Is Nikola Jokic a franchise level talent?

hickfromfrenchlick · Post #881 » by **hickfromfrenchlick** » Tue Feb 14, 2017 5:16 pm

Manimal wrote:I still remember the moment he was drafted. The excitement as his name was announced, seeing him up there on the stage, shaking Silver's hand...

Considering he weighed like 300 pounds at the time, ESPN wasn't that off.

cjx · Post #882 » by **cjx** » Tue Feb 14, 2017 6:11 pm

Porz wrote:
cjx wrote:Jokic obliterated KP and then he obliterated Durant and Curry, slapped them around like the silly wimps they are, who's next on the hit list? Jokic will be the 2017 NBA Finals MVP, Nuggets win it all this year, you know it's true, you know what time it is, stop the hating, NJ no. 1, case closed!

feeling like i'm reading youtube comments. Can't you ban these trolls anyone, let them bash somewhere else. They have nothing to do with understanding or respecting the game. They would be the guys who will be sent to the d league, to grow up.

Don't hate, compeer. It's Jokic's time, join the revolution, respect the player.

mcmurphy · Post #883 » by **mcmurphy** » Tue Feb 14, 2017 7:34 pm

Something that leaps to the eye looking Jokic play is that it's not a stat padder.
All he does is only what is useful to the team not for personal hype.

For example the rebounding un/contested stat (stat from 1 Jan 2017):

In order the more uncontested rebound stat padder:

Cousins (32% contested)
Love (34%)
AD (36%)
Whitesaid/Howard (38%)

Jokic more of 1 of 2 rebounds are contested.

RLPH · Post #884 » by **RLPH** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 7:44 am

r0drig0lac wrote:
RLPH wrote:I would love to have Jokic on my team but he is this hot name in NBA that might get exposed when the defenses prepare for him next year. So far so good, solid drafting Denver!

as? Your basketball qi looks way above the other players on the court always ... remember larry bird .. no matter, it will adjust

I'm just saying, he is being this revelation since december and many players tend to have the second year slump after rookie season (or breakout season). He might be just one of them.

He has great bball IQ but he's no Larry Bird, c'mon now

GlenRiceARoni · Post #885 » by **GlenRiceARoni** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 10:01 am

RLPH wrote:
r0drig0lac wrote:
RLPH wrote:I would love to have Jokic on my team but he is this hot name in NBA that might get exposed when the defenses prepare for him next year. So far so good, solid drafting Denver!

as? Your basketball qi looks way above the other players on the court always ... remember larry bird .. no matter, it will adjust

I'm just saying, he is being this revelation since december and many players tend to have the second year slump after rookie season (or breakout season). He might be just one of them.

He has great bball IQ but he's no Larry Bird, c'mon now

Disagree.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------Hinkie has created a monster that will awaken in 2018 precisely 200 years after Mary Shelley published Frankenstein in 1818 A.D.
I don't think for a second this is coincidental as Hinkie is well educated and a fan of Classic British Lit

eathb_au · Post #886 » by **eathb_au** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 10:54 am

Johnlac1 wrote:I just watched a replay of Jokic's 40 pts against the Knicks, and I'm still shaking my head. Sure, he's very smart and very skilled, but he just doesn't look athletic enough to do what he's doing. But he is doing it. In fact, on a number of his baskets he looked awkward. Except the ball went into the basket.
I might want to wait for further examination before I make a final judgment, but he seems to making a fool out of doubters like me.

I agree, it's very bizarre.

I'd like to imagine most NBA players looking at him like that kid in gym class that ruthese look awa

Johnlac1 · Post #887 » by **Johnlac1** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 1:45 pm

eathb_au wrote:
Johnlac1 wrote:I just watched a replay of Jokic's 40 pts against the Knicks, and I'm still shaking my head. Sure, he's very smart and very skilled, but he just doesn't look athletic enough to do what he's doing. But he is doing it. In fact, on a number of his baskets he looked awkward. Except the ball went into the basket.
I might want to wait for further examination before I make a final judgment, but he seems to making a fool out of doubters like me.

I agree, it's very bizarre.

