Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green is not a big fan of Nikola Jokic's ability on defense. The former All-Star did not hold back with his criticism of the Nuggets superstar.
According to Draymond Green, Jokic is anything but a defensive stalwart:
DPOY and 3x All-Defense first teamer Draymond Green just eviscerated Jokic's defense, not just for this game but the entire season. Capper: "…and it's not much to do with his athleticism." Basically: He ain't trying. #nowordsmincednoliestold
— Ric Bucher (@RicBucher) September 4, 2020
That's savage. Then again, this is Draymond Green we're talking about here, and he is not the type to mince words, so this does not come as a surprise by any means. Moreover, Green is a former Defensive Player of the Year winner, so he is in a position to be critical of others when it comes to defense.
To be fair to Draymond Green, Jokic's defensive shortcomings were on full display on Thursday, as the Nuggets suffered a disheartening Game 1 blowout loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, 120-97. This wasn't all on Jokic, though, with the entire Nuggets side pretty much allowing LA to score at will all night long.
Collectively, the Clippers shot 48-of-84 from the field (57.1 percent), while also going 10-of-24 from distance (41.7 percent). LA dropped the hammer on Denver, scoring 69 points in the first half alone. Needless to say, the Nuggets' defense was MIA in this one.
Furthermore, the overall playoff numbers back up Draymond Green:
Nikola Jokic has "contested" the most total shots at the rim in the playoffs, 58. He's 6th on a per game basis at 7.3/game. His 69% shooting allowed is the worst of any player contesting 25 or more shots.
— Nate Duncan (@NateDuncanNBA) September 4, 2020
The Clippers are the heavy favorites to advance in this series, with most giving the Nuggets a very small chance of mounting an upset here. Their performance in Game 1 won't be doing Denver any favors, proving most of the predictions correct at this point.
Draymond Green will be watching closely.
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