The Denver Nuggets stand for the first time in the NBA Finals – and thanks to the consistency of their leader Nikola Jokic, they can hope for the title.
The horses have to wait a little longer. When Nikola Jokic made his second a year ago MVP award received, he was surprised by the emissaries from America at home on his country estate in Sombor, Serbia. Jokic just came back from a ride with his horses in the jockey seat. The season was already over for him after his nuggets were eliminated from the playoffs.
On Monday evening (05/22/2023) Jokic received another award, this time in the arena of the Los Angeles Lakers. Denver’s leader became the No. 1 finals series player after beating the Lakers for the fourth time and making it to the NBA Finals Western Conference excellent. The fact that this trophy is named after Magic Johnson, one of the biggest Lakers legends, made the humiliation perfect for the record champion from Los Angeles, who just received the “Sweep“, went down 4-0 in the playoffs without a single win in the best-of-seven series.
The Nuggets, on the other hand, made it into the finals for the first time in their history, freeing themselves a bit from the demons of their long, unsuccessful playoff history. Because even the big, hopeful Nuggets teams of the past, with Alex English and Carmelo Anthony, had repeatedly failed in the West because of the Lakers. For the Nuggets, the Los Angeles star team was something of a man incarnate. No wonder the commentator of the “Denver Gazette” already after the third win in the series begged the Nuggets to please finally “complete the exorcism” and beat the Lakers.
“Doesn’t feel real”
That the Nuggets scored their first sweep in a playoff series against the Lakers of all places added to the Colorado team’s satisfaction.
“It doesn’t feel real, we’re really enjoying it”, said Jamal Murray, the second face of Denver’s success alongside Jokic, at “ESPN“. In the NBA the winner of the Conference Finals gets a trophy and t-shirts in a ceremony that looks a lot like a championship celebration. But the only title that really matters is the NBA championship, as Murray also reminded us on the LA floor “We can keep making history. That’s our job. We have to keep our focus.”
Jokic feeds the Nuggets’ hopes for the title
The hopes that the Nuggets could actually be ready for the big hit after many unsuccessful attempts are based primarily on their leader Nikola Jokic. The Serb leads his team consistently and reliably, even through the postseason so far. Jokic and the Nuggets underlined their title ambitions in the most impressive way with the show of force against the Lakers, in which LeBron James seemed determined to win one last big title.
Jokic is nominally listed in the center position, he also does everything you would expect from a “big man”: dominance in the zone, rebounds. But he also possesses a dangerous shot from long range, stretching the opponent’s defense and also has the vision of a good playmaker. The fact that he did not receive the MVP award for the third season in a row is now viewed by many experts as a concession decision towards Joel Embiid, who was also simply there.
Triple-double cut in the playoffs
But Embiid is already on vacation with the 76ers. In the playoffs, Nuggets leader Jokic dominates. His average in the previous playoffs has double-digit values in the categories points, rebounds and assists. A so-called triple-double, which is almost always highlighted in game reports as a special performance by a player. Jokic manages to do that in every game, calculated across all games, and that in the most important phase of the season.
In the footsteps of “Zen Master” Duncan
The “New York Times‘ paid homage to Denver’s leaders during the series in an extensive portrait, speaking of the “art of slowness” because of the great calm and overview that Jokic exudes in the game.
The last “Big Man” who ordered the game and the positions of his teammates in the center, in the style of a Zen master, was Tim Duncan, the longtime head of the San Antonio Spurs. Duncan won five NBA championships with the Spurs.