1991 Magic on the Nuggets instead of Jokic

[1993Playoffs]

Are the nuggets better or worse? Since Jokic is a C you can put a league average C at that spot as well

[70sFan]

That would be interesting to see, because peak Magic is the only player I can see running this Nuggets system offense without much problems. I think their defense would be worse though, but I don't think it would be a huge concern.

[Matt15]

Overall I’d say they’d be a little bit worse but they’re still title contenders.

[dygaction]

Don't think they could for sure pass Lakers with 91 Magic. That 4:0 might be the closest sweep. Nobody would be able to guard AD and there would be too big a scoring load to fill.

[AEnigma]

I mean, giving them a free extra player goes a long way for what has been a strict eight-man rotation, even if we say that “average” here is someone like Kelly Olynyk… might be more fair to say Christian Wood or Zubac though. Still, it feels like a resignation of sorts to do that, so instead, how about we say he replaces Jeff Green.

Anyway, probably worth noting that Aaron Gordon has thrived in his limited minutes as a small-ball centre. Consequently, I am not convinced that playing him there for ten extra minutes a game while someone like Zubac or Wood takes Jeff Green’s minutes hurts the Nuggets here. Jokic has been fine defensively, but not to such a degree that the team relies on him on that end.

[Alatan]

Jokics ability to shoot and spread the floor as a point center is a really important to his ability to run the teams offense. That is something the team would lack with Magic. I doubt that Magic led Nuggets could get past Wolves with Gobert camping in the paint or Lakers with AD camping in the same place.

[70sFan]

Well, Wolves beating Nuggets with Magic in place of Jokic is an insane take in my opinion.

[giberish]

I've often felt that the 2nd half of Magic's career is the best comparison for Jokic. Granted more as a point - PF rather than a point - C.

There would need to be some roster readjustment for position (swapping Gordon for a Gordon-quality center) but it would be very similar. There would be similar spacing as well, as Magic had a Jokic-like set-shot 3 pointer the later part of his career (you'd need the Gordon-quality center to be as much of a shooting threat as Gordon which isn't that high of a bar).