Beijing time on April 28, in an NBA playoff game that ended today, the Nuggets lost to the Warriors 98-102, and were eliminated with the result of a series score of 1-4, generally speaking, the 4-1 score in the NBA is called gentleman sweep, a bit obvious can directly sweep the opponent, but to save some face for the other side, so let the opponent win a game. And this round of the series, in fact, the clear-eyed people can see that the Nuggets have no way to take the Warriors, even if the Nuggets have Jokic, who may win the MVP this season.
Even to some extent, this series between the Warriors and nuggets is almost the most disparity in strength in the first round of this year's playoffs, even if the Nets, which are swept 0-4, actually play very fiercely with opponents in each game. But the Nuggets were hanged in 2 of the 4 games they lost, and this game was also reversed. Did the Nuggets not play hard enough? In fact, they have really been desperate, especially Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, who even came out with an injury in this game.
Throughout the game, Jokic played 32 minutes, shooting 12-of-18, including 0-of-2 three-pointers and 6-of-8 free throws, with 30 points, 19 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks. After the game, StatMuse updated Twitter and posted a statistic of Nuggets player Nikola Jokic to share with fans. In the first round of the playoffs, Jokic averaged 31.0 points, 13.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game, shooting 57.5 percent from the field.
Let's take a look at the specific data:
- G1, 25 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals;
- G2, 26 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks;
G3, 37 points, 18 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals;
- G4, 37 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists;
- G5, 30 points, 19 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 blocks;
Both statistically and on the pitch, Jokic played almost impeccably, not only his teammates and coaches, but even the Warriors players and coaching staff were subdued by him. Nuggets player Will Barton said Jokic played a dominant performance in this series. Jokic is the league's best player, is the MVP, and he always does what he expects of him.
Warriors forward Draymond Green said of Jokic: "He's an incredible player. That's why he was MVP last season, that's why he's probably going to win MVP again. Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Nikola Jokic's performance: "Jokic is simply outrageous. I'm glad I don't have to worry about him anymore. ”
The opponent's praise is undoubtedly an affirmation of Jokic's performance, but in fact, it also highlights his embarrassment, even if Jokic's performance in the playoffs is so perfect, his Nuggets still have no power to fight back when facing the Warriors, as the current NBA first center, Jokic at the beginning of the playoffs, in fact, is optimistic by many people can lead the Nuggets to the following gram, black six Warriors, because many people think that the Warriors simply can not defend Jokic.
It turns out that the Warriors really can't stop Jokic, but that doesn't mean the Warriors can't defeat the Nuggets and Jokic, and it's ironic that the Warriors beat the Nuggets with five small lineups. Warriors coach Kerr also admitted that he started with five small lineups in this series in order to try to attack Nikola Jokic at the beginning and make him tired, but also to ensure that Kevin Looney played against DeMarcus Cousins.
Kerr's words actually speak to the current NBA environment, that is, although the super centers can still bomb very beautiful data, but their influence on the game, especially in the playoffs, has not been as powerful as before, look at Jokic in the West, Embiid in the East, the two major centers in the league are struggling in the first round of the playoffs. It is not that they can't do it, but now the NBA is more pursuit of speed, outside projection, passing and cutting cooperation, the pace of the game is too fast, the number of rounds is too much, such a game rhythm is naturally not suitable for big centers, can run and shoot and jump The outside line begins to gradually steal the dominance, and the five small lineups have become the nemesis of the inner line.
Some people have said that even the peak O'Neal, in this day and age, may be difficult to win the championship, which may be believed by many people, but seeing Jokic being defeated by the Warriors' five small lineups this year, perhaps people should begin to believe that without a good enough lineup and an aeronal playing style, even if the historical super center reaches the current league, he may not even win the first round of the playoffs.