Nikola Jokic
Nikola Jokic has been hot and cold in the team’s seeding games and not due to any particular inefficiency or inability to dominate. It just has seemed like he isn’t trying his hardest to dominate at all times. Considering that Joker is an unselfish player, and teammates like MPJ and Jamal Murray need to get their offense going to, it isn’t necessarily a problem.
Strangely, there’s only a two-point difference between Jokic’s scoring efforts in wins (20.9 points per game) and losses (18.9 points per game). There’s no difference between his field goal percentage in wins and losses (52.7%).
Nonetheless, as it’s been seen throughout the season and in the bubble, Joker’s dominance takes the Nuggets’ chances over the top. Jokic can be seen as the team’s closer but he’s also their leader; team’s often go the way their leaders do.
In the postseason, he’ll have his hands full right off the bat, as he’ll be facing center in Gobert in the first round. Gobert has the length and athleticism to take be a monster against him in the pick-and-roll game, so how he fares defensively will go a long way towards the team’s success.
In Game 1, Jokic was at times stifled by Gobert’s length but his craftiness allowed him to score 29 points on 52.4% shooting from the field. On the other end, team defense allowed the Nuggets to hold the Frenchman to 17 points, although he would shoot 72.7% from the field.