Nikola Jokic jumped the ball, and after the penalty, the ball burst into the basket, and Nicholas Clarkston immediately pushed on Jokic's path and pushed Jokic's waist first with his hand. Jokic immediately jumped up and threw the ball out, and Clarkston touched Jokic's left hand.
It was supposed to be a foul, but neither the bottom line referee nor the referee on the field whistled. Jokic jumped in front of the bottom line referee, is this not a foul? What have you seen on the bottom line? He then chased the referee and complained all the way, and the referee didn't even look at the MVP leader.
With Kevin Durant firmly hitting two free throws, the Brooklyn Nets beat the Denver Nuggets 125-119 on the road to complete a comeback that trailed by up to 21 points.
On May 8, journalist Nick Wright made a surprising statement, saying bluntly in "First Take" that if Jokic won the regular season MVP at the end of the season, Jokic would become the worst MVP player in the league in 35 years.
"When you look back at the history of the league's MVP players, I say this with respect for Jokic, who, historically, is going to be the worst MVP in 35 years." Wright said.
Then Wright said: "Chris Paul is different, Paul is a great player who has crossed the era. When you look back at the players who won the MVP, they were Giannis (Antetokounmpo), Stephen (Curry), LeBron (James) and (Kevin) Durant, who was not seriously injured (Derek) Rose... Then there's Jokic. Oh well, it's going to be a weird season. ”
His speech was essentially canvassing for Paul, and what he said afterwards was the same as what Yang Yikan's manager said on Bing with the Ball: Phoenix became one of the best teams in the West because of Paul's addition. Paul is an epoch-making player who can be on an equal footing with other MVPs.
This statement, whether right or wrong, has sparked a fierce debate.
Perhaps because of the business league's keen sense of smell, or perhaps because of the strong dialogue between the top three teams in the East and West, the referees in the May 9 game between the Nuggets and the Nets seemed to be deliberately making the game very intense, and the final 3 minutes of the final quarter were very loose. Again and again, Jokic complained to the referee that he hadn't been fouled, and the referee just turned a deaf ear. In the last 20 seconds of the game, Jokic failed to hit the back, and the scene at the beginning of the article appeared.
"At the last minute, let the players decide the game." This is a phrase we often say. The referee's inner thoughts may be as follows: You Jokic is not the MVP, so let's see if you have the ability to handle the game yourself even if you foul.
In the fourth quarter of the game, the Nets prevented the MVP leader from scoring only 6 points on 2-of-6 shooting, and "About Teacher" frantically complained about the penalty, and finally the referee gave him a technical foul when the Nets' victory was already determined. Throughout the fourth quarter, the Nets let the Nuggets score only 15 points, allowing the Nuggets to experience the playoff intensity of defense.
There was a voice after the game: no wonder people said that Jokic would become the best MVP player in the league for 35 years. He just lacks the ability to score the ball without a free throw.
In the final stage, the referees are treated equally. Neither team got the referee's whistle, and both teams had a lot of physical contact with each other. Watch the game, regular season MVP and Finals FMVP winner Durant has a better shot choice at key moments. Durant scored 14 points on 3-of-4 shooting in the final quarter, as well as five rebounds, two blocks and one steal. He hit a three-pointer at 7:57 in the fourth quarter to tie the score at 108. Then, with 2:14 left in the game, he opted to single Austin Reeves with his back to extend the Nets' lead to four points with a rollover back jumper inside the box.
It seems that this is in line with the MVP of the "Jokic opponents" who should look like. Oh, chasing the referee to take a free throw is what MVP?
Although the Nets eventually won the game, head coach Steve Nash said before the game: "It is clear that Jokic is the MVP of the season. After the game, Blake Griffin, who was against Jokic in the second half, also agreed with Nash.
The Nuggets led the Nets so much in the first half without Aaron Gordon, Will Barton, Paul Millsap and Monte Morris, and it was not easy in itself to fight until the last minute. Jokic's points, rebounds, and assists are all team-highs in post-match statistics, doesn't that reflect Jokic's strength as an MVP and his importance to the team?
