Is Nikola Jokic GREATER than Kevin Durant IF he wins another Championship? 🤔 | NBA Today

Is Nikola Jokic GREATER than Kevin Durant IF he wins another Championship? 🤔 | NBA Today

So we have a battle of former MVPs Kevin Durant and Nicola joic tonight in Denver it’s their second meeting of the Season joic took the first back in December now Devin Booker is out with an ankle sprain so the scoring load will once again be on KD’s

Shoulders now what I love about this matchup is that we have two seven-footers who are the best at what they do in completely different ways I mean Katie is the master of the mid-range in yic he’s the professor who has a PHD in passing and I’ll show you

Exactly on the court KD versus yic he gets to his spot elevates after a switch and going under the screen and he knocks it down he has the most mid-range points per game in the NBA now on the other side we’re talking about the profess professor in passing right here that’s

An ice scen usually people shoot instead he attracts the entire defense no one in the NBA has more assists that’s a forward or a center than Nica yic so it’s very very impressive those two seven-footers doing it differently now the Suns will be without Devon Booker

Tonight and our eight and 1 Half Point underdogs against the defending Champs so odds makers really believe that Phoenix is heading towards their third straight loss now Zack what is so important to you about the Phoenix Suns especially in their game tonight this has to be a statement

One every game is urgent for the Suns this team went all in invested everything they had and falling into the playin would risk a disaster scenario for the playoffs it’s a huge huge game every game’s a huge game if you beat the Nuggets it’s almost like a double win

It’s an unexpected win so the pressure is on Phoenix and every single game down the stretch of the Season yeah we all know that Phoenix has truly fallen short a little bit of expectations so far this season but an interesting debate that came up in our Newsroom before the show

Was like the legacies of yic and ktie especially as we see in this matchup and here’s actually a look at their current rums for these two Hall of Famers joic has the 2-1 Edge in MVPs and could be adding another to his case after this season now KD though has 2-1 titles

Advantage and is ninth on the alltime scoring list so Scott if the are able to do what no team has done since KD’s Warriors and win back-to-back titles would yic surpass Durant in your estimation for career I know that’s a tough question but like when you stack

It up head to head it’s it’s interesting it’s very interesting but I’m a little partial to KD look I was part of the front office he drafted this young man 17 years ago in Seattle he’s been one of the most lethal scorers that we’ve seen in this game like you say he’s two-time

Uh NBA champion he is 10 time all NBA I mean he has just done it for so long Now yic is creeping up on him and I have to give him that and so but right now today I still got to get the slight Edge and

It may be a little biased but to my man KD because 17 years and doing this so consistently uh I I Marvel at that and um I’m with you there and and some of it is just age I mean Kevin de’s 35 joic just turned 29 so he’s got six years

But I think it’s also keev both of these guys are one of one there’s I can’t think of a comp for either of them and and they’ve CH both of them have change the game in the way that they’ve played it in the way that people had to react

To them when Kevin Durant joined the Warriors the whole league had to change to try to match up with them I think the whole league has had to change to try to match up with the Denver Nuggets especially if they get it going again this year get back to the finals maybe

Win again we’ve have we ever seen a big man who could pass like this you ever seen a big man who could score the way that y there’s a few maybe sabonis sabonis AAS sabonis was the closest one but we saw the injured version once he

Got the one thing I will say about both of them though and I I think that’s they’re both just basketball Junkie they just love you can talk about yic for race and whatever no they are basketball sub tremendous Point uh Ramona and Kevin Durant I mean I think he’s gonna be

Playing basketball if he’s not in the NBA at 50 years old he’ll be playing in somebody’s League he’ll be playing basketball somewhere that is true and you know for me I see Kevin Durant as one of the greatest scorers all time I know a lot of you know not too long ago

People were saying put me in the greatest of all time conversation I know that by the time yic is done we we’ll have that same mandate put me in the greatest of all time conversation but still I maybe because I’m a millennial but I love what KD has done with this

Game I think the narrative has affected how people perceive him to some degree yes but these two guys are winning in completely different ways you got to what was Big Sean song I was raised by the Wolves they hosted the Blazers last night in Minnesota now Anthony Edwards

Though was running out to the court late to tip off and he would actually have to sub in Ramona I mean Richard Jefferson does that every time on the show but I think he does it on purpose to much us yeah this was like somebody just need to

Tap him earlier but like hey game on but it didn’t slow him down okay the t-wolves 5548 going into halftime now let’s go to the third quarter where Rudy goar whoa throws down the dunk M1 son t-wolves up after the free throw and then the final seconds of the third T

Wolves up again just beautiful basketball Scott oh it’s great basketball you’d love to see a break break when they’re sharing the basketball that way and finishing correct under 6 minutes left Trailblazers down 10590 Anthony Simons oh my goodness Styles the tower one of the posters thought better of it that

