How a podcaster solved Nikola Jokic

I saw a stat on Jokic last year, and I don't know the exact number, but in the finals versus Miami, he shot like 70% from the free-throw line in. J.J. Redick might have just devised the best defensive game plan ever created against Nikola Jokic. In the 2023 Western Conference Finals, the Lakers found some success by sticking a forward on Jokic But that only did so much against a Denver machine that swept them en route to a title. So Redick borrowed that with Rui Hachimura starting on Joker and Jackson Hayes roaming off Aaron Gordon. And to start this game, this looked like the same movie we've seen before with nothing really new. Even a minute later, no one wants to get sealed on the fast break by Joker, so Rui's fighting to deny the entry pass, and this all looks fairly ordinary. But the next possession caught my eye. There was an off-ball foul that we couldn't really see live, but Hachimura is driving Jokic outside the free-throw line and trying to impede his movement. And so, what do you do when someone shoots 74% inside 15 feet and is a near-perfect passer in those spots? You don't let him catch the ball inside 15 feet. Rui pushes out his catch. They actually switch, but only to front and deny, knowing a roamer's on the backside. The second Gordon gets it, LeBron switches to play the pass. Then good old Luka Doncic uses his length, and that's a great defensive possession. Hachimura picks up Jokic at midcourt, chest to chest, trying to make his movement difficult and keep Joker away from the basket, and that takes him away from his scoring spots. Now, another element here is the Lakers would switch Jokic's screens, but note the technique. LeBron jams to front him because Hayes is roaming on the backside, ignoring Aaron Gordon, and LA rotates nicely. But with LeBron lingering, the Nuggets need better spacing here to free up Murray or Michael Porter Jr., and this is Joker's first normal post-up, and they get a solid shot out of it. So, part one of the game plan is keep Joker away from the hoop. Part two is to front and deny the pass when he's below the foul line, and part three is to dare people to shoot. They get it to him on the elbow this time. Hayes and Luka are just clogging the paint here, entirely conceding the three to Gordon, who actually went four for seven on these, although this doesn't quite work the same with Hayes on Jokic instead, because Rui isn't long enough off ball or a natural shot blocker. But with Hayes roaming off Gordon, he can clog up the paint for cutters in exchange for open threes, and that's a great rebound from a 40-year-old. It got really interesting when LA went small without Hayes. Jokic gets nice position again. Reeves doubles on the baseline. Everyone pulls in to protect the paint, and again, Gordon is dared to shoot, and this is the exact setup Redick and LeBron discussed on their podcast last year when having a conversation about defending Jokic. He knew getting that guy over there would make you have to make the tough decision. Do I help on his spin? Do I let him score? Do I stay home on air Gordon? Only the Nuggets have their personnel backwards this time. They want Porter in the corner shooting, so Gordon can roam the baseline as a lob threat. When the Lakers are small, they have very little rim protection, so they have to keep teams out of the paint. Jokic gets deep and they get a good shot, and so LA used its speed and agility here. Dorian Finney-Smith switches onto Jokic, then beats him to the spot to deny the pass. LeBron's on the backside, and James actually doubles Joker off ball. Gordon wisely sets a screen, and when Rui can't fight over, it's a great look for Denver. The Lakers doubled Jokic like this off the ball a ton. Rui and LeBron sandwich him here, and they leave Christian Brown on full dare mode. They did the same thing to Russell Westbrook at times during the game, baiting him into 17 field goal attempts on a night where Joker took just seven, and on this possession, they sent the entire team at him, first with Hachimura limiting his movement, then Reeves blocking his path, then they basically triple team him off ball by sagging off Westbrook. They keep three guys on him with a wall, and by then the Nuggets are stuck, and that might be the craziest defensive possession I've seen since the 1957 National Championship game, when North Carolina swarmed Wilt Chamberlain like this, so he couldn't catch it, daring his teammates to hit outside shots. Speaking of crazy, Jared Vanderbilt took the game plan as a personal challenge, jumping Julian Strother for a steal right after he entered the game in the first, then 30 seconds later, he played bumper cars with Jokic in the backcourt. You can see Joker's frustration, and then he's called for the offensive foul with that little elbow, and on the next possession, Joker's already had enough, and when they get down the floor, Westbrook tries to sneak it over the top, but Vando forces his third turnover in about a minute, and while we're on this, he then drew a flagrant foul on the rebound at the other end, which just set up another full-court dance with Jokic, where he harassed him until finally going full Rodman with the impede-then-fall-down maneuver, and I haven't seen this level of full-court harassment since the 98 Finals, when Dennis entangled himself with Karl Malone, judo style. The Lakers basically won this game by forcing 20 nugget turnovers, six from Jokic himself, and five more trying to get him the ball. That's a nice effort by Doncic to fight for transition position, and on this one, Finney-Smith switches and is already trying to swim around in front because he knows he has that roamer behind him to help in the paint. LeBron's fronting Jokic, so you know he's below the foul line. That pushes the catch outside the three-point line. On the back down, they send a triple team, and Westbrook can't handle the tight pass. And the Lakers scored a whopping 39 points off turnovers in this game to Denver's 11, and that transition from defense to offense was a huge key to this victory, where it helps to have someone like LeBron James flying down the floor on the break. The Nuggets tried a few counters, having Jokic initiate and receive a high screen from a guard, and that one led to free throws. And they also had the guards screen off ball for Joker, but the Lakers jumped him with multiple defenders, and then James is still very tall and provides some rare rim protection. Denver actually went back to this with a wrinkle, having Jokic set the screen only for Brown to turn and screen for him, and that confuse gave Vincent briefly and led to a deep catch and a foul. But when the Nuggets came back to it in the fourth, LeBron wasn't falling for it, tethering himself to Jokic, then fronting any post ideas, then switching onto Murray so Finney Smith could front Joker. Meanwhile, Hayes has Gordon on ignore, so he clogs up the drive, and that epitomized his game plan in spite of that make. Last year, JJ and LeBron were discussing our model of athleticism, while talking about defending Joker. So cognitive side of his pattern recognition, spatial awareness, which is court mapping, anticipation, cognitive load, mental bandwidth, essentially your process, right? And it was his definition of court mapping that caught my eye, because it's about where the empty space is and how it can be exploited. And LA's game plan here was about eating up that empty space, space for Joker to cut and move into, and space for his teammates to move into, while conceding stationary outside shots. Now, Denver can make more adjustments here, like backcourt screens to spring Jokic, or having him bring it up, or just adjusting the spacing on certain actions for better outlets. So this isn't a full proof blueprint, but it's a proof of concept for the Lakers' small ball defense that's going to have to swarm with speed and strength to overcome its lack of height and paint protection. And at least for one night, a game plan that started a year ago with two podcasters drinking some wine, actually solved Nikola Jokic. We have more videos like this for members as part of our great game series this year. You can find that at patreon.com slash thinking basketball, where we have proprietary stats on teams and players, a discord and more, or if you just want videos become a member on YouTube for half the price. Otherwise, thanks for watching this one. Hope you enjoyed it and that you are having a great day.