The Denver Nuggets have not only upgraded their roster with the addition of Paul Millsap, but have also added another year and another offseason under centerpiece Nikola Jokic, who is slated to go from an offensive dynamo to an all-around star in the coming years.
Head coach Mike Malone noted his progress after four of five games this preseason.
“I've been really happy about our pick-and-roll defense,” Malone said, according to Harrison Wind of BSN Denver. “And the most exciting thing about that is our players are just as excited.”
“Nikola Jokic for me, and I may be over-analyzing, but Nikola looks like a different player on the defensive end of the floor. The energy and effort he's playing (with). And requiring him to be up at the level (of the ball) and be aggressive. We're getting a lot of deflections. We had 18 deflections against San Antonio. We're getting more steals this year and hopefully that aggressive defense in pick-and-rolls will help us also score easier baskets in transition.”
Jokic didn't prove as much of a shot-blocker when moving from the power forward to the center position after the departure of Jusuf Nurkic, but his defense on the passing lanes and his positioning has seen improvement after another year of continuity and now playing alongside a well-rounded power forward in Millsap.
The Serbian big man scored in double figures in all four of his preseason games, knocking down a sharp 5-of-8 from three-point land. His steals and blocks aren't reflected on the stat sheet, but his team defense can surely play dividends for his team in the long run.
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