Prior to the start of this year's NBA playoffs, a lot of people have been skeptical about the Denver Nuggets' chances of making a deep run. Yet here they are a month later, one win away from advancing to the Western Conference Finals.
A large part of the Nuggets' success is because of 24 year-old Nikola Jokic, who has been sensational despite appearing in the playoffs for the first time this season.
Pretty much like Denver, a lot of people also didn't expect the Serbian big man to play well in the postseason, and one of those people is NBA analyst Nick Wright, who once called him a ‘pretend superstar.'
In a recent episode of Fox Sports' First Things First, Wright admitted that he was wrong about his perception of Jokic, adding that the All-Star center has been leading the team to success in the postseason.
For all the folks in Denver who have been on my head the last few weeks, especially the folks at @denverstiffs, this is for you. https://t.co/R7cbkA87E9
— nick wright (@getnickwright) May 8, 2019
Jokic has been phenomenal over the last three games, where the Nuggets went 2-1. He finished with 33 points, 18 rebounds, and 14 assists in their 4OT loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, where he also played a staggering 65 minutes.
He followed it up with another triple-double (21-12-11) in their victory in Game 4 before dominating Portland yet again last night with 25 points and 19 rebounds.
The last time the Nuggets were in the conference finals was back in 2009 when Carmelo Anthony was still leading the team. A win in Portland on Thursday will secure them one of the two spots there. It will be a perfect opportunity for Jokic to put any remaining doubts about his caliber as a player.
So expect him to be in his best against the Blazers in Game 6.
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