I'd like to imagine most NBA players looking at him like that kid in gym class that ruthese look awa

Jokic reminds me of those junk ball pitchers whose stuff looks easy to hit from the stands. But when you go up to try and hit his pitches the balls come at you at different speeds, dip and sway, and you can't hit it. Jokic is the prime junk ball pitcher of the NBA. He looks easy to hit i.e. defend, but his stuff is hard to hit.

nomansland · Post #888 » by **nomansland** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 4:25 pm

RLPH wrote:
r0drig0lac wrote:
RLPH wrote:I would love to have Jokic on my team but he is this hot name in NBA that might get exposed when the defenses prepare for him next year. So far so good, solid drafting Denver!

as? Your basketball qi looks way above the other players on the court always ... remember larry bird .. no matter, it will adjust

I'm just saying, he is being this revelation since december and many players tend to have the second year slump after rookie season (or breakout season). He might be just one of them.

He has great bball IQ but he's no Larry Bird, c'mon now

I was saying that last summer. Back then he was good enough to be on the radar and the subject of game plans. And he managed to overcome that.

It's going to get a lot tougher now though. Even in the past couple of weeks I'm starting to see it. Atlanta for example did a pretty good job of taking him out of his game for at least a half. Still got 18/15/3 on just below 50% shooting- a bad night for him- but it was pretty obvious what the Hawks wanted to do in that game.

NYKHardKnock · Post #889 » by **NYKHardKnock** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 4:32 pm

He's better than KP right now for sure. He's insane

GlenRiceARoni · Post #890 » by **GlenRiceARoni** » Wed Feb 15, 2017 7:08 pm

After digesting the last two Jokic explosions there are three things I feel we need to discuss in evaluating Jokic.

1) How terrific is screening game is. A lot of his assists are simply handoffs and screening for the shooter. Noah made a living off the dribble handoff move. I see this being a goto move for him that ultimately will free up his PNR and pick n pop game as well.

2) Whoa baby on these outlet passes. He may not quite have the kevin love zip but his touch is a thing of beauty. If he gets paired up with a few burners he can torch teams.

AND MOST IMPORTANTLY

3) This guy isnt getting ANY respect from the refs. Fortunately he still makes every shot anyway, but next year when hes an All-star (possibly even a starter now that even BlitzBolt has heard of him) his points and TS% could possibly improve with all the added FTA .

Also just a quick note i think juancho pairs well with him. Throw in plumlee and faried and this is probably the 2nd or 3rd best 4/5 frontcourt pairing & depth in the league right now.

Id rank Durant/Green/Patchouli Oil ahead. Gobert/Favors/Joe Johnson is a tough call. And Id give consideration to Blake/Deandre though i think they fall short, particularly due to lack of depth and outside shooting.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------Hinkie has created a monster that will awaken in 2018 precisely 200 years after Mary Shelley published Frankenstein in 1818 A.D.
I don't think for a second this is coincidental as Hinkie is well educated and a fan of Classic British Lit

Johnny Firpo · Post #891 » by **Johnny Firpo** » Thu Feb 16, 2017 11:34 am

Weird game from the Joker, he probably missed more gimmes in this one than he did all season. :lol:

I had a feeling that they kind of fell into a trap with Towns, and made it into a one on one match, Towns had a couple of forced shots himself, though obviously shot the ball much better than Jokic. Both are amazing prospects and will likely be up there among the best big men in a year or two. Maybe they're already there. The biggest difference maker in the game was Wiggins, he put on an amazing scoring performance, taking great shots. Rubio was his usual underrated self, the Wolves are just better when he has the ball in his hand.

Post #892 » by **bwgood77** » Fri Feb 17, 2017 5:50 pm

Q: Can you please revise your December unicorn column to include Nikola Jokic? He’s younger than the Freak and Embiid, he’s easily surpassed Porzingis, and he’s 14th in the league with a PER of 26.5. The Joker just put up his second triple-double in 11 days with a line that hadn’t been done since 1968 (17–21–12), and he did it against Golden State. He’s the best passer of the young stars without question. His per-36 stats are ridiculous. He doesn’t have injury problems. And he doesn’t even look like an athlete. People thought he was too fat and lazy to make it in the league. He used to drink THREE LITERS of Coke every day. He can’t run. And yet, he’s easily the most exciting young player in the league so far in 2017. Where would you put Jokic in the Freak-Porzingis-Embiid discussion?
— Ascher, Denver

