Does Jokic’s genius actually make him a good defender?
How good is Nikola Jokic on defense now? This detailed film breakdown & scouting report explores how Jokic uses his basketball IQ and genius in 2024 to overcome his defensive shortcomings, and whether he’s still a liability on defense for the Denver Nuggets.
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49 Comments
Coach do the same video for luka, he isnt a liability on defense when he's locked in and when mavs help works as planned
Jokic "genius" on defense is just consistently guarding bigs who aren't threats to shoot. It's not a coincidence that Wemby kept going for 30+ against him. Wemby going to be a huge problem for every big in the leagut but Wemby is specifically built to be a nightmare matchup for how Jokic plays defense. Shit Jokic couldn't guard himself with how he plays defense lol
thinking basketball lowkey helping lakers by exposing jokic defense😂
So good Ben😊
He’s just so active and his sense of timing and positioning is so good, it feels like he always has a hand in a passing lane or a his body in place to stop a guy from getting a head of steam to the basket. That one game in the finals last year where he got a couple of steals and like three late shot clock kicks to stop an entry bounce pass to a big was very eye-opening.
While I'm not one of these people that thinks he's an elite defender, like some advanced stats would suggest, I think you are underrating him a bit. Part of that being his capacity to put more effort in and see results (like in the playoffs) is way higher than normal. I'd say he is a good defender, but not great due to the limitations you mentioned.
So basically what I'm getting from this is that he's just about as good a defender as can be for his size, frame and speed
Jokic is top 10 all time
I feel like Zach Edey could really benefit if they draft him as the backup for Jokic. If Jokic is as good at teaching as he is at playing basketball he could turn Zach into a taller clone of him
i swear jokic blocks more shots at the end of games than most 'shot-blocker' centers. i think he saves up his energy / lulls his defenders into thinking that they can shoot a certain way over/around him so that when it matters most, he can get those blocks.
god dammit now i know were getting cooked in game 1
Why don't the refs call those shooting fouls when Jokic attempts it but they call every single rip-through drive?
Does Jokic really like horses? 🐎
I have not seen the video yet.
Watch Joker defense is just when an old veteran plays vs teenagers or people with low experience but a lot of energy. Or a street player vs a real pro. The second try hard, but have no timing, so the first just wait still and time every move. Doing something like that in the NBA is absolutely astonishing.
EDIT: watched. You really need to factor rebounds 20+ are not unusual, and deflections, where he excelled too.
for me, this is little tips of defense, love it
The NBA should look more at those swipes when the offensive player is attempting a shot… Those are blocks!
Offensive player is initiating a shot and Joker is blocking it down low, but its still a block
Joker DPOY and MVP this year. Easy day.
that is exactly how the defense should adapt to and around your best player!
u can check how to cut opponent's passes on my channel, just not in basketball, but haxball XDD
Thank you, not often is mentioned his commitment in defense. And that his goals when defending are grounded in his capacity, his options and the teamwork worked in advance
He can read the floor,he is not just good defender,he is a smart defender!
7:33 – Those kicks… Guess it's just hard to resist when it's there 😂
Love your take!
Should’ve win mvp last season over emfraud
Couple of seasons ago, he bring 2-3 wins with dagger defensive reactions
Jokic has good refleks for sure
Because of Jokic being a great offensive player and not the most athletic player, they often times overlook his defense prowess.
He’s an average to good defender depending on the offensive load he needs to carry. We can see that with other players as well.
Jokic's low swipes remind me of Dirk Nowitzki's preferred method of rim protection.
What I really think we’re driving at here are rings. While it’s entertaining to talk about genius, it’s substantial to see and feel those rings on those fingers. NJ has one. If he doesn’t get any more, we won’t be talking about him all that much in the long run.
Dude, he's literally Shaq both ways, it's just a matter of moving his big ass body when he has too.
any center would have difficulty defending this era, they have to be more outside during to pick n roll frequently with every guards a threat to shoot
It's very hard to explain to people who dislike Jokic that you don't need to block shots, or lock people down on the perimeter to be a good defender. He's one of the best at being where he needs to be, except in blow by situations, which are rare because he is usually early to drop. He does have a lot of moments where his lack of athleticism allows other people to be up in the air for a dunk before he's even able to get there, but I think with Jokic you take the good with the bad, and imo considering their Finals winners, and are always above average defensively, there's a lot more good than bad.
Every aspect of Jokic game is an example of work smarter, not harder. Right down to the way he burns game clock while inbounding the ball while the nuggets are leading.
Interesting he does this with jokic when luka does the exact same thing, could’ve done luka and jokic but all you do is make vids negative about luka based on “advanced stats”
No need to be a good defender when you're so good on offensive, teams can't have their best offensive players out there against you
We often see jokic looking like tired and gassed turns out he might be considering he has that 100% defensive motor that great defenders have
For a very unathletic guy he's definitely a very willing and smart defender which will always translate towards the positive
Would love to see a video like this showing that prime dirk was actually a good defender
thats not his job
Anyone watching Denver vs lakers rn? 😅😮
he's a defensive mastermind, often directing his team to the right spots before plays even happen, closing out lanes, he's basicly at the right place pretty much all the time! he's just.. kind of a "minimal effort" guy sometimes 😅 why dunk and put more effort in when a layup can do the job as great without hurting your hands!! thats jokic in a bottle xD he doesn't jump high for highlight blocks and stuff but he impacts the defence in a total diffrent way!!
Being good in defence doesn't mean you have bunch of blocks and steals
Kakad my pants
Ain’t afraid to cry ahhhh
Its now or never
It’s stinking out the room
My mom asked me why ahhh
I’m grounded forever
As a heat fan in the finals we learned how overblown his defensive deficiencies were … I’d been hearing the whole season how much of a weak defender he is not really watching the nuggets all season it was soul crushing to see how true that wasn’t ..
His like an Offensive Marc Gasul hahahahaha
Jokic is treating the game like cold war where intelligence matter rather than actual defense by playing espionage against the play of opposing opponent.
I've been saying this since he started playing really good defense in 2021-22. And the responses by people who just don't understand basketball outside of jumping abilities were absolutely infuriating.
You have to remember that Jokic CANNOT get into foul trouble or else the Nugs are screwed. Centers who cannot foul are handicapped as defenders. That is why he just doesn't contest sometimes because he doesn't want to let the refs call a foul.