Can Los Angeles Lakers Find The Answer for Nikola Jokić?
DENVER - Five months after he averaged 27.8 points, 14.5 rebounds, 11.8 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.3 steals in a Western Conference Finals sweep, Nikola Jokić tipped off his 2023-24 campaign with another triple-double and win over LeBron James and his budding rival Los Angeles Lakers.
On Tuesday's opening night, Jokić went for 29 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists, a steal and a block in the Denver Nuggets' 119-107 win.
It was a vivid reminder that, to this point, no one, including the Lakers, has figured out the puzzle that is playing the two-time MVP.
He was dominant as a scorer early on, scoring 10 points in the first quarter and 19 in the first half.
On one play, an entry pass from just above the wing looked like it would be picked off by Austin Reaves from the weak side. But just before Reaves got to it, Jokić tipped the ball across the lane to himself, corralled it and gently dropped it in.
He sees things happening before they actually happen. And that leads to plays that no one else really makes.
"Nikola reads the game better than anyone," Nuggets coach Michael Malone said postgame.
And that showed up again late in the game. Malone said he put Jokić in about a minute earlier than he wanted to in the fourth quarter in an effort to halt a Lakers run. And he promptly took over, this time as a passer. In that final frame alone, he had five of his 11 assists.
"He's my security blanket," Malone said. "I get Nikola out there, and I feel better about myself."
The Lakers, on the other hand, must be internally lamenting every time he goes to check in (like LeBron once did when he saw a young Kawhi Leonard returning to the game).
Jokić has L.A.'s number. Which may not be notable in and of itself, since it's pretty clear at this point he has every team's number. But from the Lakers' perspective, they must know they won't reach their ultimate goal without figuring out something to do with Denver's big man.
Even legends struggle to come up with an answer to that problem.
Prior to Tuesday's opener, Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley discussed Jokić's game and all-time standing with Bleacher Report.
"I'm not known for defense," Shaq quipped when asked how he'd defend Denver's superstar big. "So the question is, how would he guard me?"
And that's probably the key (if there is one).
L.A., or any team hoping to beat the Nuggets this season, has to attack Jokić as often and as aggressively as possible.
With his quick hands and the fact that he's typically in the right spots, he's better defensively than he's been given credit for over the years. But there are still plenty of moments where he'd rather swipe at a driver than truly contest a shot at the rim (perhaps to avoid foul trouble). And if he gets isolated on a quicker player on the perimeter, there's a chance he'll get burned.
For the Lakers, specifically, putting Jokić in the trickiest defensive situations may require playing small. Force him to guard someone like LeBron or Rui Hachimura, who may be able to attack off the dribble and from the outside. Pray that he gets in foul trouble.
Of course, that approach has potentially severe drawbacks. Without a big out there to at least try to push Jokić around, the Lakers might get killed on both defense and the boards. But there's a pretty good chance that's going to happen anyway.
There's a reason the Nuggets were plus-9.2 points per 100 possessions with Jokić on the floor over the three seasons prior to this one.
With LeBron, Hachimura, Taurean Prince and Austin Reaves, L.A. might have a good enough combination of switchability and shooting to spread Denver thin enough to get into a winnable shootout.
Taking Anthony Davis out of the equation is risky, but he hasn't shown enough to prove he has to be out there against Denver either.
Over the last three games of the conference finals, he averaged 22.3 points but shot just 43.8 percent from the field. Tuesday, he scored 17 in the first half, but didn't register a single point after the halftime and finished 6-of-17 from the field.
You certainly can't bench him, but getting to smaller lineups that can score in bunches and at least try to muck things up on the other end makes sense.
Of course, this isn't an entirely novel concept. Much was said of the Phoenix Suns' potential to punish Jokić in space, but the Nuggets cruised in that series too. It took an absurd 83 points on 43 shots from Devin Booker in Games 3 and 4 to squeak out two wins.
Right now, there just might not be a gameplan for Jokić and the Nuggets that doesn't call for a lot of luck.
That's the point that the game's pantheon-level players reach.
"I'm going to tell you something," Barkley told B/R on Tuesday. "He's probably going to pass me by the time his career is over. And I have no problem with that, because he's amazing."
