{"id":1900475,"date":"2026-04-24T12:55:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T09:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1900475"},"modified":"2026-04-24T12:55:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T09:55:17","slug":"can-nikola-jokic-after-his-worst-ever-nba-playoff-game-respond-like-nikola-jokic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1900475","title":{"rendered":"Can Nikola Joki\u0107, after his worst-ever NBA playoff game, respond like Nikola Joki\u0107?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 Superstars stink it up sometimes. Legends lose. The best can get the business end of a bad matchup. It happens. To all of them.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s not make too much of Nikola Joki\u0107 looking like he left his game on the nightstand Thursday and had to borrow Chris Kaman\u2019s.<\/p>\n

With that said, Game 3 might\u2019ve been the worst the Denver Nuggets\u2019 three-time MVP has ever looked in a postseason tilt. He needed 26 shots to score 27 points against Rudy Gobert \u2014 who if you squint just so is starting to look like Bill Russell giving Wilt Chamberlain fits.<\/p>\n

And because of who he is, and the level we\u2019ve seen him reach, we look forward to his response.<\/p>\n

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Joki\u0107, a 39.9-percent 3-point shooter over his last two regular seasons, has missed 19 of the 24 he\u2019s taken behind the arc this first-round series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, including 2-for-10 in Game 3. He had four turnovers and three assists in Thursday\u2019s 113-96 loss<\/a>, putting the Nuggets in a 2-1 hole.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThey\u2019re a really good defensive team,\u201d Joki\u0107 said. \u201cAnd we couldn\u2019t make shots. \u2026 If I make all the shots, then the defense is going to react. So I think that\u2019s why I couldn\u2019t get anybody involved. \u2026 I think I needed to do a bit better job scoring, and then I think it will open up for other guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

His offense wasn\u2019t the worst part.<\/p>\n

The Timberwolves feasted on his generosity on defense. Minnesota didn\u2019t have any kind of 3-point shooting night. But they ate all evening on the banquet of buckets in paint.<\/p>\n

Jaden McDaniels called the Nuggets all bad defenders<\/a> and said the game plan was to go at them. He didn\u2019t just describe how the Wolves won Game 2. He foretold the game plan for Game 3. Minnesota\u2019s penetrators became downhill skiers going to the hole, and all slopes aimed at Joki\u0107.<\/p>\n

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What You Should Read Next<\/div>\n
\n \"\u2018Ornery\u2019<\/p>\n
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\n \u2018Ornery\u2019 Jaden McDaniels backs up \u2018bad defenders\u2019 talk with a playoff masterpiece\n <\/div>\n
\n Throughout his six NBA seasons, McDaniels has developed a proven formula: the more he dislikes his opponent, the better he seems to play.\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

The Timberwolves made nine of their first 11 shots of the game in the restricted area. They finished with 68 points on 53 shots in the paint. Ayo Dosunmu led the Timberwolves with 25 points, and all 10 of his made baskets were layups.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the motto of the whole game,\u201d Minnesota guard Bones Hyland said. \u201cThat\u2019s a point of emphasis. Get downhill.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Timberwolves outscored the Nuggets by 21 points with Joki\u0107 on the floor. And this is with Anthony Edwards foul-plagued on his way to posting a yawn-worthy 17 points in 24 minutes.<\/p>\n

None of this means Joki\u0107 can\u2019t flip a switch in Game 4 and remind the world he\u2019s the greatest.<\/p>\n

But now he must.<\/p>\n

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\n The Timberwolves\u2019 Rudy Gobert (right) has contained the three-time MVP Joki\u0107 through most of the series so far. (Bruce Kluckhohn \/ Imagn Images)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

For the sake of his teammates. For the leveling of this Western Conference series. For the teams watching this live unveiling of a blueprint to discombobulate one previously inevitable. For the sake of his loyal fans who\u2019ve been yelling in basketball arguments for years that Joki\u0107 is grossly underrated even while widely regarded as the world\u2019s best player.<\/p>\n

The pressure shifts squarely onto Joki\u0107. His job is no longer to orchestrate, but to rescue the Nuggets\u2019 season \u2014 which entered these playoffs with championship ambition. A woeful, a struggling series, an untimely slump \u2014 none of it indicts Joker. But Thursday was an undressing by Minnesota, and the greatness we know of Joki\u0107 demands a retort.<\/p>\n

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Joki\u0107 long ago entered the conversation where his excellence could no longer be measured by numbers. He cleared that hurdle in 2023 when he hoisted the Larry O\u2019Brien Trophy.<\/p>\n

