Nikola Jokic has a way of making everyone around him look sharper, cleaner and a lot more dangerous. Right now, Peyton Watson and Tim Hardaway Jr. are providing the latest reminder of just how much that matters.
Both former Nuggets have stumbled badly with their new teams, and the contrast from last season is hard to miss. In Denver, Hardaway and Watson were thriving off the kind of looks Jokic creates so naturally. Now, without him, the production has fallen off a cliff.
Hardaway’s first stretch with the Heat has been rough. He finished third in Sixth Man of the Year voting last season while averaging 26.6 minutes off the bench for the Nuggets, and he posted a career-best 40.7% from three while knocking down 224 triples, also a career high.
That kind of efficiency helped him land a one-year, $6.5 million deal with Miami. But through his first 9 games, Hardaway is shooting just 28.6% from deep, a career low, and he’s averaging only 5.1 points after putting up 13.5 last season.
Watson’s move to Cleveland hasn’t gone much better. In his final season in Denver, he was scorching from long range, hitting 41.1% of his threes on 3.6 attempts per game.
After being traded to the Cavs and signing a four-year, $88 million contract, he’s opened his first seven games by shooting 17.9% from beyond the arc while taking 4.0 attempts per game. That’s not the start Cleveland had in mind.
It’s still a small sample, but the drop-off for both players points back to the same thing: Jokic makes the game easier. He draws defenders, sees the floor before everyone else and finds the open man without forcing the issue. He can even deliver a behind-the-back pass across the court and around three defenders into the shooting pocket, like he did to Cameron Johnson in the first game of the preseason.
That’s the Jokic effect in a nutshell. He doesn’t just rack up assists; he changes the quality of the shots everyone else gets. And for players like Hardaway and Watson, that difference is showing up fast.
The Nuggets, meanwhile, should only get better as the season goes on. Jokic and his basketball IQ will sort out the new-look second unit around him, and he’ll keep lifting the players next to him the way he always has.
In Other News...
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The Nuggets are only a week into the season, but their roster math is already creating a problem they probably did not expect to face this soon. Because of salary-cap constraints, Denver is carrying just 14 standard contracts and leaning on two-way players to fill out the group, a setup that comes with a built-in limit on how often those players can be used.
That limit is starting to matter. Denver has already used 16 of the 90 combined two-way appearances available, which has pushed the front office to weigh a promotion sooner than planned. Bryce Hopkins has emerged as the leading candidate for that move based on his performance, with Ryan Nembhard also in the mix, while Cam Whitmore looks less likely to be the one elevated. [Read more 🡒]
Pacers Get A Potential Boost Before Jokic Test In Mexico City
The Nuggets trip to Mexico City comes with the usual international-game wrinkles, and this one arrives with Indiana trying to get healthier in time for a tough test against Nikola Jokic and company. The Pacers are already carrying three players on the injury report as officially ruled out, which makes every upgrade matter a little more as they prepare for the altitude and the different rhythm that comes with playing outside the usual NBA routine.
Indiana did get a bit of encouraging news before tipoff, with two rotation pieces moving closer to availability after recent absences. One of them is expected to be back in game action, while the other was also bumped up on the report after missing the last two games, giving the Pacers a better chance to have some backcourt and wing stability for a matchup that already asks plenty of any opponent. [Read more 🡒]
Aaron Gordon Gave Nuggets Fans A Mexico City Moment To Love
The Nuggets left Mexico City with a win over Indiana, but the night also carried the kind of atmosphere that makes an overseas game feel bigger than the standings. Denver got important production from Cam Johnson, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray in the 114-102 victory, while Pascal Siakam paced the Pacers, and the setting gave the matchup a different pulse than a typical regular-season stop.
Before tipoff, one of the more memorable touches came when Aaron Gordon helped greet the crowd in Spanish, a small gesture that played well in a building full of energy. It was the sort of moment that can stick with fans long after the final horn, especially with both teams now moving on to games in Texas and leaving the Mexico City stage behind. [Read more 🡒]