Nikola Jokic is a three-time NBA MVP and is widely considered the best basketball player in the world. He's an offensive powerhouse. Rudy Gobert is a four-time Defensive Player of the Year award winner. He just had a great game defensively against Jokic, battling him one-on-one. The battle between offense and defense could decide the series.
Maybe it was just an "off-night" for the Joker. He was 8-20 from the floor, and a paltry 1-7 from downtown. He finished with 24 points, 15 rebounds, and 8 assists, a career night for many in the playoffs, but an off-night for Joker. It's not that it was an off-night so much as he couldn't figure out Rudy Gobert in the fourth quarter.
Jokic, a basketball genius, didn't have an answer for Gobert's one-on-one defense. Joker shot just 1 of 7 in the fourth quarter, the one make being a "poster" dunk on Gobert on a drive to the hoop that looked like something out of frustration. It was great though, and he should do that more often! But not just on a frustration flare, because he can obviously do it.
Joker has to put his smarts to use to get past the Wolves' new look
Jokic is a basketball savant, and there's no doubt he'll figure something out. But it was perplexing to see him shy away from the floater with Gobert waiting, deciding to pass it to Braun instead in the final minutes of the 119-114 Game 2 loss to the Timberwolves. It's not like he can't hit the floater over DPOY winners. He hit the game-icer over the top of this year's likely winner in Victor Wembanyama.
The Nuggets collapsed in the clutch partly because Jokic can't hit a three-pointer right now. He's been ice-cold since after the All-Star break, and it's only been getting worse. He's shooting just 21.4% from downtown over the first two games of the knotted-up series, which is what he shot in five games to close out the season in April, too.
It's allowing Gobert to get set up and get on Jokic in the post, or just let Joker toss up an errant three-ball. And late in the game, Donte DiVincenzo went OKC Thunder Alex Caruso style, fighting through screens on the two-man game with Jamal Murray and forcing up tough shots.
Instead of having Gobert roaming around and having Julius Randle on Jokic, it allowed the Timberwolves to get better matchups when it mattered. They took away the back-door cuts and shut down a big part of the Nuggets' offense.
It's critical for Jokic to figure out this new look and how to attack it. He's obviously capable, as this was Gobert's best game in a bit against Joker. Jokic will figure something out. They need him to. The series depends on it.
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