DENVER — Nikola Jokic showed in Game 2 of the NBA Finals that he’s more than a playmaker, scoring a game-high 41 points as the Denver Nuggets lost to the Miami Heat.
Though Jokic flashed another special aspect of his game, it ended in Denver’s first home defeat all postseason, leading to questions over whether forcing Jokic to score is a key to beating the Nuggets.
Postgame, head coach Erik Spoelstra denied a question about whether Jokic playing this way played into Miami’s hands.
On a Monday edition of the Locked On NBA podcast, host David Locke was joined by Locked On NBA insider Howard Beck to discuss Jokic’s game and what it tells us about the Nuggets.
“It was a very interesting and dramatic change from Game 1 where Jokic controlled the entire game, as he often does, via the pass,” Beck said. “Spoelstra’s response was a little too dismissive.”
In Game 4 in Minnesota in the first round and Game 4 in Phoenix in the second round, Jokic scored 40-plus points, and Denver also lost. Getting the Nuggets to play this way seems to be connected to beating them, even if it’s not one-to-one.
“If you’re going to tell me that Jokic took 28 shots, more than he took in any game this postseason, more than he took in any game the entire regular season, and say that doesn’t have an effect, I’d say you’re lying,” Beck said. “Of course it has an impact.”
However, what flies under the radar when the focus stays on Jokic is that this style from Denver actually resulted in a better offensive efficiency mark for the team than they had in Game 1.
“They will win this series, I promise, if they have a 124 offensive rating,” Locke pointed out. “Their offense was better with this whole Jokic as a scorer thing.”
The bigger change between Games 1 and 2 is that the Heat knocked down tons of open three-pointers. It appears neither team may be able to stop the other in this series.
“Maybe the Nuggets’ path is always the one that’s been there, which is they’re not going to defend at the level that it takes to win games on its own, they just have to be an offensive show,” Beck said.