Might be post of the Year oh it’s a nominee it’s definitely a nominee Edwards right there drives and makes the layup Edwards finishes with 13 points and the t- wolves go on to win 119 114 now the t-wolves have had at least a share of the best record in the West for

94 days this season as they seek just their second number one seed in France history so I would like to run through the Wild Wild West and starting at the top here let’s fire up the official playoff predictor the top three seeds are only separated by a half game so

Zach what stands out to you in the race to the top how the three teams at the top have kind of separated themselves from the Clippers now and the Clippers are in danger kind of nestling in to that four seed but that race for number one is very very even Minnesota still plays

Denver three more times and we’re going to learn about who really wants homec court advantage remember how critical it was for Denver last year on their way to the title this is one of the more interesting subplots cuz that top seed is there for the taking but of course in

The era of the playin it’s hard to know who the matchups are going to be and who you’re going to play you may end up facing a team down there that you maybe don’t want to face so much Scott who do you think will take the number one at

The end of the regular season I I think the Denver Nuggets are going to do it they’re starting to play the kind of basketball that led them to the championship last year uh and they’ve got the best playing basketball right now so I’m leaning towards uh them

They’re playing the best at The Right Time of the Season that is true and if you did see our predictor they actually have the second easiest remaining strength of schedule so the Denver Nuggets are favorites and you know they know how to get there but Ramona who do

You think will finish number one overall after the allstar break canavis Cowell Pope recently told everybody that nicoa yic sent a text message to the whole group and said guys it’s time to go now he didn’t say exactly what was in the text message because it’s always a

Mystery that it fired everybody up when have you seen yic in a group text like we never hear about stuff like that I think he’s decided it’s it’s go time we for a long time we wondered if they cared where they finished in the stand

It looks like they care and I think they get they do care but you guys my prediction early on was the Clippers and I actually have a little validation here because if I slide over first let’s look at the Clippers the Clippers have the 11th easiest remaining yes they did just

Come off of a loss but as I slide over to the projections y’all look at what we project winning the title 10.1% for the Los Angeles Clippers overall in our playoff predictor I know that’s going to shock a lot of people except Malika and I who was like we

We’re staying in P like we feel like the Clippers are finally going to make it to the Western Conference Final nuggets would like a word they would definitely like a word but don’t wor I’m saying saying it’s Nuggets Clippers in the western fin I understand you’re going after the Clippers so they supremely

Talented okay we talked about the top of the top how about we go why don’t we go to the bottom of the standings 5 through 10 are all separated by only three and a half games so Scott who do you think finishes fifth and sixth and completely

Avoids the plan entirely well I struggle with this one but right now I’m going to go with the Sacramento Kings and the Dallas Mavericks mainly because of the Guard play Let’s see the scenario looks like the Kings moving up to five maybe yeah I am partial to guard play and I

Think late in the season when you got guards you can play downhill like Sacramento has dearon Fox and then you know Luca Don is having an MVP caliber season along with Kyrie Irving there I just like gar play being dominant down the stretch so that’s why I went with

Those two I mean the Phoenix Suns are a very talented team if You’ have told us the beginning of the year they’d be in the playin tournament none of us would have believed you but Devin Booker with that injury right now even whether it’s a week 10 days whatever it is they

Cannot afford to lose him for any length of time because they have one of the toughest schedules I mean not one of the playoff predictors literally telling us right here they have the toughest remaining schedule in the NBA that is quite wild Zack what do you think about the

Bottom well look the Phoenix let’s not mince words if the suns are in the playin this is a potential disaster scenario for Phoenix who went all in to build this team and just hasn’t seen it together when they’ve been together they’ve been really good but once you’re

In the playin you are super vulnerable to not even making the playoffs or getting a matchup where it’s just too hard to win and three rounds we haven’t talked about the Pelicans and I want to bring up those odds again cuz I think I saw the Pelicans with like a 94% chance

Of making the playoffs very quietly they have a manageable schedule they’re nicely in fifth right now and those playoff odds really like them snagging a top six seed the Pelicans if they are M if they manage to do that and most systems think they have a really good

Chance to do it what a major victory would be for them despite injuries here and there to their big three we we haven’t seen them that much together that would be a nice accomplishment for them and they’re in a good position to do it and by the way a very tricky team

To match up with for anybody because of how unusual Zion is yeah Zion being able to be point forward but also be able to play back to the basket and then their length on the perimeter they are one of my dark horses in the west Now

The NBA Today panel of Chiney Ogwumike, Zach Lowe, Scott Perry and Ramona Shelburne compare the careers of Nikola Jokic and Kevin Durant and discuss if the Joker could surpass KD as an all-time great if the Denver Nuggets win the NBA Championship.

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