Denver Nuggets need triple-doubles from Nikola Jokic and Russell Westbrook to beat Utah Jazz

When the Denver Nuggets have triple-doubles from both Nikola Jokic and Russell Westbrook but still have to play both players all the way to the final buzzer in order to beat the Utah Jazz, I think that says quite a bit about both teams.

The Nuggets beat the Jazz, 132-121, on Monday night, but it was still a single-digit game with just 15.6 seconds left to play. Yes, Jokic had an incredible game — 36 points, 22 rebounds, 11 assists, four steals — and Westbrook proved that he is still one of the most formidable opponents in the NBA — 16 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, four steals — but the Nuggets are less than two years removed from one of the most impressive title runs in recent history.

They should be better than tied for 6th in the West and barely able to beat the Jazz. The Nuggets bench was so bad that Michael Malone had to play Jokic nearly 39 minutes against Utah. Depth matters and the Nuggets don’t have it.

On the other hand, the fact that the Jazz were able to stay in this game considering their roster, is something to be happy about if you’re a Jazz fan. They’ve done this a lot lately against teams that they frankly don’t have any business competing against. We’re continuing to see incremental improvements from the young players like Walker Kessler, Isaiah Collier, Kyle Filipowski, Cody Williams and Johnny Juzang.

And even if those guys aren’t making the strides that anyone on the outside would like to see, the coaching staff and front office have been really encouraged by the progress, and the players themselves are getting confidence boosts, which is really important when it comes to development. If they can see that they’re able to hang with the likes of Jokic and Westbrook, it will propel them to want to do more and get better.

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Jokic’s offensive rebounding

As I was watching this game, I couldn’t help but be impressed with the way that Jokic positions himself after a shot at the rim. Seven of his 22 rebounds were offensive boards and the majority of those were off his own misses.

Obviously, being tall and having a huge wingspan is important in these situations, but so is all the small things that Jokic does. When he shoot the ball it’s not wild. It’s soft and his release is really high so there’s less movement on the ball which means that there’s less of a chance of a long bounce after the fact.

Additionally, Jokic doesn’t jump very high, so he’s often not off-balance once he lands. Not jumping high might be seen as a disadvantage to some, but in his case, because he never puts his arms all the way down, it’s easy for him to raise them back up super fast for a soft put back or tip-in.

“He’s got maybe the best hands in basketball, and he has an unbelievable ability to tip the ball to himself and to track offensive rebounds, especially shots that he takes,” Jazz head coach Will Hardy said. “He doesn’t jump, but he’s really good at leveraging you with his body. He uses his size and his strength to push you under when he knows where the ball is going. It’s been a, probably an underrated skill of his. You know, his passing is highlighted a lot, his skill set gets highlighted a ton, but his ability to rebound without jumping very high is second to none.”

Keyonte George’s return

After missing four games because of a left ankle sprain, Keyonte George returned on Monday night.

Though he was a little quiet and subdued throughout his 28 minutes (seven points, six assists, three rebounds), he made quite a few smart plays and really good passes that just weren’t capitalized on by teammates.

“He was a little tentative,” Hardy said. “I didn’t see a ton of plays where he was bursting towards the rim. I think there were some 3s, especially some pocket 3s that he left on the table tonight...But overall, he was solid. He just didn’t seem quite as aggressive as he was the last time I saw him play, which I think is to be expected, coming back after a couple games away.”

The Jazz will now head out on a three-game road trip to New York, Miami and Orlando. George’s ankle will be monitored along the way to see how he feels after his return, but he said that he felt great and didn’t feel any pain after the game.