It is well known, Nikola Jokic is not a big defender and even less a scary blocker for opposing attackers. But this season, the Denver pivot sometimes pulls important counterattacks out of his hat.
At the end of December, he had already managed a decisive “block” against Jonathan Kuminga and the Warriors. He did it again in Toronto, against the attempt of OG Anunoby.
“It was a good counter, with good timing no doubt”simply commented on the MVP 2021 for the Denver Post. “He didn’t have much time in front of him, so he needed to shoot. “
The Raptors trailed by one point when the winger grabbed the offensive rebound on a missed 3-point shot. He is close to the circle, there are less than three seconds left, so he immediately goes up. Nikola Jokic makes a good effort to tape the Toronto player’s shot to the panel.
It’s the action of the game, of course, and a perfect way to catch up after having missed two free throws in a row a few seconds ago. If the Raptors had snatched a ninth straight victory, Nikola Jokic would surely have long regretted his clumsiness on the line.
“When I entered the locker room to give the match defender necklace, even before I announced it, Nikola Jokic said it was for him”says Mike Malone. “The locker room has gone crazy. “
In this success, Nikola Jokic again made a superb line of stats: 28 points at 10/16, 15 rebounds and 6 assists. His seven points, plus his counter therefore, in the last three minutes hurt the Raptors.
“We feel his presence in the racket”, concedes Fred VanVleet. “He dominated under the panels. We didn’t really have any answers in front of him, in front of the whistles. He was on the free throw line ten times, he took five offensive rebounds. He had a great game. It’s incredible: it is better every year. “
| 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 | 49 | 33 | 57.5 | 37.1 | 81.1 | 2.7 | 11.0 | 13.7 | 7.9 | 2.5 | 1.4 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 25.8 |
| Total | 502 | 30 | 53.8 | 35.1 | 83.2 | 2.6 | 7.6 | 10.2 | 6.2 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 2.7 | 0.7 | 19.2 | |
