DENVER -- In the first two starts of Warriors center Damian Jones' NBA career, he generally has met expectations against high-quality big men, Oklahoma City’s Steven Adams and Utah’s Rudy Gobert.
Start No. 3, against Denver’s Nikola Jokic, shapes up as more taxing than either.
No center in the league possesses a more comprehensive offensive repertoire than Jokic, who can score on the block or swish 3-pointers with similar ease. His 6.1 assists per game last season led all centers. His 10 triple-doubles were more than anybody not named Russell Westbrook, Ben Simmons or LeBron James.
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Facing heralded Suns rookie center DeAndre Ayton on Saturday, Jokic took the No. 1 overall pick to school: 35 points (11 of 11 from the field, including 3 of 3 from deep), 12 rebounds, 11 assists, four steals and zero turnovers.
How did Ayton do? He picked up five fouls in 23 minutes, and finished with five points, eight rebounds, one assist and two turnovers.
Take note of the fouls, because it’s a factor that could come into play for Jones against Jokic. Though both are 23, Jokic has appeared in 230 games, with 189 starts. As he did with Ayton, Jokic will try to take advantage of Jones’ inexperience.
“He’s almost a rookie in that sense,” Draymond Green says of Jones’ difficulty in avoiding fouls. “You’ve got to gain your respect. You’ve got to earn your stripes. As the year goes on, officials will get more acquainted to him and how he plays the game. Then you start to get a little more freedom. But he’s got to earn his stripes.”
Golden State Warriors
Insofar as there’s little chance that Jones can statistically compete with Jokic, the Warriors merely hope Jokic can be kept from dominating the Nuggets' offensive action.
Whereas Adams and Gobert are rather stationary, staying almost entirely in the key, Jokic roams all over the place, often initiating the offense from 30 feet out. Jones will have to be smartly aggressive or risk getting burned.
Jones’ solid work gives the Warriors comfort, even as they realize he’ll be subjected to some difficult lessons along the way.
“He’s eager to learn,” Stephen Curry says, “and eager to show what he is about defensively, especially when we’re asking a lot of him in terms of communicating and seeing things before they happen and being in the right spots, as he gains more experience and gets more comfortable.
"He’s playing with confidence, and that’s what you want, to start the year.”
Consider it a win for the Warriors if Jones, after dealing with Jokic, emerges with his confidence fully intact.