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Sep 14, 2020
2:38:10pm
kimdaddy35 Truly Addicted User
I love playoff basketball as it is so much different than regular season
basketball. It also makes you better as a player because you can see how teams will take away whatever it is that you do best as they scheme against you.

Case in point: Rudy Gobert may be the only center in the world who can guard Jokic one on one at least somewhat effectively in the post (he does a good job). So Jokic had to become more of an outside weapon which he was able to counter with.

In the next series Montrezl Harrell tries to guard Jokic and the reigning 6th man of the year who averaged 18.6 ppg in the regular season can't even play because he is just too small in the post to guard Jokic and even when the double comes the ball often gets back to Jokic at the 3 point line and he just shoots over him. That 18.6 ppg in 28 minutes per night has gone down to 9.7 ppg in 18 minutes per game.

Jokic averaged 20.1 and 19.9 ppg over the last two seasons. During the playoffs last year he averaged 25.1 ppg and this year 26.1 ppg. Why? He elevates his game in the playoffs despite teams scheming specifically to stop him.

This is what the great players do. It is why Mitchell's performance in the playoffs should not go unnoticed. The first two years in the playoffs he struggled. This year he was able to take what the Nuggets were doing against him and still beat them and beat them consistently (it did help that Gary Harris was out who would have been the primary defender on him, but putting up the stats he did was amazing).

It is why when one mention the likes of Ben Simmons or Karl Anthony Towns as being great I just laugh. You have to do it when the other team is doing everything they can to stop you from doing it. That doesn't happen in December or January...it happens in September..er June or whatever.
kimdaddy35
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kimdaddy35
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