"We're playing with a Hall of Famer": The Nuggets are brimming with confidence again

Monte Morris approached Nikola Jokic a few days ago while the Nuggets’ franchise superstar was in Denver’s weight room getting in a postgame lift to pay his respects.

Morris explained to Jokic that everything the seven-footer does, he implements into his daily routine. Morris also told Jokic that even though he doesn’t garner the headlines that some current NBA stars do, he’s just as impactful and also destined for greatness.

“Everybody’s talking about the Durants the LeBrons the Giannises. We’re playing with a Hall of Famer right here,” Morris said, relaying the conversation. “I just wanted him to know that.”

“He don’t get a lot of credit, as he should. Maybe because he ain’t flashy with the dunks and things, but he produces just as much, if not more, than anybody in the NBA. I’m amazed every night I see it, and in practice it’s effortless. He’s got a touch I’ve never really seen and he can shoot the three. And his passes speak for themself.”

Morris picked a good night to wax poetic about Jokic, who turned in another MVP-worthy performance Tuesday against the Thunder. Going up against a depleted OKC front court that was without Al Horford, Jokic had another dominant outing, finishing with 27 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block in 28 minutes. The Nuggets blew out the Thunder 119-101.

“It means a lot,” Jokic said of Morris’ high praise. “It means a lot, just for them to have my back. I know that they trust me and I know that they’ve got my back. But it’s really nice to hear something like that.”

In the win, Jokic secured his league-leading 14th double-double of the season in 14 tries. He’s averaging 25.1 points on 57.3% shooting from the field, 11.4 rebounds and 10 assists per game. Jokic leads the NBA in most of the major advanced catch-all statistics including PER, Win Shares, Offensive Win Shares, Box Plus-Minus and Value over Replacement Player. He also leads the league in assists, and it’s not particularly close.

NBA Assist Leaders as of Jan. 20

1. Nikola Jokic – 140

2. Trae Young – 116

3. LeBron James – 113

4. Luka Doncic – 112

5. James Harden – 109

“He’s playing at an MVP level,” Michael Malone said while noting that Jokic committed only one turnover Tuesday.

But one non-Jokic stat was the most meaningful number to emerge from Denver’s sixth win in its last 10 games.

7-7

The Nuggets are back to .500, and for how divine Jokic stats are through the first month of the regular season and how worthy of an MVP candidate he is at this juncture, it’s all for not if Denver continues to underachieve. Jokic won’t be in the MVP race if the Nuggets are a .500 team this season even if he averages a triple-double and continues to put up numbers that haven’t been seen since Oscar Robertson was suiting up for the Cincinnati Royals.

However, Denver is slowly but surely finding itself.

This win over OKC was a microcosm of how the Nuggets’ season has gone so far. Denver looked like it was asleep to open the first quarter and let a putrid Thunder offense rack up 31 points across the game’s first 12 minutes. The Nuggets’ transition defense in the first quarter against OKC? Malone has seen better efforts from CYO teams back in Queens.

The Nuggets eventually got their act together and held the Thunder 21 points in the second, 22 in the third and 101 over the full 48 minutes, the second-fewest points Denver has allowed this season. Over their last 10 games, the Nuggets are 6-4 and have the ninth-best defense in the league.

“When we do that,” Millsap said referring to Denver’s defense. “We’re pretty much an unstoppable team.”

Throughout Tuesday night, Jokic was decisive on the block and moved quickly to score while undersized Thunder big men attempted to guard him 1-on-1. It’s an assertiveness that we’ve seen from Jokic before, but he seems to have shifted his aggressiveness in the paint up a gear to open this season.

“Sometimes I get frustrated because I don’t think we get him the ball enough,” Malone said. “Especially when he’s guarded 1-on-1.”

Through 14 games, Jokic has already attempted 20 or more field goals four times. Across 73 games last season, Jokic attempted 20-plus shots in a game on only 14 occasions. Earlier this season against Dallas, Jokic set his career high for field goal attempts in a game with 31.

The Nuggets’ bench also turned in another strong effort, something that’s becoming a habit as of late. The Morris-Facu Campazzo-PJ Dozier-JaMychal Green-Isaiah Hartenstein five-man lineup outscored the Thunder by 11 points in the 11 minutes they were on the floor together for. That group helped Denver build separation from OKC during a second quarter where the Nuggets outscored the Thunder 34-21.

“I think they won us the game in that second quarter,” Jokic said.

The second unit’s upward trajectory over the last two weeks is a product of a few factors. First off, three new faces who weren’t in Denver last season — Campazzo, Green and Hartenstein — are growing more comfortable playing alongside one another. Secondly, there’s been some outstanding individual performances off Denver’s bench. Morris in particular has been special this season and tallied 15 points (7-11 FG’s), four rebounds, five assists and just one turnover in 21 minutes vs. OKC. He was also a team-high +22. Morris is shooting a ridiculous 24-31 (77%) at the rim this season, which places him in the 93rd percentile among all guards in that category, per Cleaning The Glass.

The second unit’s success also has to do with the fact that Malone’s showing more trust in that group. Before the Nuggets departed on a three-game east coast road trip earlier this month, Malone pledged to play Denver’s full bench lineup increased minutes together in an effort to help that group establish a chemistry and keep his starter’s minutes down.

It’s worked.

“We’re 7-7. Obviously we have a lot of work to do, but I like this team a lot,” Malone said. “They have a competitive spirit. They have gelled really quickly considering we brought in seven new players. We’re getting closer and closer. We’ve had some tough losses, bounces haven’t gone our way.”

“I feel we’re getting closer to the team that I believe we can be.”

So does Morris, who called Denver’s latest victory a “must-win” with a five-game road trip, which starts Friday in Phoenix, on tap. The Nuggets will play the Suns (twice), the Mavs, Heat and Spurs over the span of eight days.

“I feel like we’re getting (there),” Morris said. “We’re itching. We’re climbing up the mine.”

“The sky’s the limit for this team.”