The Gordon-Jokić Pinwheel
In praise of Denver's other two-man game.
What is the best logo in basketball?1
Ignoring the Harpoon-sozzled screams for a cockeyed leprechaun, the answer is the Portland Trailblazers’ pinwheel. As an impressionist manifestation of basketball choreography, it is well nigh perfect.
I am reminded of that logo whenever I watch Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokić orbit each other inside the arc. Jokić’s celestial two-man game with Jamal Murray has received justifiable plaudits, but don’t sleep on the Gordon-Jokić whirling dervish. It is simultaneously balletic and deceptively simple.
Gordon receives over 40% of his passes from Jokić and is making nearly 60% of the shots he takes out of those passes per NBA tracking data. Some of that is an unsustainable 80% mark from beyond the arc, but Gordon is also shooting 52% on twos from Jokić passes. That’s the best mark for any player on the Nuggets.
Jokić has a way of making things easy for everone, Gordon included. Denver takes over 40% of its shot attempts at the rim when Jokić is on the floor, 98th percentile amongst all lineups in the league per Cleaning the Glass. The Nuggets’ rim frequency jumps by 14% with Jokić on the floor, in the 92nd percentile for all players in the league. It isn’t just mechanical, with Jokić making up most of the rim attempts himself; only 38% of Jokić’s own shots come at the rim, in the 39th percentile for Centers in the league. Denver’s players know to cut to the rim as soon as Jokić is doubled, confident that he will find them for an easy dunk or layup. Here’s Christian Braun making his move when his man, Moses Moody, helps the helper (Trayce Jackson-Davis bringing the double on Jokić):
The three point revolution notwithstanding, layups and dunks still represent the highest value proposition. Those cuts bring easy points. Denver leads the league in points per game off of cuts per NBA tracking data. And nobody on the Nuggets cuts as effectively as Gordon. His 1.46 points per possession represents the sixth best mark in the league.2 Gordon is one of only two non-centers in that category; the other, Evan Mobley, has played nearly as many minutes at center as he has at power forward per Cleaning the Glass.
As a canny cutter, Gordon is also well aware of when not to dive to the rim. Watch here as he clears out of the paint after passing to Jokić, drawing his man away just enough to give Jokić the space to drive to his spot for a hook shot that would be difficult for anyone else:
That’s where the Gordon-Jokić game has really reached another level this season, with Gordon acting as facilitator at times. Have yourself a one-touch give-and-go:
(That ended with a blocking foul on Jonathan Kuminga for the and-one.)
There is even some burgeoning pick-and-roll chemistry…but with Gordon as the ball handler:
If you are a fan of basketball artistry, the Denver Nuggets should be a must watch. Millions of little pinwheels, twirling all around the court.
Noah Lyles’ point is well taken, but basketball is used synonymously with the NBA and the WNBA in this space.
Minimum of two cuts per game.