The Nuggets defeated the 76ers 144-109 at home, with Embiid not playing. Denver fans chanted throughout the game, "Where are you, Embiid?" It can be said that Embiid is constantly being humiliated now. In the past few seasons, Embiid only dared to strike hard in Philadelphia but not in Denver. The topic of who is better between Embiid and Jokic has now been completely settled. The gap between Embiid and Jokic is simply too big, and the recent Nuggets have a championship look.
In the past 12 victories, the Nuggets have won by at least 10 points against their opponents. Gordon returned from injury and took the initiative to play off the bench, with the Nuggets still relying on Westbrook and Murray in the backcourt, Braun on the wing, Porter and Jokic at the 4-5 positions. After the game, Malone said that Gordon took the initiative to volunteer for the bench because he was afraid of disrupting the Nuggets' chemistry. This is indeed the case, as the Nuggets' record is fourth in the West, one game behind third-place Grizzlies, and 1.5 games behind second-place Rockets.
Compared to the Thunder, who are 8.5 games behind, the Nuggets are now aiming to maintain fourth place and compete for second. Moreover, Jokic has a chance to win the MVP again this year, and Alexander is not necessarily stable. Because Jokic really brought out the best in Westbrook, he is currently the only player in the league who can have good chemistry with Westbrook. And Westbrook and Jokic can truly achieve 1+1 greater than 2. With Jokic around, Westbrook is now playing reasonably every game, especially when starting. This season, when Westbrook starts, the Nuggets have a terrifying record of 17 wins and 5 losses, with a winning percentage of 77.3%, which is the highest in the league.
Among the 22 games where Westbrook started, there were several where Jokic was absent, which lowered the winning percentage. If they started together, Westbrook's winning percentage would be an astonishing 88%, which is quite impressive. No wonder O'Neal praised Jokic as the best center in the league after the game, saying that he made Westbrook return to his peak, which is even more terrifying. Today, Westbrook played 25 minutes as a starter, shooting 4-of-5 from the field, 1-of-2 from three-point range, contributing 11 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, and 1 steal, with a plus-minus of +20, playing unreasonably well.
Westbrook's reputation was pretty bad a few years ago. If it weren't for Jokic's strong support in acquiring Westbrook, he might not have any teams interested. When Westbrook exercised his player option to stay with the Clippers, the management directly said they didn't want him, and Frank wanted to trade him. From a realistic perspective, if the Clippers hadn't let go of Westbrook but continued to use him as a substitute, he would be much better than Little Porter. Perhaps the Clippers' record this season would have been better, and Westbrook indeed showed the value of a $50 million annual salary when he started.
That is to say, with a minimum salary, Westbrook, as the sixth man for the Nuggets, has already far exceeded the value of a 3millionannualsalary.StartinghasallowedtheNuggetstodrawa50 million superstar card with a minimum salary, and it's not just a trial card recently. Westbrook has been delivering reasonable performances game after game. I think Jokic must have something special; he may be the most suitable player for Westbrook in the entire league. Westbrook has partnered with many superstars but never had good chemistry, except for Jokic. It might be because Jokic is a center and has good shooting skills. Jokic has the physique to protect the rim and grab rebounds, and defensively, apart from being targeted for slow movement, he is qualified in other aspects.
Offensively, Jokic has a 360-degree shooting range, making him the best outside shooter for the Nuggets this year, and his inside skills are also strong. His low-post back-to-the-basket moves to find teammates are his signature moves. Jokic's one-star four-shooter system is indeed domineering, and Westbrook's efficiency has reached new heights. This season, Westbrook has played 43 games for the Nuggets, averaging 27 minutes per game, scoring 13 points, 5 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 1.5 steals. His shooting percentage is 46.7%, and his three-point shooting percentage is 34.2%, averaging 1.2 made shots. This is still with his earlier underwhelming performance pulling down the stats, so you can imagine how strong Westbrook has been recently. He is now a two-way superstar with excellent organizing skills.