The topic du jour since Game 2 of the 2023 NBA Finals has been the best way to guard Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic after the two-time MVP tallied 41 points (on 16-28 shooting), 11 rebounds, and four assists in a loss.
Following the game, Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra was asked whether or not the gameplan was to make Jokic a scorer and limit his abilities as a facilitator. After all, the Heat entrusted Bam Adebayo and Cody Zeller in single coverage against Jokic throughout the night, even opting to keep a body on Aaron Gordon rather coming over to help.
Spoelstra took quite a bit of offense to the question, saying that it could look that way to the “untrained eye.”
Interestingly, as the debate rages on, Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Brown is among those that believe the best way to guard Jokic and the Nuggets is to “let him score” and “limit everybody else” (h/t The Hoop Collective).
“Make him work to score,” the two-time Coach of the Year said, “but we're not going to send a double team. If he got 50, he got 50.”
“What he can't do, and what we felt his team feeds off of, is if he gets 26 [points] and 10 [assists] or 32 [points] and 12 [assists]… If you do that, not only are you allowing their guy to get his and feeling good about his, but everybody else is feeling good too. That gives them an added advantage, because now they feel connected.”
NBA Coach of the Year Mike Brown, who ran Golden State’s defense when the Warriors eliminated the Nuggets last season, joined us on The Hoop Collective before the playoffs. His answer on how to approach massive challenge of defending Nikola Jokic: https://t.co/4sGWnIY3SW pic.twitter.com/vYFLjcIB06
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) June 5, 2023
“So, we felt, ‘Let him score.' Because if he scores and we can limit everybody else, then you may have a chance. But you don't have a chance if he scores and he's getting everybody involved… You can't stop him, so you take something else away.”
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