With Nikola Jokic’s terrifying 41 points, 15 rebounds, and 15 assists on Christmas Eve, his third MVP seems to be beckoning himself. But we shouldn’t get the subject wrong, the Serbian’s re-evolution came from finding the best box partner for him, and the team steered in the right direction, pushing him to get better. Aaron Gordon may never be an All-Star, but he seems to be becoming a super-enhanced version of Kevin McHale’s Robert Parish.
A bit exaggerated? Maybe not. Because since Oct. 31, both Gordon and Jokic have shot better than 50 percent from the field in every game — a stretch of 22 consecutive games. That’s the longest record played by any duo over the past 40 seasons, surpassing the 18 games held by McHale and Parish in 1990-91.
After one season, Gordon has adapted to the fact that he has a Magic Johnson beside him, and he knows that he doesn’t have to play a “3D” anymore-he averaged only 2.7 three-pointers per game this season , is the lowest following the 2015-16 season, but the shooting percentage has reached a career high of 39%-he can let his innate beast-like athletic ability freely sway on the court, he can run, cover, Take a shot, appear anywhere, and don’t worry regarding the ball not coming to your hands when there is a gap.
A whopping 29.6 percent of Gordon’s shots this season have been slam dunks, up from a previous high of 17.3 percent in his first full season with the Nuggets. At present, he has played 29 games and has dunked 85 times. According to this progress, he is expected to reach more than 230 times by the end of the season. For comparison, Shaquille O’Neal’s single-season dunk record is 255.
Putting the ball in is obviously easier than putting it away. Gordon shot 79.7% from 0-3 feet from the basket this season, and the point is: 53.6% of his shots were in this area Finished in the zone, which is why he’s been more effective this season. The way Jokic “feeds the cake” is different from James Harden’s way of activating Clint Capela through the pick-and-roll. It is more like the one from the Warriors system-Green holds the ball in a high position, and then Igoudala and Curry cooperate with the pick-and-roll. The former receives the ball following an air cut Slam.
As we’ve seen over and over once more this season: these two have created a new level of 4-5 teamwork in basketball history in terms of passing and running, and Jokic’s threat to the free throw line is the NBA The “version 2.0” supported by the center forward combines Magic’s no-look through pass and Larry Bird’s superficial short pass. He gave Gordon those fancy passes that can only be seen in Queens, New York, combining ornamental and practicality, with the highest level of power, accuracy and timing, and sometimes even passing “change-ups” “To confuse the defender. ． ． The definition of a good pass has been changed. The law of fast, hard and accurate does not apply to Jokic. He often sends a slow, skewed pass with the frequency of chipping on a tennis court, but it is all accurate. If it is given to the right person, you may even suspect that it cannot be passed on otherwise.
Not only that, we know that Gordon was brought from Orlando to Denver, which is more than 1,500 meters above sea level, in order to replace Jerami Grant, protect Jokic on the defensive end, and take on some dirty work in the penalty area. Limit the opponent’s best perimeter attacker. He has done a very good job at this point. This season, his players include but are not limited to LeBron James, Jerami Grant, Zion Williamson, Kyle Kuzma and other large threes; Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, DeMar DeRozan and other elite-level scorers Linebackers; giants like Lauri Markkanen and Jusuf Nurkic who are over 210.
Gordon is not the top perimeter defender and a traditional No. 4, but his height, wingspan and mobility make him very suitable as a mobile sweeper in a defensive system that emphasizes on-the-spot prediction like the Nuggets. Ryan Saunders was hired this summer as part of Denver’s defensive coaches. His philosophy is that in modern basketball, teams need someone on the defensive end who can respond quickly to what’s happening on the court. The best example is Draymond Green. In Nugget, that person is Gordon.
From the first day of cooperation, this pair of insiders showed ideal adaptability. In the 2020-21 season, Jokic ushered in his first MVP season. Jamal Murray scored a career-high 21.2 points per game. Michael Porter Jr. became an excellent shooter, and with Gordon, the foursome outscored opponents by 18.2 points per 100 possessions in 117 minutes together.
It’s just that Murray’s torn anterior cruciate ligament and Porter’s back surgery ruined last season, so their “full body” must be postponed for another season. But this “lost year” made the Nuggets realize their problems more deeply. Having Jokic allows them to solve many problems on the offensive end, but the team must also help him find someone who can protect him from the defensive end. Overwhelmed helper — In the series once morest the Warriors, Stephen Curry and Jordan Poole took turns tearing them apart.
From Gordon, the Nuggets learned that they needed a defender with size, toughness and a certain degree of versatility, so this season they found Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Bruce Brown. Tim Connelly and Calvin Booth don’t play short-term. They understand that success in the NBA means more than just getting the best player. It’s regarding understanding and accepting his strengths and weaknesses and building a team around him.
So “The Ringer” writer Seerat Sohi wrote accurately: “This is the beauty of a team showing continuity. The Nuggets have continuously revised their game plan and roster over the years to make up for Jokic’s shortcomings. Looking for specifics to improve, having bodyguards around him to keep him from being a target for opponents to run following a screen.”
The effects of these changes may not be so obvious in the regular season, but when the Nuggets face Chris Paul, Devin Booker, and Curry once more in the playoffs, they will have better answers to the opponent’s problems.
Gordon’s success on the Denver Plateau also repeats an old fable: South Orange and North Trifoliate. In a commercial league, there will always be situations where a long man with great feet is asked to shoot the 3, a pick-and-roll genius is asked to play a traditional point guard, and a creative player is asked to play more mundane. , requiring a player who excels in one aspect to be versatile, and worst of all – requiring an unselfish player to play selfish basketball.
In the Nuggets, Gordon just did what he does best, posing a threat to the basket as much as possible; and Jokic was never forced to increase the number of shots, but became the Rob Gronkowski and Tom Brady in the NBA with the former — Biography The ball, the run, and the touchdown.
That might be the best thing we can see.
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