Ahead of the 2020-21 All-Star Game, both Joel Embiid and Jokic transformed into fearsome super centers in the league. Fans and the media are fiercely arguing about who is the league's number one center today. As the season draws to a close, the discussion about MVP awards has grown more intense, but part of the focus has shifted from "Who can get the MVP?" "Transferred to" Jokic took the MVP ok, is he the weakest MVP? ”
Jokic has dominated the MVP charts for the eighth consecutive time. Yahoo Sports has published an article titled "Why Jokic is MVP" that explains how important Jokic is to the Nuggets, how efficient he is, and how he strongly influences the Nuggets in every way. No one in the league has been able to do as much as he has this season and has also taken the team to the top three of the division.
In the Nuggets, Jokic dominates the overall list, and all ten statistics rank first on the team. That's, ten!
Jokic averaged 26.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 8.5 assists per game and has finished first in the league with 57 double-doubles and second in 15 triple-doubles so far this season, behind Westbrook. This is the sixth year of Jokic's career, and at the age of 26 he has become one of the most passing centers in league history.
So veteran journalist Sam Armik vehemently refuted Jokic's claim that he was "the worst MVP in 35 years." "In 1971, no one knew that when Karim Abdul-Jabbar won his first MVP at the age of 24, he would end up taking a record six MVPs. It is only when you look back on his 20-year career as a whole that Abdul-Jabbar's greatness is undisputed. And that's true for all the great players, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, "Magic" Johnson, Michael Jordan, LeBron James... That's true of great players. When a player has been in the league for 6 years and is about to win his first MVP at the age of 26, it is pointless to discuss his historical position at this time. ”
Wright and those who think like Wright have a problem with their view of history.
And the reasons for bringing out Paul are also very untenable, Paul has been as good and stable as ever for more than a decade, he has made significant progress with the team this season, he should take the MVP. Could it be that Jokic did nothing for the first five seasons, only to happen to explode this season? Didn't he lead the team to significant progress? Over six seasons, Jokic averaged 5.9 assists per game. He was one of three players of all time to average at least 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists in the first five seasons of his career. Who are the other two? "Big O" Oscar Robertson (once MVP) and "Big Bird" Larry Bird (three times MVP). Also early in their careers, aren't their two MVP winners good reference objects?
The only center in the league who has had excellent passing ability in the league's history was Jokic's only person who was Wilt Chamberlain in the 1967-68 season, when he showed his passing skills to the outside world and led the assists list. Jokic's average assists per game is significantly ahead of second-place Chamberlain (4.4). In addition, Jokic's career assist rate (32.2%) is also far ahead of previous centers.
The Nuggets often handed him the ball and then let him attack, and he was the player with the most touches per game in the league. Jokic has a potential number of assists comparable to that of a top point guard. As can be seen from the table, the player with the high potential assists is basically the defender responsible for the organization, and although Jokic's potential assists are in the 12th place, he is the only center in the top 20 players.
It is worth mentioning that 61.2% of Jokic's potential assists translate into points. In the NBA's statistics (as of May 9), John Wall has one of the lowest assist conversion rates this season, at 47.9 percent. Jokic is at the other extreme, with 61.2 percent of his potential assists converted into points by his teammates. This is the highest conversion rate among 34 players who have averaged 10+ potential assists per game this season.
Austin Rivers has been a flashback for nearly a week, and a little look back at Xiaoli's scoring rounds shows how much he's benefited Jokic just outside the three-point line. If you count Xiao Li, a "temporary worker" who has been in the company for half a month, 13 players in the Nuggets have benefited from Jokic's passing outside the three-point line this season, which is ahead of other superstars in the league who are good at passing. By comparison, LeBron James has provided three-point assists for nine teammates this season, Trae Young has 11 and Luka Doncic has 12. Yes, Jokic knows exactly how to pinpoint the outside shooters in the team.
