Jokic is not enough
Good morning. The biggest lesson of these playoffs so far? A single, singular star is not an adequate response to a great team. That's been illustrated in both the Thunder's series against the Nuggets and the Pacers' 4-1 win over the Cavaliers. Let's basketball.
It'd be unfair to ask more of Nikola Jokic than what he provided in Game 5 after two tough outings leading into it. He rode his proverbial horse into Oklahoma City, put a legendary performance on the books and, when it mattered, was joined by none of his teammates.
That last shot will stick in my brain for a long, long time.
Jokic had a majestic 44 on 78% eFG. The rest of the team had an eFG of 37.5%. Denver went up 12 with five minutes left in the third quarter. For the remainder of the game, Jokic went 6/9 from the field for 17 points. The rest of the Nuggets went 2/24. Two for 24.
In Games 3 and 4 in Denver, the Thunder largely sent help at Jokic to try to force the other Nuggets to beat them. It worked in limiting Jokic, but had mixed results otherwise. In Game 5 while there always help hovering, it felt more like the Thunder were trying to let Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams try to slow down Jokic (good luck) without overhelping from shooters. That turned into an ice cold night for the other Nuggets that allowed OKC to just climb past.
All series, the Nuggets have conversely been trying to stunt Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's output. The difference that's given the Thunder a 3-2 edge and two chances to close it out is that other OKC scorers have more consistently shown up, especially after Game 1. Lu Dort – whose been left open all series for good reason – hit three triples in the fourth as the Thunder completed their comeback. With a minute left, Shai hit Dort at the top of the key and Aaron Gordon closed hard – something he was unlikely to have done earlier in the series. Dort made the extra pass to a wide open Jalen Williams for three. That was the possession after Jokic's ridiculous pirouette three. It was a helluva response in the way that Game 4's closing moments were a helluva response to the first three games of the series, and that the final 17 minutes were a helluva response to Denver opening up a decent lead.
The Thunder ended up winning 112-105. High-quality game.
This is all to say that Jokic was absolutely incredible, but the Thunder have more behind their superstar than do the Nuggets, which is something we all knew going in. Mark Daigneault played 10 guys, none more than 39 minutes. They didn't look gassed in the closing minutes. David Adelman played eight men, with Jokic, Jamal Murray and Christian Braun all playing 42+ minutes. Jokic was at 44. On Shai's final three, Jokic drops ... because he clearly doesn't have the energy to come up and challenge the shot.
In previous eras, the singular superstar might have pushed a team over the top, especially if that singular star was as good as Jokic. (Few stars have ever been as good as Jokic.) But the spreading of the floor in the three-point barrage era and the advanced defensive schemes teams are running players ragged, making depth a bigger advantage than perhaps ever. The Thunder have depth of talent the Nuggets cannot match, even with the best player in the world tilting the game in their favor at the top.
This was the story of the other series in play on Tuesday night as well.
The Fourth Pacers' Golden Era Is Here
Any and all predictions that the Indiana Pacers are the new Atlanta Hawks – a novelty Eastern Conference Finalist benefiting from meltdowns and/or injuries suffered by teams in their path – are now null and void. We are in the midst of the Pacers' fourth golden era. The Pacers finished the Cavaliers off on Tuesday with a 114-105 win. They are back in the conference finals for the second straight year, and they have a great shot at making the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000.
