Nikola Jokic is playing with as much confidence as we’ve ever seen. He earned his 7th triple-double of the season and 13th of his career on Sunday afternoon at Pepsi Center and this one looked as easy as any of the previous 12. Jokic shot the ball with confidence, finishing a perfect 4-4 from behind the arc. He passed the ball with confidence, throwing several fancy passes. And most important of all, he commanded the offense when he was on the court.
Jokic has seemed like a different person since Paul Millsap had the now infamous meeting with him a few days ago. Millsap, a 4-time all star and the quarterback and backbone of a 60-win team in Atlanta just a few years ago, implored Jokic to take the reins of this Nuggets team, giving the young Serbian his blessing to play his game and stop deferring to anyone.
It seems that was all Jokic needed to hear. Jokic is now back to his old tricks only scoring with even more confidence. And when Jokic is rolling, the Nuggets offense is rolling. The Nuggets dished out 38 assists! That’s the beauty of Jokic-ball – it’s contagious. When Jokic gets the flow of offense going, the rest of the Nuggets roll with him. Check out the highlight reel including the tornado pass that nearly broke the internet.
Jokic is back. Malone’s declaration after the game that “we’re passed the growing pains of integrating Paul Millsap” are starting to ring true. This team looks like they are over that mental hurdle. Now they face an enormous test in Los Angeles as they take on the surging Lakers who will have a chip on their shoulder the size of California. Fortuantely, Joker is rolling. And there are few players that can slow him down when he’s playing like this.
