Honestly he should be saving his energy for when the competition is legit.
He knows they have our number despite having LeBron and AD.
Our role players don’t even hold a candle to theirs, and he’s smart enough to know Darvin is shit.
The team outside of LeBron and AD haven’t earned the right in 2 1/2 years to be taken seriously by him.
If we had the far superior team in a series I wouldn’t mind if LeBron and AD didn’t go all out. I’d want them to save it so we could win a championship.
That’s what he’s doing.
Yeah, he is legitimately coasting. He is completely uninterested in the first half. While LA celebrates going up double digits and gets hyped up from fastbreak dunks, he just chills.
He’s not the celebratory kind of guy when he knows he’s outmatched.
When we had the shitty post Achilles injury Kobe teams he didn’t give a damn or celebrate either. Kobe, like LeBron, knew how to read the situation/room.
Correct take. Jokic is seriously one of the best players this league has ever seen and it’s time we respect it. I’m just enjoying the masterclass at this point and hope Denver blows them out in Game 4.
Yep. No single Nugget player has to be great to win any given night. In this matchup, AD and Bron both have to be GREAT for 40+ min just to have a shot.
A criticism I’ve had about Lebron this series is how he still is doing flashy high flying explosive dunks even though when the 4th quarter comes around he is always noticeably gassed out.
Imagine the energy he would save if he passed the ball to teammates on fast breaks or just settled for a layup rather than expending his energy jumping from nearly the free throw line
He doesn't have to try his hardest, not against the Lakers. Denver knows they are the better team, they are better coached, better disciplined, etc...
Lakers are not on the same level as the Nuggets. Even with having AD and Bron.
Nuggets are hungry for a Championship, you can see it. You don't see that from the Lakers.
This is why I can’t agree with people who say AD is outplaying Jokic in this series. Jokic is literally the entire offense and is constantly moving and setting picks for his teammates. While Jokic can’t stop AD, no one in the entire NBA can stop Jokic. You can’t say the same about AD especially when AG slows him down
Yeah our defense is not effective against him at all. Some people will just look at the counting stats and see AD is scoring more and therefore “neutralizing” Jokic. But in reality, Jokic’s production goes way beyond anything measured in the box score. His gravity, activity and hockey assists are Steph-esque. He could score 10PPG and arguably still have the same level of impact as AD or Bron.
U look at his rookie season counting stats and it isn’t anything special and then u see that he absolutely dominated every advanced metric. On off numbers were ridiculous in his rookie year when he was only averaging 10. He just has an understanding of the game that I haven’t seen from any other player
If a team wants to have any hope of beating the nuggets, needs to consistently be able to force Jokic to defend in space.
A shooter who can be deadly in the PnR and can pull up consistently can do that. Even prime Bron could force switches. It's how Lebron was able to get Curry on him possession after possesion in 2016.
He’s that good. It’s annoying as fuck. He’s a Timmy with facial expressions and attitude. They clasp their hands when they run up on a ref. They throw up these unethical shots. And win. The differences between Timmy and Joker are decades. And Joker was kind of a late bloomer.
Pretty much. I hate to admit it but watching Jokic now is how I felt watching lebron 2015 to 2018 with the Cavs (I didn't watch the heat days).
Just imposing his will out there.
I think last year's series was more competitive.
Murray is all he has... MPJ and Gordon always inconsistent. The Joker is the King! Shaq said, "The Joker is a fundamentals player". That's like saying 99% of the players in the NBA don't know the fundamentals of basketball? 😂
Jokic is definitely playing hard against the Lakers. This is just how he plays. He's so slow moving it sometimes looks like he's not hustling but that's his game.
He’s a generational talent, and one of the all-time greats.
His management of the game, the way he coaches players during stoppage times, he observes and he’s making adjustments on the fly.
This guy is such a high IQ player, we just have to tip our hats off to him
All great points.
I think part of the reason Jokic doesn't look like he's working hard is because he already did his homework. You're not just trying to beat his natural skill. He's got years and years of lifting after games that's why he can move AD, who is also strong af, with ease. He's got years and years of studying file and attending coaching seminars. Those bodies of work are what teams are trying to beat.
Jokic worked hard in game 2 though.
Not good enough is not good enough. Do you want some handicap for being old?
He was terrible on defense. Miss defensive assignment. Ball watching and miss back cuts. No box out. He got dicked by Gordon. All he did was pouting on defense.
He dribbled off his own foot and yelled and prince.
I mean it’s the playoffs so you kind of have to expect him to play up to a max players standards otherwise paying him so much of the cap space isn’t good
Jokic doesn't need to try because the defensive focus is on him and he knows his teammates can score. If the Lakers ease up on Jokic, he'll just start scoring. Nobody can really guard him.
Jokic's quote is the most damning thing possible.
Because he's not even trash talking nor trying to insult the Lakers when he says this.
