The Nikola Jokic assist of the week: The Joker’s drop-off to Plumdog Millionaire

Power forward might not be Plumlee’s natural position — center is — but he and Jokic have displayed some nice chemistry together like this sequence from Wednesday’s win over Cleveland.
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Injuries have forced Nikola Jokic and Mason Plumlee to start in the frontcourt together. (Chris Humphreys/USA Today Sports)

Injuries have forced Mason Plumlee to start in the Nuggets' frontcourt alongside Nikola Jokic. Forwards Kenneth Faried, Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari have all missed large chunks of the last month with various injuries.

Power forward might not be Plumlee's natural position — center is — but he and Jokic have displayed some nice chemistry together like this sequence from Wednesday's win over Cleveland.

Jokic is uncommonly good at tipping the ball to himself to collect rebounds. He does that here to corral it and then drops a dump-off pass to Plumlee for the dunk.

Jokic and Plumlee are sharing the court for roughly 10 minutes a game, per NBA.com. They're outscoring opponents by 0.8 points per 100 possessions in that time.

Playing them together isn't ideal. The numbers say strongly the Nuggets are best when Jokic and Faried share the floor. But it's a serviceable option at least until Faried is fully recovered from the back spasms that have been plaguing him and can endure heavier minutes.

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