Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets has been receiving a lot of criticism as of late. These jabs have reached Michael Malone but instead of firing back, the head coach admits that he gets a ‘kick out of' them.
Per Nick Kosminder of The Athletic, Malone pointed out his stellar statistics, noting that Jokic has been extraordinary for them.
“The thing I get a kick out of is here's a young man averaging 16, 10 and 6 and everyone says he's not playing well. I'll take that player any day when he's averaging that kind of points, assists and rebounds. He's doing a lot of great things for us.”
Malone on Nikola Jokic: "The thing I get a kick out of is here's a young man averaging 16, 10 and 6 and everyone says he's not playing well. I'll take that player any day when he's averaging that kind of points, assists and rebounds. He's doing a lot of great things for us."
— Nick Kosmider (@NickKosmider) December 5, 2019
Jokic's exact averages are 15.4 points per game, 10.1 rebounds, and, 6.1 assists. The criticisms point out that Jokic's numbers have gone down compared to last season. Last year, considered Jokic's breakout year as he was in the running for league MVP, the Serbian put up 20.1 points per game, 10.8 rebounds, and 7.3 assists.
However, despite posting lower numbers, the fact of the matter is that the Nuggets are still considered one of the elite teams in the West. They are currently in second place with a 14-5 record. For Jokic, posting great stats is great but it's not his priority anymore.
“Yeah, of course, when you came here, it’s in the back of your mind,” said Jokic, per Mike Singer of the Denver Post. “I want to stay here. This is the league of the stats, the numbers. It’s in the back of your head, but for me, not anymore.”
Jokic and Malone may be on to something here. Criticisms usually affect a player's confidence. But the player-coach duo has each others' backs.
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