Nikola Jokic has been uncharacteristically bad against the Minnesota Timberwolves through the first three games of the Nuggets' first-round playoff series. He's gone up against Rudy Gobert, who has just suddenly figured Jokic out after many failed attempts. Or perhaps the problem is Jokic's wrist, and the clues have been hidden in plain sight.
We have more than clues, too. We now also have a report from Tim MacMahon on the new '"Brian Windhorst and the Hoop Collective" podcast that Jokic has even received a painkiller injection in his right wrist, Jokic's shooting wrist.
Clearly, his wrist has been bothering him. Gobert didn't just figure Joker out of all of a sudden. Jokic averaged 38.3 points, 15.0 rebounds, and 11.3 assists in four prior meetings during the regular season. What happened is that something happened to Jokic's wrist that has left him as a liability on the perimeter, and it's put the Nuggets' offense into a corner that they looked stuck in during Game 3's 113-96 defeat by the Timberwolves.
Jokic's three-point shooting and passing were big clues
Jokic is a great passer and a sharpshooter from beyond the arc, but since his return from a 16-game absence due to a knee injury, he's had games that make you question those statements. He had a game with 10 turnovers, and some passes looked more intended for the opposing team than his teammates. In Game 3's loss, he had just 3 assists and 4 turnovers.
Gobert was able to put pressure on Jokic and force some bad passes, but we've all seen Jokic make highlight-reel passes. You need a strong, stable wrist for those. That Jokic hasn't been on display in round one.
You also need a strong, stable wrist to hoist up the longer-distance three-point shots. And Jokic has only steadily gotten worse as the season has worn on from deep, perhaps an indicator that the wrist is getting worse.
Jokic has fallen from a 42.0% three-point percentage pre-All-Star break to a 31.6% three-point shooter after the break. That number dropped to 21.4% in five April regular season games, and is now 20.8% in three playoff games.
Hopefully, Jokic can heal or overcome the wrist
The only two options are to heal the wrist injury with what amounts to band-aids via the injections, or for Jokic to figure out a way to overcome the issue and start hitting threes. Without that, the Nuggets look stuck on offense.
The bigger question is, how long-term is this issue? Is this something that comes back next year? It's Jokic's kryptonite right now. He doesn't look like himself. Surely, Gobert is playing great basketball, but Jokic is being hampered by the wrist.
Add us as a preferred source on Google