San Antonio Spurs
Post by George Gervin on Jan 4, 2022 17:12:25 GMT
I think this is overdue for putting this guy on par with the highest rated quartet - Giannis, KD, Steph, and LeBron - in the game, as he's arguably playing the best of any of these five guys while dragging a team not nearly as well stocked as those other squads. Since his last SW in February of last year, Jokic put up an MVP season that had few peers in NBA history. His closing 44 games last season featured:
In the playoffs, while it didn't end with the title run the Nuggets hoped for, Jokic's game wasn't the reason why as he averaged 29/12/5.2 on 50/35/80 splits across 10 games.
This year, to say he's gone up a level is an understatement. Through 30 games, Jokic is sporting:
I think it's clear that we're watching a guy who is arguably the best player in the game today, a singularity unto himself that is controlling the whole game to such a degree that by himself he's keeping this Nuggets roster afloat in the West. I know there will be folks who will argue for KD, Steph, or Giannis in that top perch, but the fact is Jokic is improving from an insane MVP season last year, and that should be recognized rating wise off of these last 84 games.
Current Rating: 96
Proposed Rating: 98
- 25.7/10.6/8.2 slash line for PTS, RBDs, and APG (all while keeping his TOs per game under 3)
- 57/38/85 splits on 65% TS
- An absurd advanced stats run where he was the League leader in OBPM (9.1), total BPM (12.1), VORP (8.8), WS/48 (.301), OWS (12.2), total WS (15.6), and PER (31.3)
In the playoffs, while it didn't end with the title run the Nuggets hoped for, Jokic's game wasn't the reason why as he averaged 29/12/5.2 on 50/35/80 splits across 10 games.
This year, to say he's gone up a level is an understatement. Through 30 games, Jokic is sporting:
- 25.7/14/7 slash line on 56/35/77 shooting splits (on 64% TS, so about the same as last year and this time he's got no MPJ or Murray)
- Some really, really historical advanced statistics that are just mind boggling when put together: 32.2 PER, 13.3 total BPM, a net On/Off rating of PLUS 24.2 (that's not a typo -- he's been THAT valuable to the Nuggets when he's on the court), and League leading Defensive (7.8) and total (15.2) RAPTOR, while being only behind Trae Young on Offensive RAPTOR. Jokic is also sporting a 9.1 WAR (well clear of #2 Steph Curry in that metric).
- To put his Defensive RAPTOR in perspective, his impact thus far by that measurement is 2.5x that of Giannis and so far in front of every player not named Rudy Gobert that it's laughable. From Cleaning the Glass, the Nuggets are in the 99th percentile for Pts Per Possession defense and eFG% defense with Jokic on the floor, and the 99th percentile for defensive rebounding rate. In short, he's not only holding down the backline, but also ensuring that opponents grab the fewest offensive rebounds based on misses when he's on the court.
I think it's clear that we're watching a guy who is arguably the best player in the game today, a singularity unto himself that is controlling the whole game to such a degree that by himself he's keeping this Nuggets roster afloat in the West. I know there will be folks who will argue for KD, Steph, or Giannis in that top perch, but the fact is Jokic is improving from an insane MVP season last year, and that should be recognized rating wise off of these last 84 games.
Current Rating: 96
Proposed Rating: 98
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