The Denver Nuggets are preparing to defend their title. Although other teams give them their best effort night in and night out, they look to get things in gear for the post-season. While the stretch before the All-Star Break did not look great, they appear to be focused toward the end of the regular season.
It helps to have one of the best players in the world. Even if he doesn’t care much about displaying a highlight reel, he is focused on one thing. He wants to win basketball games and he doesn’t care about show points.
Will this team repeat as victors in the NBA Finals this year?
Denver Nuggets Main Guy Climbing A Leaderboard
The Bay Area can be a tough environment to play in. Especially when the Golden State Warriors have played well as of late. But the visitors negated the home crowd darlings for the most part. Instead, the Denver Nuggets coasted to a 119-103 win over the Warriors.
3 straight Triple Doubles for Jokic
ALL COMPLETED IN 3 QUARTERS OR LESS pic.twitter.com/Er49FTtK5v
— Nuggets Lead (@NuggetsLead) February 26, 2024
Nikola Jokic finished with an incredible stat line. He is now fourth all-time in triple-doubles as he posted 32 points, 16 rebounds, and 16 assists. Casual fans may not like his style of play. However, fans of effective and efficient basketball enjoy watching him play. He makes it look effortless and knows how to stay under control, even through traffic.
Denver Nuggets Center Does It All
You need to admire and bring up another aspect of Jokic’s play. His competitiveness and willingness to compete at both ends allow him to be a key part of the defense for the Denver Nuggets. The defense ranks seventh in the NBA in scoring allowed.
He uses his basketball IQ and body control to throw opposing teams off. Whether you drive in the lane or look to pass around in the half-court set, he finds a way to be disruptive. Furthermore, he often leads the fastbreak or semi-transition whenever he gets this chance.
Jokic does EVERYTHING on the court pic.twitter.com/2AszokD0D3
— Nuggets Lead (@NuggetsLead) February 26, 2024
This versatility and ability to control both ends of the court gives him a great chance to position the Denver Nuggets to win. Repeating will be tough, but with “The Joker” it’s more than possible.
Denver Nuggets Other Contributors
To get assists, you need someone else to knock down shots. He has capable teammates to help him out in this aspect. Jamal Murray finished with 27 points on 3 of 5 shooting from range. While he’s a good scorer on his own, the gravity of Jokic allows him to flourish in this offense.
Additionally, Aaron Gordon proves to be an essential piece every night. His impact is also two-fold, as he had a +/- of a team-high +21. He scored 17 points despite missing his three attempts from beyond the three-point line. But if he continues to contribute in other areas, the Denver Nuggets will not worry about his perimeter shooting.
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Gabriel Enjoys all things sports! Football, soccer, basketball, volleyball. You name it! Huge fan of the Nebraska Huskers and New England Patriots. Even bigger advocate of running the football!
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