Los Angeles Lakers (hereafter referred to as Lakers) coach Davin Hamm talked about how to stop Nicola Jokic (28, Serbia).
In an interview with the media on the morning of the 16th (Korean time), manager Hamm shared his feelings about welcoming the Denver Nuggets (hereafter Denver).
Hamm, who selected Jokic as Denver’s most threatening player, jokingly said, “I’m going to kidnap him as soon as he comes out of the house.”
“Everyone knows what a great player (Jokichi) is,” he said. “You have to mix up the breaking ball. AD (Anthony Davies) will stop him, but there are two men to deal with him.”
In addition, he expressed his faith in Davis, saying, “We will do everything we can early and try to keep Davis off balance.”
The names of the two players who will face Jokichi have not been mentioned in the end. However, some analogies can be made by recalling the last bubble season (2019-20).
During the conference finals at the time, Davis had a lot of help from Dwight Howard and Javale McGee. The two tormented Yokichi both physically and mentally. As a result, Yokichi played an average of 33.4 minutes against the Lakers, recording 21.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 5 assists, with a field goal success rate of 53.2%.
This season, Jokic plays an average of 37.8 minutes per game in 11 playoff games, averaging 30.7 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 9.7 assists, with a field goal success rate of 54.9% and a three-point success rate of 47.5%.먹튀검증
In the end, the direction of this series will depend on whether or not there is a player who will bully Jokichi physically and mentally.
Jokic’s secret weapon to many Lakers fans is Tristan Thompson.
Thompson is on the small side for a center at 6’9″ and 254 pounds (206 cm; 115 kg). However, he has a fighting spirit to the point of kicking a career average of 3.3 offensive rebounds, and is a player who is good at dirty work such as boxing out. However, he joined the Lakers at the end of the regular season without finding a team throughout this season. So, will Thompson be able to properly control Jokic?
Meanwhile, the Lakers are looking for players to match Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray while controlling Jokic.