In fact, Jokic's presence or disapproval also makes a significant difference in the team's overall shooting percentage: when he's on the floor, the team's shooting percentage drops to 43.4 percent, and when he's not on the floor, the team's shooting percentage drops to 43.4 percent.
This season, a large number of players have been absent for various reasons. The Nuggets are also one of the teams most affected by the absence. To say that Jokic is one of the most reliable players in the league is by no means a joke. Jokic has played 68 games this season and is also the second most playing player, behind Julius Randle. Let's flip through how many people have maintained full attendance this season? There are only 14 players. They are: Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Edwards, Bojan Bogdanovich, DeAndre Ayton, Duncan Robinson, Dwyne Bacon, Enes Kanter, George Niang, Ivica Zubac, Joe Harris, Michael Bridges, R.J. Barrett, Solomon Hill, and Jokic.
He's the only full-time player of all the 2021 All-Stars. Because of Jokic, the Nuggets were able to reimburse Jamal Murray for a torn cruciate ligament in his left knee, and many core players still achieved a good record in the absence of multiple core players. According to statistics, after Murray was injured, the Nuggets achieved an 11-3 record. On May 2, they became third in the West after a 110-104 victory over the Clippers.
"I never play for personal honor, MVP is just a tool that media people use to write things." After the Nuggets beat the Clippers, Jokic told ESPN reporters, "Of course it's best if I can get an MVP, but as long as we can win, I'm happy." ”
He's not a guy who cares about data every night, he can be a host with 10 shots a game, or he can make 20 or 30 shots in a game and score 30 or 40 points. There was only one thing in his mind, to win. He's not good at selling himself, he's not greedy, he doesn't care if he gets noticed.
The Ravens said: Jokic doesn't care about that, he plays "socialist basketball." He can not shoot, but you have to let him touch the ball. He was the league's most touched player and the only player to have touched the ball more than 100 times, but Jokic did not become a big player. He just grasps the direction of the wind, and the best case scenario is that everyone is "getting rich together.".
Of course, as a center, both the threat and defensive aspects of the basket have to be noticed. Jokic's offensive ability under the basket is at the top of the league, and if he's in the low position and it's a one-shot defense, he can score 1.1 points per game. That statistic ranks 6th out of players in the league who have completed at least 100 low-post offenses. If jokic is not allowed to single, he must choose to wrap him. But because of Jokic's ability to pass against the sky, he can often pass the ball out after the bag clip to form an assist.
According to Second Spectrum, when Jokic was caught, the Nuggets scored an additional 1.4 points per game. So, the data shows that Jokic will only encounter a bag in 16% of cases, and embiid, who is also a MVP competitor this season, is 31%, and Downs also has 27%. Pack clips or single defense, Jokic will make the opponent pay the price.
Ask Draymond Green what it feels like when he tries to defend Jokic? The former defensive player of the year said frankly some time ago: "You would think he [Jokic] is not as strong as he thought, but he is really tall, in such a stature, he still loses flexibility, every time, he can raise his arms and throw the ball in front of me, and in many rounds, despite my efforts to block, it does not help." 」 ”
Defensively, Mike Malone refers to Jokic as the core of the defense.
"Is he a master of the blocks with outstanding athleticism? Can he deliver a volleyball-style hat? Of course not, because that's not his characteristic. Coach Malone said, "But his ball quotient is very high and he is at the heart of our defence. He'll help us communicate defensively, and he'll do a lot of things that statistics don't show. ”
Former Nuggets coach George Carr's analogy of Jokic to nuggets Tim Duncan is enough to say it all.
Are there really a lot of Americans who are so reluctant to see the NBA's MPV as a white man? A white man with little athletic ability and mediocre physical fitness pulled down the overall level of MVP for 35 years? So how does that explain Larry Bird winning the MVP trophy for three consecutive years? "Human pork belly essence", Coke lover, and white man with only the 41st pick in the draft are not favored by some media people and are inclined to change their views with his media peers.
Could it be because this MVP is white from Serbia?