No one, not even the most optimistic Denver Nuggets fan, ever thought Nikola Jokic would be this good.
Their development staff did an outstanding job with him, who used to back up Jusuf Nurkic in the first passage of his career.
Now, Jokic has become the ultimate offensive juggernaut, a point-center like the game had never seen before.
That’s why every single rival coach and defensive assistant in the league is trying to crack the puzzle and find the best way to neutralize him.
The only problem is that you cannot take everything away from him, as he’s just an outstanding passer and will always find an open man if you focus on keeping him away from the basket.
Recently, Phoenix Suns coach Monty Williams called him a conundrum and broke down why guarding him is so difficult:
“We’d like to try to keep him from getting the ball. It’s the best you can [do],” Williams started. “But you can’t overreact. When he catches the ball, sometimes you wanna dig, and if you dig, then he finds an open three. If you blitz him, he finds threes on the backside, and if you don’t do it, he can score. So, he’s a conundrum for everybody.”
https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/status/1613388661705560064
Jokic isn’t only the greatest passing big man this game has ever seen.
He’s also one of the best passers ever, period.
So, how do you stop a guy who can see, pass, and shoot over everybody else on the court with such ease and smoothness?
You just can’t.
