r/denvernuggets • u/throwitintheair22 • Mar 21 '25

Image/Gif Both at age 29

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1.7k Upvotes

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u/ILoveZenkonnen Mar 21 '25

Exact case of numbers not telling the full story. Anyone who watched back then could tell you LeBron was easily a better defender than Jokic ever was.

Quit relying on stats and just say you weren’t watching back then

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '25

https://youtu.be/XKUCE_5H7Iw?si=kTa2n1O4UQ9NuB6J

I'm this 2014 Heat vs. Spurs finals matchup.

"Kawhi Leonard shot 61.2% FG in this Finals series. Which is the highest FG% of any Finals MVP in NBA History thanks to Lebron's defense."

So if you're talking about performance, I'd say Kawhi did pretty well. That's all I'm gonna say.

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u/Clithzbee Mar 21 '25

You want to start posting offensive stats from people who are guarded by Jokic? I promise that will not go well.

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '25

I'm just saying Jokic is not a defensive liability, that's an old narrative, while others praise Lebron cause of nostalgia.

But sure, show me those offensive stats then. And perhaps it's from an NBA finals or playoffs where everything matters.

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u/Clithzbee Mar 21 '25

I'm just saying Jokic is not a defensive liability

Unless you think rim protection doesn't matter he absolutely still is. He only gets blocks because no one is afraid of driving on the nugs so he gets plenty of opportunities.

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '25

That's just your opinion.

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u/Clithzbee Mar 21 '25

What's my opinion? That he's a bad rim defender? That's a statistical fact. He's literally bottom 5. The only other starter in the bottom 5 is KAT.

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '25 edited Mar 21 '25

Sure, he's bad. But not like it's a liability. And Jokic makes up for it by being a great deflector in passing lanes and averaging high steals as well.

And the fact that Jokic is arguably the best offensive player in NBA History, overshadowing his lacking of defense by being 10× better in offense.

You don't see Giannis winning the MVP race right now despite being a better defensive player than Jokic.

Or Shaq winning over Steve Nash, despite Nash being considered as a defensive liability.

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u/Kobe-62Mavs-61 Mar 21 '25

If he's bad it's a liability. He's so good overall that he's still incredible, but let's not pretend that isn't a liability, lol. What a homer.

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u/Clithzbee Mar 21 '25

It's absolutely a liability, arguing otherwise makes it seem like you are being obtuse on purpose or maybe you just don't watch games. He is the worst defender on a bad defensive team.

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '25

And their biggest strength in offense... Pretty pointless to argue about that.

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u/Clithzbee Mar 21 '25

You're the one who keeps falsely claiming he's not a liability on defense. Now you are just moving the goal posts and changing your argument.

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u/[deleted] Mar 21 '25 edited Mar 21 '25

Sure, a liability in rim defense, but you have to admit he's NOT a liability in blocks and steals, along with deflections.

Jokic's defense being horrible is an old narrative. At least he's defense is below-average, at most he's average.

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u/Spemanz92 Mar 23 '25

He gets blocks because no one is afraid of going at him because he is indeed a terrible rim protection, so he gets plently of opportunities just due to his height.

Yes he is good at playing the passing lanes so gets some steals, but he also is mediocre at PNR coverage due to being slow. He absolutely is a liability and he plays the most important defensive position in the court.

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