ball on the break makes simple plays like the one below a lot easier and more effective. In fact, the only difference between this wide open dunk and a typically, toilet clogged halfcourt possession is that the Kings didn’t have a chance to settle in and prepare for the possession thanks to the Nuggets walking the ball up the court.

4. Aaron Gordon has played at half speed a lot since coming back from an hamstring injury a week ago. The play below shows how he still has a tendency to miss basic reads, a sign that he is a bit rusty mentally as much as he is rusty physically.

5. Here is another example of him reacting to the play slowly. In a read and react offense, it is important for players to read and react quickly, trusting that the rhythm of the possession is as important as the step-by-step series of events. Slow or disrupt the rhythm and the steps of a play become easier to guard.

6. This is a play that one of the 10 best dunkers in the NBA end with a poster. Even Jeff Green would likely attempt to bury Josh Giddey in the net when he is late to rotate.

7. Bones has had a rough stretch of games recently, culminating in getting benched in the second half against the Thunder. But when he’s on, he opens up the paint in ways that no other reserve guards can on the Nuggets.

8. Austin Rivers saw his gravity increase after making a few threes.

9. And here is that same set (Horns StS) ran the way the Nuggets typically run it, with Monte setting the back screen.

10. Rivers has also made an improvement attacking with purpose off of dribble handoffs. Here he gets two rim protectors to commit to blocking the shot which gives Jokic two wide open chances to cleanup his miss.

11. This was a great example of Gordon reading the defense to force Tyrese Haliburton into a switch on Jokic. This play is called “Oklahoma Empty” and it is a staple of the Warriors and Suns.

12. One thing I often repeat in this series is that there is always an adjustment the offense can make in a read and react system. I’ve highlighted several different examples of this flare screen action and how easy it is to slip the screen when teams switch. Below, the defense does not switch so Monte Morris does a great job of flaring to the corner before cutting to the rim, maximizing the distance the defense must run to recover.

13. Will Barton is far too experienced to get beat by a guard rejecting the screen at the top of the key. It is nearly impossible for Jokic to show on a screen when the on-ball guard gets beat rejecting the screen.

14. Bones still makes a lot of very basic mistakes, like allowing switches between guards and bigs. Jokic is away from the basket and unable to help inside while he is far too undersized to bang with bigs.

15. Geting bullied inside is a problem for Bones, and one reason that Michael Malone has been slow to trust him over the last handful of games.

16. I am always amazed at how poorly the Nuggets setup for jump ball situations. Look how much of the circle the Nuggets are conceding!