There are plenty of reasons to still question Nikola Jokic’s supporting cast

The last two seasons, the Nuggets playoff run has ended with a thud. Two years ago, they were swept out of the second round by the Suns. Last year, they were dispatched by the Warriors in five games.

For those keeping score at home, that’s a 1-8 record in their last nine playoff games. With the reigning Most Valuable Player on the court for all nine games.

That’s not good. It certainly should be cause for concern as Denver enters the 2023 postseason.

This is the best chance the franchise has ever had to win a championship. Barring an epic collapse down the stretch, the Nuggets will enter the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, the first time they’ve ever earned that distinction. That means that the road to the NBA Finals goes through Denver.

A lot of people are using that fact to predict a first-ever trip to the Finals for the Nuggets. Denver is 32-7 at Ball Arena this season, one game behind Memphis for the best home record in the league. So the path is certainly there for the team to reach uncharted waters.

But there is still cause for concern. And it was on display again on Thursday night.

For the most part, the Nuggets 1-8 record in their last nine playoff games is dismissed because of injuries. Jamal Murray missed all nine games with a knee injury, while Michael Porter Jr. missed the Warriors series last year and was hobbled against the Suns the season before. Without those two key pieces, Denver didn’t have a chance.

That’s certainly true. Jokic was trying to win games with Aaron Gordon and a bunch of wannabe sidekicks. His supporting cast was far from good enough to win in the postseason.

While that is the case, there’s no guarantee that this year’s edition of Robins is going to generate a different end result for Batman. While there seems to be the idea that Murray and MPJ will magically push the Nuggets over the top, there’s little evidence to suggest that is true.

Yes, the trio reached the Western Conference Finals in 2020. But that was in the bubble. In order to get there, they had to crawl out of 3-1 deficits to both the Jazz and Clippers. They were one game away from being bounced in the first round.

While it’s admirable that they pulled off back-to-back comebacks, that accomplishment also comes with a giant asterisk. Denver did it when they didn’t have to play road games; they didn’t have to try to stay alive in front of a hostile crowd. There’s a reason no team in NBA history had ever come back to win two playoff series in which they trailed 3-1 prior to the Nuggets doing it; every other team didn’t get to play games on neutral court.

Outside of the bubble experience, the Nuggets playoff history with the current group has been spotty. In 2019, they needed seven games to dispatch of the Spurs in the first round; that was way too much of a struggle for a No. 2 seed. Then, they lost Game 7 in the second round on their home court, as the Blazers ended Denver’s season early.

Outside of the bubble, where they only posted a 9-10 postseason record, the Nuggets have been subpar in the playoffs. They’re just 12-17 in normal home-and-away series during the Michael Malone era. That’s not good.

To just assume that’s going to turn around is a bit naive. Thursday night showed why.

Yes, Murray and Porter Jr. are better players than they’ve been in the past. And admittedly, they’re huge upgrades over the sidekicks who were playing with Jokic last year. But they certainly aren’t stars.

In the last four games the Nuggets have played this season without Jokic, Denver is 0-4. They’ve lost those games by an average of 14.75 points.

The first three losses can easily be dismissed. After all, the combination of Murray, MPJ and Gordon didn’t all play in any of those defeats.

But they were all on the court on Thursday night. And they were all dreadful in front of a national TV audience.

Their plus/minus numbers tell the story. Gordon was -23, MPJ was -22 and Murray was -16. Yikes.

That’s not exactly the type of performances that instill confidence. True “stars” would be able to perform better than that in a one-off game without their leader.

But this is par for the course. It’s a continuation of a recent pattern.

In the four-straight losses in Jokic-less games, none of the teams other premier players has shot the ball well. Without the big man setting them up for open jumpers or dunks, they’ve been abysmal.

In three games without Jokic, Gordon has shot 18-of-47. In two apiece without the MVP, Murray is 17-of-42 and MPJ is 12-of-31.

Truly great players can rise to the occasion and carry their teams. Clearly, no one in the Nuggets second trio is in that category.

But stars, the types that are needed to win a championship, can do it every once in a while. It’s becoming more and more obvious that Murray, Porter Jr. and Gordon aren’t in that club, either.

They’re certainly paid like stars. Murray is earning $31.6 million this season, MPJ is hauling in $30.9 and Gordon is raking in $19.7.

That’s star money. That’s certainly not the type of investment that should result in a -71 on collective 47-of-120 shooting in seven combined games without Jokic.

Want some more evidence? Check out this chart, which shows how the Nuggets other players fare without Jokic in the lineup.

2022-23 Player Impact Chart for Nikola Jokic pic.twitter.com/tbAAm08B45

— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) March 31, 2023

On paper, the Nuggets have a championship-caliber team. With the MVP on the court, they often play like one, as well.

But come playoff time, there are big-time reasons to wonder about Jokic’s supporting cast. Last night’s egg against the Pelicans was just the latest example.

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