Can Nuggets handle bright lights of facing Lakers in conference finals?
Jeff Zillgitt on if the Nuggets will have a hard time dealing with the bright light that will be shining on their conference finals matchup against the Lakers.
Sports Seriously, USA TODAY
LOS ANGELES — Nikola Jokic lumbers up and down the court, belabored, like an exhausted moose. Yet indefatigable like a humpback whale. He pirouettes with the footwork of a ballet dancer, shoots with the delicate and precise touch of a painter, has the eyes of a hunter and the sublime sleight of hand of a magician.
The Denver Nuggets All-NBA center provides an entire package of excellent basketball that defies convention.
He is ultra-talented and gifted — a unique player that is an amalgamation of Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, pre-injury Arvydas Sabonis and Bill Walton, Hakeem Olajuwon and yes, even LeBron James.
Jokic didn’t win his third consecutive MVP this season — he finished second behind Philadelphia’s Joel Embiid — but without debate, he is the best player in the playoffs.
No one is doing more to help his team win than Jokic, who has the Nuggets up 2-0 against the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals. Game 3 is Saturday in Los Angeles (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
What makes Jokic so good?
Jokic’s stats lead to victories
By the game, he is reaching statistical accomplishments that no or very few players have reached.
After 23 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists in Game 2, Jokic joined Wilt Chamberlain as the only players with three consecutive games with a triple-double and seven triple-doubles in one postseason.
In Game 1, Jokic became the first player in NBA playoff history with at least 34 points, 21 rebounds and 14 assists, and was just the fourth 30-point, 20-rebound triple-double. Jokic has two of them, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Chamberlain each have one.
Jokic is also the first player with four consecutive 20-point triple-doubles in NBA postseason history.
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In 13 playoff games, he is averaging a triple-double: 30.4 points, 13.8 rebounds and 10.2 assists and shooting 54.9% from the field and 47.8% on 3-pointers. Jokic was close to averaging a triple-double during the regular season and his production helped the Nuggets get the No. 1 seed in the West, a spot they held from December until the end of the regular season in April.
When the topic of how the Lakers mix up coverages and defenders to guard Jokic is broached with the Nuggets, it is met with defiance. “As a team, we’ve seen everything there is to see on how teams will try to guard Nikola,” Denver’s Michael Porter Jr. said.
Shooting/scoring
Jokic is a gifted scorer — in his unconventional way. He will make mid-range and 3-point baskets with his high-arcing shot. It not accurate to call them jumpers because his feet don’t leave the ground. That’s where a little bit of Bird comes in.
Teams would rather have Jokic play outside because as good as his shot is, his post-up game in the paint is art and difficult to defend. His footwork is reminiscent of Olajuwon, and he keeps defenders guessing with fakes until he has an advantage.
The combination of finesse and power (he’s 6-11, 284 pounds) beguiles defenders, who are often helpless against Jokic’s moves.
He will give you buckets inside and out, and it opens up opportunities for his teammates.
Rebounding
Maybe Jokic gets a couple of inches off the court when he goes for a rebound. Maybe. But he uses size, length, strength and savvy to carve out space.
Jokic is tied with Anthony Davis for most playoff rebounds per game (13.8) and finished tied for second during the regular season (11.8 per game). He goes after offensive rebounds and leads all players in the playoffs with 3.5 putback points per game.
During the playoffs, Jokic has collected 20% of missed shots, the highest rebounding rate for any player above 28 minutes per game.
Passing
The NBA has had skilled passing big men — Sabonis and Walton among them. Jokic is better than both with his vision and on-target passes of the simple and difficult variety.
This is where the Johnson comparison comes in. It’s that eyes-behind-the-head, how did he make that pass? – just like Magic did. Jokic sees things most players cannot. Bruce Brown joined the Nuggets in the offseason and the first thing he learned about playing alongside Jokic was making sure he’s always ready for the basketball because with Jokic you never know when he might pass.
He has 26 assists in two games against Los Angeles.
He can beat you with his scoring and/or passing. That’s where the James comparison enters. Both players thrive on making the right play. At first, Jokic scoffed at the James comparison made by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope after Game 1. But he acknowledged, “Maybe we have like a similar global game if that makes any sense. We affect the game in different ways.”
A well-conditioned big man
When Jokic grabs rebounds and dribbles toward Denver’s basket, it looks like he might not make it across halfcourt.
“We were talking about it today in the coaches’ meeting,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said. “He’s one of the most highly conditioned players of his caliber in our league. He has a funny little run, a bounce when he runs, but that kid is in shape. If you watch him play end to end, side to side, he carries a huge load, and he’s able to do it.”
Jokic is a workhorse. He averaged 33.7 minutes during the regular season, 38.4 during the playoffs and logged 42 minutes in both games against the Lakers.
Follow NBA reporter Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt
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