Nikola Jokic was sensational again with his 48 points but there’s another player coach Michael Malone thought Russell Westbrook should get a special mention after the Denver Nuggets picked themselves back-up from a humiliating loss to the Washington Wizards by stopping the Atlanta Hawks, the hottest team in the league in the last two weeks.
With Jamal Murray out for a second straight game, Russell Westbrook was tapped again as the starting guard for the Nuggets. He has been very effective in that spot even if they lost to the Wizards.
The 2017 had a near triple double 24 hours ago and then followed it up with nine points and 11 assists in the romp of their hosts Atlanta.
It is not his assists though that Malone is impressed with. It was his defense on the other team’s star.
“I have to give a lot of credit to Russell Westbrook. I thought his defense on one of the tougher covers in the NBA, Trae Young, was outstanding from the get-go all the way through,” Malone said after the game.
“Russ took that challenge on and that set the tone for us. Everyone else followed suit.”
Brodie definitely put clamps on Young’s wings as the Hawks star only managed to put up 15 points and was limited to just 13 attempts the whole game.
Young made 25 field goal attempts in their win against the Los Angeles Lakers and 19 against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Russell Westbrook and Nikola Jokic make great tandem in switch
There were naysayers about Westrbrook’s fit with the Nuggets but he has been shutting them down since the start of the season.
Against the Hawks, most of Westbrook’s assists were pocket passes to the threet-time MVP from a pick and roll.
Such play allows Jokic to get near the ring without having to dribble a lot.
The guy’s just throwing cheeseburgers.
Free cheeseburgers. pic.twitter.com/HGi22AIlIc
— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) December 9, 2024
Brodie is just someone who approaches the game 100 percent and Jokic loves him for it.
“I just love his energy,” the MVP candidate said back in November. “When you’re down, you know he’s going to push back, push the pace, he’s always going to bring the energy… He’s playing good for us.”
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