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Since winning five in a row earlier in the season, the Denver Nuggets have struggled to find consistency on a night-to-night basis. And while Nikola Jokic escapes much of the blame, many fans and analysts, including former NBA player Chandler Parsons are pointing the finger at Denver's supporting cast.
Despite Jokic recording another triple-double, passing Magic Johnson on the all-time list in the process, the Nuggets lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers 126-114 last night, which puts Denver at 4-6 over the last 10 games.
After the defeat, Parsons called out the Nuggets.
“This is Jokic's best year… and the craziest thing about him is when you watch this Nuggets team play, when he goes out of the game, they stink,” Parsons said on FanDuel's ‘Run It Back'. “They are a completely different team. They go from — the other day, I think they were plus-8 when he was in the game and within like a five-minute span, they were like minus-13. The numbers don't lie.
“…I'm just a little worried just because the overall feel of this team feels like they've lost a step.”
Nuggets continue to struggle with Nikola Jokic on the bench
The team's record would certainly indicate the Nuggets have lost a step as well. Last season, Denver was 14-6 through the first 20 games of the season. This year, the Nuggets are 11-9.
Part of the dip in production can be attributed to the departure of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who signed with the Orlando Magic over the offseason. However, Christian Braun has done an admirable job replacing Caldwell-Pope in the starting lineup.
The concerns mainly stem from a lack of cohesiveness when Jokic is off of the floor. Although most teams with superstar players expect a drop-off when the player is sitting on the bench, the Nuggets are barely able to keep their proverbial head above water when Jokic rests.
According to Inpredictable, Jokic is the NBA's second biggest difference-maker in terms of on/off win probability metrics. The Nuggets' win probability increases by 4.12 when Jokic is on the floor and decreases by 2.71 when he is off the floor, accounting for a 6.83 swing in win probability. The only player to have a greater difference than Jokic is Braun (7.60), who plays the majority of his minutes alongside Jokic.
However the Nuggets go about fixing or at least limiting the on-off disparity, they should do so as quickly as possible. Jokic, who will turn 30 this season, is averaging a career-high 37.7 minutes per game this season and has taken on an even greater offensive load as a result of Jamal Murray's slump.
Jokic is currently averaging 29.9 points, 13.4 rebounds, and 10.4 assists on shooting splits of .559 FG / .500 3P / .817 FT. He leads the league in rebounds, player efficiency rating (PER), box plus/minus (BPM), and value over replacement player (VORP), in addition to ranking in the top 10 of the NBA in points, assists, steals, and three-point percentage.
