Ron Swanson wrote:The "Jokic isn't made for the playoffs" stuff is comical, but I also don't think it should be completely dismissed how badly he's been stymied in his last two playoff series by teams that understand you should just target him on high pick & rolls over and over again, while devoting single coverage and playing the passing lanes on defense.
We're in an era where these guys are always gonna get their numbers (25/10/5 doesn't look "bad" on paper), but 51.6% TS, only 10 assists vs. 6 turnovers, and a mind-boggling 45 points-per-100 worse with him on the court vs. off is.......yikes. GS is just going small and quite literally running him off the court. I'm just stunned that he's been this ineffective through 2 games.
I just finished rewatching game 2 and my thoughts are quite a bit different than they were in the first place. My points:
1. It's true that Jokic has been hunted by Curry and Draymond in P&Rs and he did a poor job defending them in most cases, but Nuggets defensive concerns aren't really related to Jokic. I haven't seen such a bad defensive team off-ball in a long time. Of course Warriors are tough to contain with their constant movement, but Nuggets were literally lost after one off-ball screen at times. This team has no decent defenders without the ball, even Gordon who's supposedly to be good defender is lost when he doesn't guard the ball-handler. So yeah, you can question Jokic's defensive value but he'd look much better in different team. This one is absolute disaster. Jokic despite playing mediore series is probably still their best defender, which says a lot.
2. With that being said, this is why I value two-way centers historically so much. Jokic shouldn't be blamed for Nuggets horrible defensive performance, but he can't do much to at least cover some of his teammates mistakes. If you look at someone like Gobert, he's been criticized a lot but the truth is that he makes Jazz competitive on defensive end, even after all those breakdowns. Jokic can't do that and although it's not really a criticism, we should consider that when we compare him to other ATG centers. I mean, Kareem was forced to score 40 ppg vs Warriors in 1977 and he still cleared a lot of breakdowns on the other side of the court.
3. Describing Warriors defensive gameplan as "devoting single coverage and playing passing lanes" is a huge simplification. Jokic draws a lot of attention in this series. Warriors executes their gameplan perfectly, but Jokic still eats them alive every time he gets a space to breath. I mean, I've been reading comments that Draymond Green shuts him down but the reality is that Jokic usually scores on him most of the time they match up straight. The difference maker is how Green guards him without the ball. He's smart enough to see all these little tricks Jokic does, all those subtle moves that usually makes him open. Draymond is extremely smart and he follows him well. It also helps that Nuggets perimeter players can't create anything without Jokic help of course.
4. Jokic is clearly frustrated and I can't blame him. Warriors sag off shooters and Nuggets players can't take advantage out of that. He makes some nice passes only to see how his teammates turns the ball over or miss open shots. There was one play in the third quarter when Jokic spins in the post to the baseline, help came into him and he found Green open under the basket, but Green decided to pass the ball outside and the advantage was over. It's such a shame that Jokic don't have anyone to play with. It reminds me 1982 Moses situation when he won MVP just to lose in the first round because his team was so bad.
5. Funny enough, Cousins is the bright spot on the Nuggets team. When he plays, Warriors struggle to contain him and he usually makes good reads on the fly. Didn't expect that.
6. Warriors defense looks very good, but to draw a clear conclusion we have to wait for another round. I'd like to see their defense against guards who can dribble the ball without Jokic's help.
7. Jordan Poole is quietly the best player of his team for now (or 2nd to Draymond). I know that Curry went nuclear from the bench, but after rewatching this game I think Poole was even more impressive.
