We previewed yesterday as one of the big threats hanging over the Denver Nuggets vs Golden State Warriors duel; and it was fulfilled.
We all know that Nikola Jokic has no “defense” that can completely shut him down. Giving him comfort is not a good idea either. But that’s exactly what GSW looks like now: a convenience that you can earn points.
One of Steve Kerr’s priorities in implementing his defensive plan, in name and system, is to draw a crowded perimeter line to prevent the ball from reaching the marked area in a comfortable position. Because that’s where things get complicated.
Andrew Bogut is gone, Draymond Green is gone firsta rare Kevin Durant in tools or a Kevon Looney with knees to pull. The San Francisco team lacks inches, scares and strong opponents to escape consecutive games. Therefore, one of the best possible strategies in this 2024/25 season is to attack him with balls on the post.
Needless to say, what happens if Nikola Jokic goes first.
APPROPRIATE SHOT SHEET
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Golden State is the NBA team that shoots the most between 5 and 9 feet from the rim (1.5 to 2.7 meters), ie between the restricted area and the middle of the bottle. A total of 13.2 basket attempts per game, making them the fifth team to experience greater opponent success in making moves from this distance (46.2%).
Mike Malone was calm last night and didn’t mess around with experiments or stunts. Jokic knew what was going on, made a big deal out of the problem and went up to 38 points and 10 rebounds (+23 in +/-) and was able to move freely in the opponent’s territory.
The Serb distributed the ball willingly from the low post and saw little resistance when he tried to enter the Warriors’ “pain zone”, whether it was when clearing or when execute (as a passer/finisher). Pick-and-Roll.
He shined on the other side as well, providing plenty of steals that turned into quick transition points.
And there are five
The final touch came in one of the last moves of the game, as when the Warriors were one basket away from tying the game, Jokic got ahead of Kuminga and made a big block to end a beautiful and fair game, but that. , at the same time in the last four, they finally abandoned Steve Kerr’s team (119-115), adding to their fifth consecutive loss and removing them from the leadership of the West, where they were not so many days ago.
Despite this and despite the defeat, the Warriors are in the next round of the NBA Cup, because they did their homework before, which the Nuggets did not do and for whom this victory was not enough to qualify for the quarterfinals.