Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic has been ripping the Los Angeles Clippers apart through the first five games of their second-round series. The Nuggets big man is averaged 24.2 points, 11.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists, and 1.2 blocks on 51.6 percent shooting against Ivica Zubac and Montrezl Harrell.
Throughout the series, Jokic has had to work for a lot of his production, but he has been especially effective against smaller Clippers lineups featuring Montrezl Harrell. In 124 minutes with Ivica Zubac on the court, Jokic is shooting 30-of-62 from the field (48.4 percent). With Zubac off the court, Jokic is shooting 19-of-33 from the field (57.6 percent).
Ahead of Game 6, Jokic was asked by ClutchPoints to detail what some of the different challenges each big man presents. Jokic's candidness certainly is something to behold.
“They’re completely different types of defenders,” Nikola Jokic explained. “Zubac is kind of bigger, taller. He’s covering the space really good. I can’t shoot over him that easy. And Harrell is a strong guy who is always into my body. They're kind of completely different. Harrell gonna have a couple post-ups per game, he can attack the basket, he's a really athletic player, and Zubac is kind of looking for dump-off passes and offensive rebounds so they're a little bit different.
“They really accept their roles and they're really doing that role at a really high level.”
Asked Nikola Jokic about the differences in Ivica Zubac and Montrezl Harrell – “They’re completely different types of defenders. Zubac is bigger taller. He’s covering the paint really good. I can’t shoot over him that easy. And Harrell is a strong guy who is always into my body.” pic.twitter.com/nWrkqeZxer
— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) September 12, 2020
The funniest part of the answer may be the outward candidness about how Jokic can't shoot over Zubac easily, while Harrell tries to get physical with him. With Zubac as the primary defender this series, Nikola Jokic is shooting 23-of-49 from the field (46.9 percent). With Harrell as the primary defender, Jokic has made 10-of-14 shots (71.4 percent).
It really is as simple as that. Despite the handful of plays Ivica Zubac has had playing poor defense as a result of a misread or miscommunication in coverage, he's far and away the best player to throw at Jokic.
Game 6 between the Clippers and Nuggets is on Sunday at 10 a.m PT. LA will need the very best from Ivica Zubac and Montrezl Harrell against Nikola Jokic to close the series out and avoid a winner-take-all Game 7 ahead of a series against the Los Angeles Lakers.
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