Tag: nikola jokic

After bout with coronavirus, Nuggets center Nikola Jokic settles in at NBA Disney Campus

Nuggets star center Nikola Jokic has finally made it to the NBA season restart campus at Disney World in Florida. Here’s the Denver Post reporting:

No one could’ve blamed Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic had he been dispirited in the wake of his weeks-long ordeal following a positive coronavirus test.

Precious practice time with teammates was lost, and for weeks, team officials had to answer for his whereabouts.

Instead, speaking for the first time since his weekend arrival in the NBA’s bubble and since the season shut down in March, Jokic was jovial. He didn’t miss a beat while parrying questions and lobbing jokes at the familiar voices coming through Tuesday’s Zoom call.

“It was not difficult at all, I was home,” Jokic said when asked to describe his last three weeks. “I was quarantined for 14-15 days. We had a little private house. I was with my girlfriend, so it was actually a kind of vacation for us. I work out every day, I enjoy every day. It was actually not that bad.”

The 43-22 Nuggets have the third best record in the Western conference heading into the NBA restart, and Jokic is their centerpiece, both literally and figuratively.

Nikola Jokic`s passing ability big for Nuggets

 

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The Nuggets are 17-7, which is the second best record in the entire league, and they’re truly doing it as a team, with incredibly balanced scoring. One thing that sets them apart is their best passer and play-maker is center Nikola Jokic, who is averaging 7.8 assists per game this season to go with his 16.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per outing. He’s having a fantastic, All-Star level season. Here’s the Denver Post reporting:

Jokic’s 9.9 assists per game in Denver’s seven-game winning streak are tied with Toronto point guard Kyle Lowry for second-most in the NBA during that span. The next nine players on the list are all point guards.

His ability to control a game with his passing isn’t new, but it has been the catalyst for the Nuggets’ longest winning streak since the 2013-’14 season.

Jokic, who averaged 6.1 assists last season and ranks eighth alongside only point guards with his 7.8 dimes so far this season, has been an anomaly since he joined the league.

“I think last 15 games, we’re No. 1 in the league in assists per game at over 30,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. “That’s when we’re at our best when we have player movement, ball movement, guys cutting and getting high percentage looks. I think that’s what allows Nikola to be the player that he is. He may not be shooting the best percentages in the world, but he can still contribute and dominate a game with his playmaking, his rebounding and other areas.”

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Nikola Jokic will spend summer getting into better shape

Here’s the Denver Post reporting on the Nuggets’ key building block and his plans for the summer:

Nikola Jokic will spend summer getting into better shape

Nikola Jokic has come a long way from the player who used to chug glass after glass of Coca-Cola after practices in Serbia.

Still, as Jokic prepares to enter the offseason on the heels of a breakout sophomore season, the 6-foot-10 center knows he needs to continue to sculpt and build his body.

“At the end of the season I’m going to talk to (director of strength and training Steve) Hess and Felipe (Eichenberger, associate strength and conditioning coach) and the front office about how I can improve my body and figure out what I’m going to do,” Jokic said.

Nikola Jokic an offensive talent for Nuggets

Here’s the Denver Post reporting on a very talented, important part of the Nuggets:

Nikola Jokic an offensive talent for Nuggets

Nikola Jokic makes little secret about what side of the basketball he prefers.

“Offense will always beat defense,” Jokic said back in January, a couple weeks before he arrived in New Orleans during all-star weekend to showcase a skill set with more varied components than a bowl of gumbo.

Jokic will never be known for his defensive prowess the way he is for his passing and playmaking ability, but Nuggets coach Michael Malone pointed to several ways the 22-year-old big man can make improvements as a defender.

“Getting stronger is one,” Malone said before Tuesday’s game against the Pelicans. “Obviously he’s never going to be Karl Malone. We don’t want him to be that. But he can work on his body and get it as strong as possible.”