His line of stats (49 points at 16/25 shooting, 14 points and 10 assists) was already crazy, but what about Nikola Jokic’s last action, and this offering for Aaron Gordon’s decisive shot?
Strategically, however, it is quite simple. The Nuggets feign isolation for their MVP, who has tormented his direct opponents all evening, in order to draw the duel. As soon as she appears, Will Barton, Monte Morris and Jeff Green must slide strong side, towards Nikola Jokic, to attract the three remaining defenders and leave Aaron Gordon alone, in the corner, opposite. The Serb must then manage to serve his partner…
The madness of this system is that it relies on a pass that Nikola Jokic is probably the only basketball player to be able to achieve. Because Los Angeles defends well. Amir Coffey’s assist arrives with only 6 seconds left on possession, the hands are active, Denver’s cuts are a little late and well followed.
But after the game, Nikola Jokic explained that he had in mind the position of all the players, and when he saw the movements of the Clippers, and in particular Brandon Boston Jr, he felt the opening.
You still have to realize the incredible difficulty of the pass, while Ivica Zubac and Amir Coffey are stuck to the Serb in order to hinder him, and he has to serve, after a small turn on himself, Aaron Gordon at the other end of the field, one-handed. All with the pressure of the clock ticking away as he had to wait to read the movements of the other nine players on the pitch. Calm, timing, intelligence, visualization, execution…
“I knew the ball was going to come to me because Jok does the right thing, the right pass, even in pressure situations”assured Aaron Gordon. “He gave me the ball at the right time and in the right place. All I had to do was pick it up and shoot. “
It was still necessary to put the shot but the confidence of Mike Malone and the Nuggets in their MVP, to succeed in such a difficult action in such conditions, is at the level of the talent of Nikola Jokic.
| Nikola Jokic | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2015-16 | DEN | 80 | 22 | 51.2 | 33.3 | 81.1 | 2.3 | 4.7 | 7.0 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 1.0 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 10.0 |
| 2016-17 | DEN | 73 | 28 | 57.8 | 32.4 | 82.5 | 2.9 | 6.9 | 9.8 | 4.9 | 2.9 | 0.8 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 16.7 |
| 2017-18 | DEN | 75 | 33 | 49.9 | 39.6 | 85.0 | 2.6 | 8.1 | 10.7 | 6.1 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 2.8 | 0.8 | 18.5 |
| 2018-19 | DEN | 80 | 31 | 51.1 | 30.7 | 82.1 | 2.9 | 8.0 | 10.8 | 7.3 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 20.1 |
| 2019-20 | DEN | 73 | 32 | 52.8 | 31.4 | 81.7 | 2.3 | 7.5 | 9.7 | 7.0 | 3.0 | 1.2 | 3.1 | 0.6 | 20.0 |
| 2020-21 ★ | DEN | 72 | 35 | 56.6 | 38.8 | 86.8 | 2.9 | 8.0 | 10.8 | 8.3 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 3.1 | 0.7 | 26.4 |
| 2021-22 | DEN | 37 | 33 | 56.6 | 35.9 | 78.2 | 2.7 | 11.2 | 14.0 | 7.4 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 3.6 | 0.8 | 25.3 |
| Total | 490 | 30 | 53.7 | 34.8 | 83.0 | 2.6 | 7.5 | 10.1 | 6.1 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 19.0 | |
