While the Golden State Warriors easily beat the Denver Nuggets 4-1, they managed to advance to the second round of the playoffs after five games. But in this series, the task of chasing Green to defend Jokic is not an easy task.
Green is not as tall as Jokic, and the two are 13 centimeters apart in height. But on the defensive end, dream chasing makes a deep impression. It was his presence that allowed the talented Jokic to score no easy points in the game. After the whistling at the end of the series, the two big men hugged each other tightly.
"I told him thank you for making me better," Green revealed their post-match communication. "It's an honor to be able to defend someone so talented and technical. Usually people with such talent and technology, they will be very soft. Jokic is not soft at all on the pitch. ”
As the heart of the Nuggets, Jokic faces an uphill battle. Two of his top-paid teammates have been sidelined with injuries, and he has to face the warriors with a strong lineup. In the series, the Warriors focused all their defense on Jokic, but he was still able to deliver a luxurious statistic of averaging 31.0 points, 13.2 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game, shooting 57.5% from the field and 27.8% from the three-point line.
Appreciation is mutual. After the game, Jokic also praised the defense of the dream chaser. "He's a great player. Honestly, in his career, he has defended against players who are much better than me. I really appreciate what he's done for the Warriors because it's really hard to play position," Jokic said of Green after the game.
"I think his job is very difficult, and few people can do it as well as he does. He accepted his positioning, connected the team like glue, and was willing to do anything for the team, even if it seemed insignificant to others. You can hear him talking constantly while defending. In fact, he is the ear and eye of the warrior. ”