Nikola Jokic keeps proving why he’s the best player in the world in the Nuggets first-round series against the Lakers. Game 3 highlighted multiple moments of fantastic offensive plays from Jokic with a high-caliber defender like Anthony Davis on him, often tricking the Lakers center with subtle movements that can’t be read.
Davis was guarding Jokic on the perimeter as the center passed the ball to Jamal Murray. As the ball went to Murray, Davis tracked it with his eye, prompting Jokic to quickly run out ahead and get a running start to the rim that Davis couldn’t recover from. Despite the Lakers’ big man playing good recovery defense, Jokic was a step ahead and converted a crucial fourth-quarter layup.
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Jokic had a similar play in the fourth quarter where Davis seemed to get his eyes off Jokic for a second, prompting the two-time MVP to get in front of him, catch a pass, and finish at the rim by using his physicality to keep Davis from recovering.
This has become a Nikola Jokic staple: Nothing doing on the possession, then boom. He sprints to a spot, gets the ball, and overpowers you to the rim. pic.twitter.com/ywzAmqK0jE
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) April 26, 2024
Before this play, with three minutes left in the third quarter, Jokic showed how much more engaged he was than Davis. Jokic sprinted in transition and left Davis behind to create a mismatch on the inside. A missed three allowed Jokic to wrestle the rebound from LeBron James while converting a shot for an and-one as Davis watched on from the 3-point line.
When Game 3 ended. Late 3rd quarter
Nuggets force the miss, Nikola Jokic sprints away from Anthony Davis in transition, gets the offensive rebound and-1 with Davis nowhere to be seen.
Then, Jokic huddles his team together. pic.twitter.com/j6ylBGEdVh
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) April 26, 2024
LeBron spoke about how the Lakers need to be perfect to win games, and these moments of imperfection from Davis cost them six points which could have been a difference-maker. James himself had multiple plays where he gave up open back-cuts to Aaron Gordon, as the Nuggets forward had 29 points and 15 rebounds in the win.
Game 3 ended with a seven-point margin, so if the Lakers played perfect basketball in those moments, they probably would have been able to pick up a win over the Nuggets finally. But their inability to play perfectly for 48 minutes is going to cause their downfall against high-caliber opposition like the Nuggets.
Davis has been the Lakers’ best player this series. He’s averaging 32.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks through three games, trying to maximize his impact on the game. However, all these games have had a major second-half drop-off in production, with all three of these defensive lowlights coming in the second half.
If Davis and James can’t remain 100% locked in for 48 minutes every game, the Lakers don’t stand a chance. But given the team’s lack of faith in their coach and the Nuggets seemingly being a boogeyman opposition the Lakers can’t figure out how to beat, they keep faltering.
The Lakers can’t make any mistakes if they hope to avoid a 12th consecutive loss to the Nuggets, which would also be their second-consecutive sweep loss in the playoffs to Denver.
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