There is some kind of magic in this nascent connection developing between Russell Westbrook and Nikola Jokic. It’s emerging, evolving, manifesting in real time. “You’re learning while you’re playing,” Jokic said earlier this month, when asked about the acclimation process of playing alongside Westbrook, one of the most divisive players in basketball history. Quick learner, that guy. For the past month, Westbrook and Jokic have coauthored volumes of telepathic poetry on the court: give-and-gos, inverted screen-and-rolls, synaptic read-and-react motions. It’s hard to believe they’ve only been teammates since July. Their synergy is both improbable and obvious.

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