Squeeze Jokic out of his comfort zone, and the Thunder did it!

Nikola Jokic has never been so embarrassed! In the first game of the semi-finals, Jokic made 15 of 29 shots and scored 42 points, 22 rebounds and 6 assists, reaching the level of three regular season MVPs, and at the same time leading the Nuggets to defeat the Thunder away and grab the home advantage of the series. But in the next three games, Jokic struggled: 6 of 16 shots, 8 of 25 shots, 7 of 22 shots, and averaged 20+10 double-double per game, but his efficiency was extremely dismal. Even the number of assists is less than the number of turnovers. In the first round, Ivica Zubac's defense against Jokic was eye-catching, which was Zubac's progress. Entering the second round, the thunder seems to be more violent. In fact, this is a predictable situation. Compared with the Clippers, the Thunder Chet Homgren and Isaiah Haltenstein have more advantages in the double towers. In addition, the opportunity to assist in defense and attack by a group of small players such as Shay Gilgers Alexander, Jaylen Williams, and Lüganz Dort, Jokic's situation can be imagined.

In a sentence: The Thunder squeezed Jokic out of his comfort zone. Jokic is the absolute core of the Nuggets. All the team's offenses are initiated by Jokic. In addition, Jokic's frontcourt touches and elbow touches are the most in the league. In the game against the Clippers, Jokic averaged 60.1 touches in the frontcourt and 9.1 touches in the elbow area. However, in the game against the Thunder, Jokic averaged 56.3 touches in the frontcourt and 7.3 touches in the elbow area, both of which showed a significant decline.

It is obvious that Jokic is under "special care". The Thunder began to interfere since Jokic had not yet landed and received the ball. Once Jokic got the opportunity to hold the ball, the Thunder would also have players waiting for an opportunity to assist in defense and attack. Therefore, Jokic's turnovers are far higher than the average season. In the four games of the Western Conference semi-finals, Jokic made a total of 23 turnovers, but only 21 assists, and the assist error ratio is really too bleak. The Thunder's excellent defensive elasticity also forced Jokic to complete more outside shots, because it was too difficult to squeeze into the inside. He averaged 4.7 three-point shots per game in the regular season, facing the Clippers 4.4 times in the first round, and 7 times in the second round, and even had a bad performance of 0 of 10 shots in a single game in the third game.

Many fans criticize Jokic for being "too soft" because he completed too many three-point shots. But the actual game process is that Jokic has to work hard to get in touch with the ball. If you want to dribble and find the rhythm, you must be more careful to avoid being intercepted by the Thunder. Moreover, the Thunder are a fast-paced team, with second in the league in 102.1 rounds per game, and the Nuggets average only 94.9 rounds per game. In addition, the Nuggets played seven games with the Clippers in the first round, and the team is already in a tired state. For inside players like Jokic, they are really tired of dealing with it.

Of course, limiting Jokic's offense is just the first step for the Thunder. Jokic's assists were double-digit in the regular season and first round, but in the first four games with the Thunder, Jokic averaged only 5.3 assists per game, which is about half of the average season. This is another outstanding feature of the Thunder: they cut off the connection between Jokic and his teammates. During the regular season, Jokic averaged 76.6 passes per game and received 70.6 passes from his teammates. In the first round, facing the Clippers, Jokic averaged 75.3 passes per game and received 73.1 passes from his teammates. In the second round, Jokic averaged 70.3 passes per game and received 70.5 passes from his teammates. There is a very obvious change here: in the game against the Thunder, Jokic received more passes from his teammate than he passed to his teammates. In addition to trying hard to squeeze Jokic out of his comfort zone, the Thunder also cut off his connection with his teammates. Moreover, other Thunder players did not suffer when facing other Nuggets players. There was still some gap in the hard-solving ability of other Nuggets players, which forced other Nuggets players to finish the end as soon as they received the pass from Jokic, and then they had to pass the ball back to Jokic.

In fact, the Nuggets also achieved the ultimate defense of Alexander. In the third game, they did not allow Alexander to get a big open spot. The Thunder also used the same strategy on Jokic, with high top defense in the interior and players attacking and assisting defense in the outside. The most important point is that Jokic is an inside player after all, and is still the core of the Nuggets. If he does not hold the ball, the threat will become smaller, and if he holds the ball, he will easily make mistakes. It turns out that three-time MVP winners will also have headaches. However, whoever laughs in the Nuggets and the Thunder may become a favorite for the championship. After all, such a strong game will really improve the players qualitatively. Text/Duncan's Smile