hardenASG13 wrote:SA37 wrote:hardenASG13 wrote:
It's not so much a critique, rather a statement on how Denver runs their offense. Jokic may be the only guy capable of being used the way Denver uses him, but he racks up lots of assists just handing the ball to a guy running/curling off him then setting a screen on their defender, often at the top of the key area. It leads to lots of assists, and inflates numbers to a degree. It plays out very well in formulas many here use to discuss basketball. I'd like to see it translate to beating good teams in the playoffs, upsetting a team or 2 like a guy like Luka has, etc. You can argue the same about SGA for now, but it looks like the west is OKCs to lose this year so that might not be the case much longer.
I find the line of argument over "empty" assists pretty weak. The 3-point argument is absurd. Is the next argument going to be he gets lots of rebounds because he is tall and stands near the basket?
No issue if you think SGA should get the MVP, but c'mon.
Are most of his 3s not standstill looks from the top of the key? How reliable is that in crunchtime in a deep playoffs series against a quality opponent, vs. being able to generate looks off the dribble?
This line of argument reminds me of when people used to say Shaq could only dunk. My take is unstoppable is unstoppable.
Most centers do not generate looks off the dribble. Most players do not make 44% of their 3s, especially on 4.4 shots per game. I don't know this for sure, but I am going to guess if Jokic ends the season anywhere around 44%, it will be the highest 3-point % by a center with at least 3 attempts per game. (Not sure what the minimum number of attempts is to be eligible for consideration for best % in the league.)
The fact Jokic is top 5 almost across the board is absolutely insane (reminder: ppg, rpg, apg, spg, 3pt %, double-doubles, and triple doubles) and I can't think of another player who has been able to do that regardless of position. Then add in he is likely to become only the 3rd player in history to average a triple-double in a single season. It's just one of the greatest individual seasons in the history of the NBA.










