Nikola Jokic first stuffed Aaron Gordon with balls near the circle, to take advantage of his teammate’s size advantage. Then he served Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr, Bruce Brown and company on the move. Result: he already had 10 assists at halftime, dissecting the Heat’s defense and the “matchups”…
In the second half, faced with the adaptations of the Florida defense, he scored more to finish the game with 27 points at 8/12 shooting, 14 assists and 10 rebounds. He is the second player in history to score a triple-double in his first game in the NBA Finals. The first ? It was Jason Kidd in the 2002 Finals.
While Shaquille O’Neal asked him after the meeting how he decided to be a scorer or a passer, Nikola Jokic replied that he did not really decide. He was just taking what the defense offered him.
“That’s the beauty of Nikola’s game” detailed Mike Malone in a press conference. “I learned a long time ago that it’s the defense that tells you what to do, and Nikola never forces anything. If they give him that kind of attention, and I believe he had 10 assists at halftime, well, he’s just going to tear you down. It’s then up to the other guys to put in their shots. »
“That’s how I learned to play basketball… It’s hard to defend when you don’t know who’s going to attack”
As a good surgeon of the game, the double MVP makes the readings which are essential to him, when they are essential to him.
“Nikola never tries to impose his will or force things that don’t exist” continues Mike Malone. “He’s going to read the game. He’s going to do the right thing. And the most important thing is that he makes all his teammates better. »
Nikola Jokic still ends up as his team’s top scorer in this Game 1 of the 2023 Finals, but it’s the variety he imposes, and his desire to always look for the teammate who has the best duel or the best shooting position. , which makes this Denver team so difficult to maneuver. And so effective offensively.
“What characterizes Nikola is that he feels great satisfaction in making others play” thus continues Mike Malone. ” It’s the truth. I think that’s what makes him the happiest. I don’t think he cares whether he scored 27 points or not. What interests him is that we are leading 1-0. And everyone in this locker room realizes that yes, we need Nikola, but we also need Michael Porter’s double-double, Jamal’s (Murray) double-double, Bruce’s 10 points and 5 rebounds (Brown ) when leaving the bench. It’s a team. We have very talented players, but we need everyone in this dressing room to do their job, to try and get the second game on Sunday evening. »
A philosophy that Nikola Jokic sums up in one sentence: “That’s how I learned to play basketball… It’s hard to defend when you don’t know who’s going to attack. »
| Nikola Jokic | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | 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 | 74 | 34 | 58.3 | 33.7 | 81.0 | 2.8 | 11.0 | 13.8 | 7.9 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 3.8 | 0.9 | 27.1 |
| 2022-23 | DEN | 69 | 34 | 63.2 | 38.3 | 82.2 | 2.4 | 9.4 | 11.8 | 9.8 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 3.6 | 0.7 | 24.5 |
| Total | 596 | 31 | 55.3 | 34.8 | 82.9 | 2.6 | 7.9 | 10.5 | 6.6 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 2.9 | 0.7 | 20.2 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Shots made / Shots attempted; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def= defensive rebound; Tot = Total bounces; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost bullets; Ct: Counters; Points = Points.
