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Jokic just mangled the Warriors.
Draymond could not pull any rabbits out of his hat vs Jokic.
Warriors have nobody to guard Jokic.

But can anybody guard Jokic?

Who are the 5 best guys at guarding Jokic?

Need to hold down Jokic’s scoring efficiency, hold down his points, hold down his rebounds and hold down his assists.

Strange this was made after a Warriors game.......They could never guard Jokic even before he became Mvp and hes always abused Draymond too. Draymond can force turnovers, get in his passes thats about it. 0 chance to do anything w/ his scoring, shooting or rebounding

Imo

Zubac
Brook
Rudy
Kat shockingly defends him well
Sengun

Jarrett Allen

GSP wrote:Strange this was made after a Warriors game.......They could never guard Jokic even before he became Mvp and hes always abused Draymond too. Draymond can force turnovers, get in his passes thats about it. 0 chance to do anything w/ his scoring, shooting or rebounding

Imo

Zubac
Brook
Rudy
Kat shockingly defends him well
Sengun

In the 4-1 Warriors playoff defeat of the Nuggets without Jamal Murray Draymond held Jokic down some in some of those games. Playing against Draymond can confuse centers.
Draymond is a different kind of center but Jokic’s seems to have Draymond completely figured out now. Nobody dominates Looney as thoroughly as Jokic dominates Looney.

I actually think Draymond is the best Jokic defender if for no other reason that he can foul him on every play without getting called for it. Other than that, I'd probably say Rudy.

Dwight Howard, somewhat particularly for the Lakers/Nuggets playoff series in the bubble, though I think he was a tough matchup for Jokic in a general sense. Draymond absolutely has given Jokic problems in the past, though to echo a previous poster, I think Jokic has figured him out by now. Clint Capella has also had some success in slowing Jokic down at times. Steven Adams, too. I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say that Joel Embiid is a great defender of Jokic, though Jokic does seem to often play more passively against Embiid, for whatever that's worth.

From the Bucks, Lopez does a solid job, Giannis has had a little success in very limit interactions surprising him with long pokes at the ball in the post but I don't know that he'd have the discipline to do it over long periods. I suspect over larger samples, nobody will guard him well because he'll learn and adapt.

You need size against Jokic, I think Marc Gasol would be a perfect option on him a few years ago. Right now, Lopez is a good option. Rudy as well, though Rudy can be pushed around. I think Embiid could do well also, but Embiid usually don't guard the best offensive players.

Also, it's frustrating to watch Green fouling Jokic on so many plays without call. It was also a pleasure to see that Jokic dominated him in these possessions anyway.

Lopez was the first to come to mind. He's not fast but still quick enough to keep up with Jokic, great instincts and can't really be bullied in the paint.

I might be remembering it wrong but I thought Sabonis also generally does a pretty decent job at covering Jokic.

70sFan wrote:Also, it's frustrating to watch Green fouling Jokic on so many plays without call. It was also a pleasure to see that Jokic dominated him in these possessions anyway.

NBA officiating is just a complete joke. Not only do the rules distort the game and encourage constant flopping, they're applied with 0 consistency on a game-by-game or player-by-player basis.

Wendell Carter Jr. has defended Jokic really well over the years.

Brolo and WCJ have done a decent job on him in regular season but I don’t trust them to hold him in a playoff series. Rudy has had 2 cracks at him during playoffs and has generally done well and both times Jokic has his full supporting cast (bubble and last year), so I’d say he is the best at “slowing him down”.

To people saying Dwight and M Gasol who are both out of the league..sure they had some success in the past, but current Jokic is a different beast.

70sFan wrote:You need size against Jokic, I think Marc Gasol would be a perfect option on him a few years ago. Right now, Lopez is a good option. Rudy as well, though Rudy can be pushed around. I think Embiid could do well also, but Embiid usually don't guard the best offensive players.

Nurkic showed this last night and has in the past as well.

homecourtloss wrote:

70sFan wrote:You need size against Jokic, I think Marc Gasol would be a perfect option on him a few years ago. Right now, Lopez is a good option. Rudy as well, though Rudy can be pushed around. I think Embiid could do well also, but Embiid usually don't guard the best offensive players.

Nurkic showed this last night and has in the past as well.

Yeah, I know it sounds lazy but you need size against Jokic, otherwise you are hopeless even with smart and skilled defenders like Draymond.

Peregrine01 wrote:

70sFan wrote:Also, it's frustrating to watch Green fouling Jokic on so many plays without call. It was also a pleasure to see that Jokic dominated him in these possessions anyway.

NBA officiating is just a complete joke. Not only do the rules distort the game and encourage constant flopping, they're applied with 0 consistency on a game-by-game or player-by-player basis.

Somehow I don't think the problem with NBA officiating today is that they don't call enough fouls

Would like to see what Jokic could do vs 2007-09 Dwight

parsnips33 wrote:

Peregrine01 wrote:

70sFan wrote:Also, it's frustrating to watch Green fouling Jokic on so many plays without call. It was also a pleasure to see that Jokic dominated him in these possessions anyway.

NBA officiating is just a complete joke. Not only do the rules distort the game and encourage constant flopping, they're applied with 0 consistency on a game-by-game or player-by-player basis.

Somehow I don't think the problem with NBA officiating today is that they don't call enough fouls

They don't call fouls that are fouls and call fouls that aren't fouls. The officiating as it is punishes players for trying to finish strong or with skill and rewards players who just throws their bodies into defenders or flop.

Love the Marc Gasol shoutout. This is exactly it.

Perhaps guys like prime Tyson Chandler or Joakim Noah. I know both of them weighed around 230-240lbs, but you need those types of bigs. They exist less and less today because most 6’11”+ bigs nowadays are not as muscular and play outside more.