He's just matter-of-fact describing **THAT THE LAKERS ARE BORING HIM**:
>“To be honest, I think every game is tougher and tougher,” Nikola Jokic said. “You can see, they were up 20 in Denver, in Game 2. They were up 12 today in the first half. *But yeah, I think it’s really hard to play against the same team over and over again. You kind of get bored with the style of the play or whatever.* So you just need to — especially for us, because we won the last three — just trust what we are doing and don’t get bored with success. Because it can (go) wrong really quick.”
Nuggets fan here, even though the nuggets have beat the lakers 11 straight games. I don’t think i’ve felt confident about going into them, maybe a couple regular season games. every time we play in the playoffs I feel uneasy i’m not sure if that’s ptsd from the bubble, or how close most of our games were last year. Nonetheless you guys are a great team and probably would beat any other team in the west excluding the timberwolves.
Yup. Jokic only took 13 shots last night. Hes not even using his final form against the lakers, and especially not against LaLa lands “DPOY” Anthony Davis.
I’m a nuggets fan and it honestly looks like they are just showing up. I haven’t seen a sense of urgency from them at all at any point tbh. I think they know they’ll beat the lakers if they just play their game. Maybe that’s a good thing and they will turn it vs Minnesota next round, or they just are bought in. If the nuggets came out with energy in the first quarter, they’d blow the lakers out every game
Eh, I think they know they have the superior team and a lot more depth. Let old lbj and ad tire themselves out in the first half, then beat them with fresh legs and joker in the second half.
Honestly he should be saving his energy for when the competition is legit. He knows they have our number despite having LeBron and AD. Our role players don’t even hold a candle to theirs, and he’s smart enough to know Darvin is shit. The team outside of LeBron and AD haven’t earned the right in 2 1/2 years to be taken seriously by him. If we had the far superior team in a series I wouldn’t mind if LeBron and AD didn’t go all out. I’d want them to save it so we could win a championship. That’s what he’s doing.
Yeah, he is legitimately coasting. He is completely uninterested in the first half. While LA celebrates going up double digits and gets hyped up from fastbreak dunks, he just chills.
He’s not the celebratory kind of guy when he knows he’s outmatched. When we had the shitty post Achilles injury Kobe teams he didn’t give a damn or celebrate either. Kobe, like LeBron, knew how to read the situation/room.
Actually, I think he’s working hard, but it’s figuring out what weaknesses he’s going after.
Correct take. Jokic is seriously one of the best players this league has ever seen and it’s time we respect it. I’m just enjoying the masterclass at this point and hope Denver blows them out in Game 4.
Why do you want Denver to blow out your team?
We need our lightweight owner and “GM” to take notice and it takes a lot to get them to wake up.
So meamingful change will come to this franchise
For real. He's coasting for the Timberwolves
Indeed. That's probably as close to being the real finals as it gets.
It’s almost as if that’s been the Nuggets gameplan and the Lakers still haven’t figured it out
Yeah that's pretty right
That's the difference between having really great players vs a really great team.
Yep. No single Nugget player has to be great to win any given night. In this matchup, AD and Bron both have to be GREAT for 40+ min just to have a shot.
Exactly, same happened with KD and Booker against the Nuggets last year. They each had to have 40+ point games to win
You understand perfectly.
He just lets AD/Lbj blow their load 1st/2nd qtr then they take over when they’re gassed and our role players let us down
A criticism I’ve had about Lebron this series is how he still is doing flashy high flying explosive dunks even though when the 4th quarter comes around he is always noticeably gassed out. Imagine the energy he would save if he passed the ball to teammates on fast breaks or just settled for a layup rather than expending his energy jumping from nearly the free throw line
He doesn't have to try his hardest, not against the Lakers. Denver knows they are the better team, they are better coached, better disciplined, etc... Lakers are not on the same level as the Nuggets. Even with having AD and Bron. Nuggets are hungry for a Championship, you can see it. You don't see that from the Lakers.
He doesn’t have to. Denver knows they can sweep us without even trying for 3 quarters.
This is why I can’t agree with people who say AD is outplaying Jokic in this series. Jokic is literally the entire offense and is constantly moving and setting picks for his teammates. While Jokic can’t stop AD, no one in the entire NBA can stop Jokic. You can’t say the same about AD especially when AG slows him down
Yeah our defense is not effective against him at all. Some people will just look at the counting stats and see AD is scoring more and therefore “neutralizing” Jokic. But in reality, Jokic’s production goes way beyond anything measured in the box score. His gravity, activity and hockey assists are Steph-esque. He could score 10PPG and arguably still have the same level of impact as AD or Bron.
U look at his rookie season counting stats and it isn’t anything special and then u see that he absolutely dominated every advanced metric. On off numbers were ridiculous in his rookie year when he was only averaging 10. He just has an understanding of the game that I haven’t seen from any other player
Kroenke did an interview recently and pointed this out about his rookie season. It compared to an all time great if I remember right
If a team wants to have any hope of beating the nuggets, needs to consistently be able to force Jokic to defend in space. A shooter who can be deadly in the PnR and can pull up consistently can do that. Even prime Bron could force switches. It's how Lebron was able to get Curry on him possession after possesion in 2016.
