David Adelman Advocates for Nikola Jokic's Defense Despite Criticism

Every season seems to bring the same debate about center Nikola Jokic, and it usually has nothing to do with his scoring or passing.

The Denver Nuggets star has won three MVP awards, but the biggest doubts about his game still come back to what he does on the other end of the floor, and head coach David Adelman does not buy them.

Adelman defended his star in a clip from a Nuggets season preview that SiriusXM NBA Radio shared Wednesday.

When the topic of Jokic's defense came up, he said Jokic is "much better defensively than people think," and the network framed it as a coach standing up for his best player against the outside talk.

It is a good time for Adelman to back his center, because Denver still has plenty to sort out in the preseason.

The Nuggets lost their preseason opener to the Utah Jazz 109-97 in Boulder on Sunday, and heading into the rematch, one thing to watch was how Denver finishes its defensive possessions.

Denver won that second game 117-106 in Utah on Tuesday.

The regular season opens on Thursday, Oct. 22, on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder, so there is still time to clean things up before the games count.

Jokic has never been sold as a shot-blocking big man, and that image is where most of the criticism starts.

A lot of fans judge defense by highlights and look for blocks and chase-down plays, but a center can help his team a lot by being in the right spot, using his size well and keeping his teammates organized.

That work shows up on film much more than it does in a box score.

Adelman sees that work every day, so I think his opinion should count for more than a few viral clips.

If the problem was real, a head coach would have no reason to cover for it in public, because opponents would go after it anyway.

By backing Jokic this way, Adelman is also telling the rest of the roster that the defense runs through his center as much as the offense does, and I like that as a way to set the tone in October.

Denver's defense will still only be as good as the group around Jokic.

Forward Aaron Gordon and guard Christian Braun are both back, and guard Jamal Murray has said Braun is now better at handling the ball under pressure, which should cut down on the sloppy turnovers that leave a defense scrambling.

Adelman has also talked about opening the year with a 10-man rotation, so the bench will have to defend well enough to protect leads when Jokic sits.

Jokic does not have to turn into a shot-blocker for this team to win.

If he stays in the right spots, keeps his teammates in theirs and brings steady effort on that end all season, even on nights when his shot is off, the old knock on his defense should start to fade.

That would make Adelman look pretty smart for sticking up for him before the season even tipped off.