The NBA regular season schedule is nearing its halfway point, with the Western Conference competition heating up. The Thunder are firmly in first place, having won 32 of their first 38 games, with a win rate close to 85%, giving them a high probability of achieving 70 wins for the season! Young teams like the Rockets and Grizzlies have risen through strong defense, and both have good roster depth. The Rockets' Jalen Green's form has gradually improved, and it is not difficult for these two teams to secure a top-four spot in the West. However, in reality, they may become easy targets for the lower half of the playoff bracket. The most competitive area is the play-in tournament zone; specifically, from the fifth-place Mavericks to the twelfth-place Spurs, there is only a three-game difference, leaving much room for change.
As the season progresses, many teams are gradually getting back on track. For example, the previously disintegrating Kings quietly achieved a seven-game winning streak to return to the top ten; the Suns also stabilized after a three-game winning streak with Bill coming off the bench. However, one team that is quite surprising is the Nuggets. As the 23-year champions, the Nuggets were stopped by the Timberwolves at the Western Conference Finals last season. During the offseason, the Nuggets gave Murray a four-year, $208 million super-max contract extension, which included a drop to ninth in the West at the beginning of the season. At that time, even Jokic was almost overwhelmed, bluntly stating that some people were not suitable for starting roles, needed to go to the bench, and needed to take less money. However, in the last nine games, the Nuggets have won seven, with Westbrook locking down the starting position and exploding, but Jokic is just too strong.
Let's start with a few sets of data: Jokic is averaging 37.2 minutes per game this season, ranking fourth in the league, contributing 31.2 points (third in the league) + 13.2 rebounds (third in the league) + 9.8 assists (second in the league) + 1.8 steals (fourth in the league) + a 47.1% three-point shooting percentage (first in the league) + 17.5 points in the paint (second in the league). Additionally, his plus-minus of +9.5 and offensive efficiency of 124.8 are both second in the league, and his game contribution value of 20.9 is first in the league! Among these nine statistics, we don't even need to look at the last six; just the scoring, rebounding, and assists are all top-three in the league. According to NBA statistics, he is the first and only person to achieve this! Previously, no player had even come close to having all three major statistics rank in the top five in the league! What does this mean?
There is another set of more exaggerated data: Jokic's On-Off value this season is +24.0 (the difference between on-court efficiency per 100 possessions and off-court efficiency), leading the league by a landslide. The second-ranked Alexander is only +15.8, and the third-ranked Wembanyama is +14.7. The LeBron we pay more attention to is -11.4, ranked fifth from the bottom in the league. According to calculations by the Nuggets' accompanying journalist, when Jokic is not on the court this season, the Nuggets' net efficiency value + shooting percentage + opponent shooting percentage restriction, etc., are all at the bottom of NBA historical statistics! This is still based on Westbrook giving his all, so you can imagine how poor the performance of the other Nuggets players is, especially Murray, who is taking a max contract but struggling to contribute energy, even drawing the ire of the accompanying journalist.
According to probability calculations given by American media, Jokic has a 59% chance of winning the MVP this season, followed by Alexander at 27%, and the third-place player (including Towns, Antetokounmpo, Tatum, etc.) has a maximum of 3% chance! Obviously, as long as the Nuggets can maintain a top-four spot in the West, there is no significant suspense for Jokic to win the MVP this season, even if Alexander rises rapidly, but Jokic's irreplaceable value is just too high! Over the past month, when the team faced internal and external troubles, Jokic and Westbrook led the team. As Westbrook said, he hopes to make it easier for the team to play, and I am also trying to do the same thing. As long as we work together, nothing is impossible! Indeed, Jokic and Westbrook are the highest-scoring duo in the league!
Previously, Jokic and the Nuggets completed a five-year, 270millionearlyrenewalcontractinthesummerof22,withasalaryof51.42 million this season. According to salary experts, if Jokic plans to end his career with the Nuggets, he has two options: firstly, to complete a three-year, 212millionrenewalthissummer,withthenewcontract′sfirstyearcoveringthelastyearoftheoriginalcontract′splayeroption(62.84 million); secondly, if Jokic waits until next summer (26 years), he can reach a five-year, $380 million super-max contract, breaking the NBA record! According to the Nuggets' accompanying journalist, the Nuggets obviously hope for the second option, but the premise is that they must make Jokic happy. But has Jokic been happy over the past year and a half?
After winning the championship, the Nuggets' management sent away Jeff Green, Bruce Brown, Pope, and Reggie, leaving the bench almost devoid of available players. Porter, who performed diligently, was put on the trading block, yet when facing the pressure of renewing Murray (who averaged 20 points and 6 assists for three consecutive seasons), they were cowardly enough not to even have an attitude towards bargaining. For the Nuggets, the top priority is considering how to handle Murray's big contract. If they delay Jokic for another season, even a honest man might lose his temper! The Nuggets really cannot afford to waste Jokic's prime years anymore!
