If the Los Angeles Lakers want to move into the NBA Finals, then they absolutely have to stop superstar Nikola Jokic from the Denver Nuggets.
Coach Darvin Ham already has an idea how it could work. “We have to try to grab him outside his house and kidnap him,” joked the 49-year-old before the semi-final duel. The “Monster from the Rocky Mountains” is waiting for his team.
Jokic has led Denver into the top four in the professional basketball league for the first time since 2020, and the Serb has already had five triple-doubles in the current playoffs, three in the quarterfinals alone against the Phoenix Suns. Three years ago, the Nuggets lost to the Lakers in the Orlando Corona Bubble in the semifinals, LA later became champions.
Lakers coach Ham praises double MVP Jokic
Compared to the duel at the time, Denver is now “a better team,” said Lakers superstar LeBron James. “They’re more experienced, of course. Every game, every playoff, every match allows them to keep growing as a franchise, as a team, and they’ve done that.” You have “greatest respect”.
The difficult best-of-seven series begins for LA and national team captain Dennis Schröder on Wednesday night.
“Everyone knows how great Jokic is,” Ham said, pondering the move against the two-time MVP. First, Anthony Davis should defend against the center, “but we have a few other players that we will oppose him.”