Is Nikola Jokic, officially, “back”? He was looking so far from his usual self that I wondered if he fell off the wagon and started drinking (Coca-Cola) again. I wasn’t yet thinking that maybe the Jokic of last year was an anomaly, but maybe I started thinking about thinking about it.
Now he has three triple-doubles in a row, he’s not even statpadding to get them (unlike a certain NBA MVP winner whose name starts with “Russ” and ends with “Brick”). The only reason he didn’t get more stats in this game was because the refs had it out for the Nuggets, but you know what, that’s okay. Teams and players have to learn to deal with adversity, and the Nuggets powered through to win against the Spurs.
I’m getting off track. Is he back or not? I think he is. I don’t think you can deny it any longer. This the Jokic we were seeing on a regular basis last year, and now it’s the Jokic we’re seeing on a regular basis this year.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if Paul Millsap comes back and ruins what the Nuggets have going right now, I’m personally going to go to his house and cover all his trees in toilet paper. All of them. No tree spared. I don’t trust him to come back and not ruin everything.