But at this echelon, statistics won\u2019t save him. MVPs, awarded and snubbed, earned Joki\u0107 a place in the conversation of all-time greats. Now that he\u2019s in it, where he belongs, accolades only matter in chat rooms and debate shows.<\/p>\n

What matters for players of his caliber are the moments. The responses to adversity. The fortitude to figure it out and conquer their kryptonite.<\/p>\n

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They don\u2019t get the luxury of shrugging. Not at that altitude. Joki\u0107 rightfully resides with the greatest ever to do it. But with that comes scrutiny for not doing it. Greatness is a tax collector. Always coming for what you owe.<\/p>\n

In Game 3, he couldn\u2019t impose his will against Gobert, and on defense, he was something worse than just laterally slow. He vacillated between overwhelmed and uninspired. He usually solves the puzzle before anyone else sees the pieces. So the version of Joki\u0107 in Game 3 felt uncanny. But these Timberwolves, facing Denver for the third time in four postseasons, have figured out a potion for what Gobert calls the best offensive player he\u2019s ever defended.<\/p>\n

Joki\u0107 exists above the fray of his superstardom. He doesn\u2019t play the game asked of living legends. He conveys disinterest in the discourse. Seems to feel zero obligation to outside expectations. He doesn\u2019t covet the clout of supremacy or the attention his success brings. It\u2019s a bit refreshing even if boring.<\/p>\n

But we know he breathes to win. We know his competitive fervor rivals the peers on his level. So he can\u2019t be above this.<\/p>\n

Thursday, Minnesota went for the heart of the Nuggets. McDaniels questioned their resistance, and then the Timberwolves collectively tested Denver\u2019s will.<\/p>\n

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\u201cJust playing Denver really motivates us,\u201d McDaniels said. \u201cThat\u2019s enough, for real. \u2026 The number and the name across their chest makes us play like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Minnesota isn\u2019t some unbeatable machine. This isn\u2019t a dynasty at full roar. The Timberwolves feature tough, long, athletic players who feed on aggression. But they aren\u2019t supposed to be the team making the best player in the world look so flustered.<\/p>\n

This part, times like these, decide the real hierarchy of NBA legends. The numbers don\u2019t elucidate the pressure hovering over the games. They don\u2019t tell of the intangible context.<\/p>\n

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What You Should Read Next<\/div>\n
\n \"Jaden<\/p>\n
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\n Jaden McDaniels, Timberwolves put clamps on Nuggets to take 2-1 series lead: Takeaways\n <\/div>\n
\n After initiating a war of words after a Game 2 win, the Wolves backed up their talk in Game 3 while shutting down the NBA’s best offense.\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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The box score from Game 3 won\u2019t tell of Minnesota\u2019s intent on bullying Denver by attacking its star, and how Joki\u0107, maybe for the first time in his career, looked completely overwhelmed.<\/p>\n

But we know. Because we watched the Nuggets play it cool in the face of Minnesota aggression, then watched the Timberwolves speed right up Denver\u2019s high road and drop off a whooping.<\/p>\n

With 7:47 left in the fourth quarter, Joki\u0107 checked back in. The Minnesota lead that grown as high as 27 was down to 16 after a Tim Hardaway Jr. free throw.<\/p>\n

Minnesota\u2019s offense sputtered to start the quarter: 1-for-6 with three turnovers. It gave Denver some life as the MVP finalist checked back in. But Joki\u0107 gave the Timberwolves a solution. Julius Randle immediately put his head down and steered it toward the rim, finger rolling over a planted Joki\u0107. Moments later, McDaniels did the same thing, dropping in a floater in the face of Joki\u0107.<\/p>\n

Minnesota knew exactly how to get its rhythm back on offense. By going at the heart of the Nuggets. Now the Timberwolves\u2019 confidence is up there where Artemis II roamed. The Nuggets are in trouble.<\/p>\n

We know how all-time greats would respond. Joki\u0107 is an all-time great. Moments like these, not triple-doubles, not awards, are what make men into myths.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MINNEAPOLIS \u2014 Superstars stink it up sometimes. Legends lose. The best can get the business end of a bad matchup. It happens. To all of them. So let\u2019s not make too much of Nikola Joki\u0107 looking like he left his game on the nightstand Thursday and had to borrow Chris Kaman\u2019s. With that said, Game […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-1900475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1900475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1900475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1900475\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1900475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1900475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1900475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}