“He is a worthy MVP candidate perennially” – Nick Wright expects Nikola Jokic to dominate series vs Lakers
Nikola Jokic led the Denver Nuggets to a win against the LA Lakers in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals with an incredible triple-double performance. After his dominant outing, Nick Wright has made it clear that he expects the two-time MVP to dominate the entire series against the Lakers.
Jokic showed everyone last night why he was an MVP candidate by finishing Game 1 with 34 points, 21 rebounds and 14 assists to lead his team to a victory. What's even more surprising is that the Nuggets' center did most of it in three quarters.
"Jokić is a great player. He is a worthy MVP candidate perennially. Last night was the first time in his playoff career he shot more than one three and didn't miss. Last night was the second-most rebounds in his playoff career, the second-most assists in his playoff career, the highest game score in any victory in his playoff career." Wright said.
"Jokić is a great player. He is a worthy MVP candidate perennially. Even by his lofty standards, Game 1 was a great performance."
— @getnickwright on if Jokić can continue his Game 1 dominance in the WCF: https://t.co/XnMDlYyyrG
"Even by his lofty standards, last night was a great performance... he did it all in three quarters."
By the time the third period wrapped up, the Joker already had 31 points, 19 rebounds and 12 assists. The Lakers had to make a few adjustments in the fourth which made it a bit difficult for the Serbian bigman to play his game. Jokic only had three points, two rebounds and two assists in the last quarter, which helped Denver to seal the win.
Even with Jokic struggling a bit in the fourth, many experts like Wright expect the five-time All-Star to dominate the series. With their current momentum, there's a huge chance the Nuggets could command the series and make it difficult for the Lakers to catch up to them.
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What did the Lakers do in the 4th quarter to slow down Nikola Jokic?
During the first three quarters, the Lakers assigned Anthony Davis to guard Nikola Jokic in Game 1. It didn't bother the Nuggets' center that much, even though AD had a momentum-shifting block on Jokic in the first half. In the first two quarters, the triple-double monster already had 19 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists.
To slow him down, Los Angeles assigned Rui Hachimura on Jokic in the fourth period. Albeit unorthodox, it bothered the MVP finalist and wasn't much of a factor in the final quarter. The Joker had difficulty dealing with Hachimura in the high post and get to his sweet spots.
The conclusion of Game 1 gave the Lakers a chance to exploit Jokic's potential weakness and could use the same defensive tactic in Game 2.
Also read: "Honestly the best player in the world" - Nuggets fans hail Nikola Jokic after absurd triple-double in Game 1