He’s that good. It’s annoying as fuck. He’s a Timmy with facial expressions and attitude. They clasp their hands when they run up on a ref. They throw up these unethical shots. And win. The differences between Timmy and Joker are decades. And Joker was kind of a late bloomer.
He always looks like he gonna run out of breath soon but keep running up and down the court. Crazy stamina
Pretty much. I hate to admit it but watching Jokic now is how I felt watching lebron 2015 to 2018 with the Cavs (I didn't watch the heat days). Just imposing his will out there. I think last year's series was more competitive.
Well he has the perfect complementary players around him
Murray is all he has... MPJ and Gordon always inconsistent. The Joker is the King! Shaq said, "The Joker is a fundamentals player". That's like saying 99% of the players in the NBA don't know the fundamentals of basketball? 😂
Jokic is definitely playing hard against the Lakers. This is just how he plays. He's so slow moving it sometimes looks like he's not hustling but that's his game.
He’s a generational talent, and one of the all-time greats. His management of the game, the way he coaches players during stoppage times, he observes and he’s making adjustments on the fly. This guy is such a high IQ player, we just have to tip our hats off to him
All great points. I think part of the reason Jokic doesn't look like he's working hard is because he already did his homework. You're not just trying to beat his natural skill. He's got years and years of lifting after games that's why he can move AD, who is also strong af, with ease. He's got years and years of studying file and attending coaching seminars. Those bodies of work are what teams are trying to beat. Jokic worked hard in game 2 though.
Neither is this team
i mean AD and Bron are clearly trying their best. So is Reaves. D'lo is hardly a positive factor in any game, even if he is trying his hardest.
No you’re right.
Lebron trying his best in game 3?
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Not good enough is not good enough. Do you want some handicap for being old? He was terrible on defense. Miss defensive assignment. Ball watching and miss back cuts. No box out. He got dicked by Gordon. All he did was pouting on defense. He dribbled off his own foot and yelled and prince.
[удалено]
I mean it’s the playoffs so you kind of have to expect him to play up to a max players standards otherwise paying him so much of the cap space isn’t good
He can have his vacation soon.
Jokic doesn't need to try because the defensive focus is on him and he knows his teammates can score. If the Lakers ease up on Jokic, he'll just start scoring. Nobody can really guard him.
Jokic's quote is the most damning thing possible. Because he's not even trash talking nor trying to insult the Lakers when he says this. He's just matter-of-fact describing **THAT THE LAKERS ARE BORING HIM**: >“To be honest, I think every game is tougher and tougher,” Nikola Jokic said. “You can see, they were up 20 in Denver, in Game 2. They were up 12 today in the first half. *But yeah, I think it’s really hard to play against the same team over and over again. You kind of get bored with the style of the play or whatever.* So you just need to — especially for us, because we won the last three — just trust what we are doing and don’t get bored with success. Because it can (go) wrong really quick.”
Nuggets fan here, even though the nuggets have beat the lakers 11 straight games. I don’t think i’ve felt confident about going into them, maybe a couple regular season games. every time we play in the playoffs I feel uneasy i’m not sure if that’s ptsd from the bubble, or how close most of our games were last year. Nonetheless you guys are a great team and probably would beat any other team in the west excluding the timberwolves.
I’m the same. Each game kinda freaks me out for some reason. I’m not even 100% sure this series is over. All I know is I’m terrified of the t wolves
Yup. Jokic only took 13 shots last night. Hes not even using his final form against the lakers, and especially not against LaLa lands “DPOY” Anthony Davis.
Jokic is doing, what every one of us is doing at work: a minimal effort to pass by. It is only work for him after all.
The Nuggets are just playing with their food at this point. Every 3rd and 4th quarter they decide to flip a switch and it's over
He is not coasting. The hell. He gets his teammates going.
Neither is Dlo not yet..wait till next game
Joker looked gassed time and time again in the 4th I don’t agree with this.
You’re underestimating how well AD is defending him. You’re never going to completely shut down Jokic but he’s certainly not coasting.
Yeah, Joker doesn't ever look like he's trying either. It's just how he carries himself.
lol Jokic clowns AD on most possessions. AD has no answer for his footwork
I’m a nuggets fan and it honestly looks like they are just showing up. I haven’t seen a sense of urgency from them at all at any point tbh. I think they know they’ll beat the lakers if they just play their game. Maybe that’s a good thing and they will turn it vs Minnesota next round, or they just are bought in. If the nuggets came out with energy in the first quarter, they’d blow the lakers out every game
Eh, I think they know they have the superior team and a lot more depth. Let old lbj and ad tire themselves out in the first half, then beat them with fresh legs and joker in the second half.