The Nuggets are on a surge, largely thanks to the chemistry between Nikola Jokic and Russell Westbrook.
Denver has brought out the best of Russ, a Russ we haven’t seen in many years.
The Nuggets are 17-5 when Westbrook starts, which leads the team in winning percentage.
After the blowout win against the 76ers, Jokic recorded his fourth consecutive triple-double of 27 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists.
The big spoke highly of his connection with Westbrook, and you can tell there’s a genuine connection between the pair.
“I just love the connection because I just need to look at him, and he knows exactly what I’m thinking,” Jokic said. “He just waits for me to get to the spot, and he always passes it at the right time.”
He also had some thoughts about the teams like the Lakers and Clippers, that Russ has bounced around on.
“I mean, he’s a great player,” Jokic said. “I think people and the teams that he was passed [around by] misunderstood him and didn’t give him the opportunity to be who he is.”
As Jokic said, the Nuggets have just let Russ be Russ and yielded some fantastic results.
“I told him that I wanted him to challenge himself to be the best version of himself,” Nuggets coach Michael Malone said earlier this month. “No offense to any of his past coaches, but if you put Russell Westbrook in the corner, you’re not getting the whole package. We’ve made an effort to get the ball into his hands quite a bit this season.”
The NBA world is abuzz about how far the Nuggets can go with the Russ and Jokic combo firing on all cylinders.
“Russ is hooping right now,” former Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony said during a recent episode of his podcast.
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