BS: You left out that Jokic is averaging a 22–11–5 since New Year’s Day, or that he’s already cracked the short list of Best Passing Centers That Weren’t Named Walton or Sabonis. That’s not a long list, by the way: You’re looking at Joakim Noah during his Chicago-Thibs glory days, C-Webb and Vlade as a Sacramento big-man tag team, Bill Russell, Older Wilt, Wes Unseld, Sam Lacey and Alvan Adams (obscure ’70s hoops alert!!!!), MAYBE Marc Gasol … and that’s about it. But Jokic hasn’t earned “unicorn” status because we don’t watch him and think, “Oh my God, I’ve never seen this before!”
The good news: Only 21 years old, the Joker is already ripping off lob passes, entry passes, backdoor passes and outlet passes at just about the highest level possible. (Not quite Sabonis/Walton, but one level below.) What will happen after Denver remodels its entire offense AND roster around that one extraordinary talent? What happens when Jokic matures as an offensive weapon and thinker? What happens when he spends an entire offseason getting in superior shape and sticking to a healthier diet? ....

to read more....

https://theringer.com/the-trade-deadline-mailbag-3c2e2444e604#.jn1w027mf

FinnTheHuman · Post #893 » by **FinnTheHuman** » Fri Feb 17, 2017 11:59 pm

Read on Twitter

Jokic would be the fastest man to find the G spot, I swear.

OrangeBlueSkies · Post #894 » by **OrangeBlueSkies** » Sat Feb 18, 2017 12:51 am

eathb_au wrote:
Johnlac1 wrote:I just watched a replay of Jokic's 40 pts against the Knicks, and I'm still shaking my head. Sure, he's very smart and very skilled, but he just doesn't look athletic enough to do what he's doing. But he is doing it. In fact, on a number of his baskets he looked awkward. Except the ball went into the basket.
I might want to wait for further examination before I make a final judgment, but he seems to making a fool out of doubters like me.

I agree, it's very bizarre.

I'd like to imagine most NBA players looking at him like that kid in gym class that ruthese look awa

He's very good guys. The hype is real.

GlenRiceARoni · Post #895 » by **GlenRiceARoni** » Mon Feb 20, 2017 5:50 pm

I really like the Pelicans/Kings trade for Jokic.

If they grab the 8 seed like I believe they will jokic will begin to get his due as everyone just (incorrectly) assumes that New Orleans will just eviscerate teams for the rest of the year.

If Denver gets passed it's not a big deal as they have a lot of fringe veterans that can and probably should be moved for future assets to build around Jokic anyway.

It would probably keep them from making short sighted moves like maxing out gallinari

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cjx · Post #896 » by **cjx** » Fri Feb 24, 2017 10:36 pm

So far, Cauley-Stein and Towns have been the only young bigs who can challenge Jokic, these 3 will determine the fate of the NBA over the next 8 years, with an honorable mention to Cousins, book it!!

Post #897 » by **The Rebel** » Fri Feb 24, 2017 10:53 pm

cjx wrote:So far, Cauley-Stein and Towns have been the only young bigs who can challenge Jokic, these 3 will determine the fate of the NBA over the next 8 years, with an honorable mention to Cousins, book it!!

Cauley stein went off on Plumlee mostly, and it is not a Plumlee or Jokic issue it is a defensive system issue. Offensively the problem was also not Cauley Stein last night, it was the veterans freezing him out and playing iso ball all night.

ckman · Post #898 » by **ckman** » Fri Feb 24, 2017 10:58 pm

cjx wrote:So far, Cauley-Stein and Towns have been the only young bigs who can challenge Jokic, these 3 will determine the fate of the NBA over the next 8 years, with an honorable mention to Cousins, book it!!

You forgot someone

cjx · Post #899 » by **cjx** » Fri Feb 24, 2017 11:50 pm

ckman wrote:
cjx wrote:So far, Cauley-Stein and Towns have been the only young bigs who can challenge Jokic, these 3 will determine the fate of the NBA over the next 8 years, with an honorable mention to Cousins, book it!!

You forgot someone

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ckman · Post #900 » by **ckman** » Sat Feb 25, 2017 4:37 am

cjx wrote:
ckman wrote:
cjx wrote:So far, Cauley-Stein and Towns have been the only young bigs who can challenge Jokic, these 3 will determine the fate of the NBA over the next 8 years, with an honorable mention to Cousins, book it!!

You forgot someone

Scanning ... scanning ... scan complete ... target deemed non-threatening, file closed.

What?