Sports

A genuine statement from a Lakers legend about stopping Nikola Jokic

The Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers are two teams that just can’t seem to avoid each other in the playoffs. The two teams have faced off three times in the last five years, with the Nuggets currently having the upper hand. They’re a team Lakers fans have gotten all too familiar with, including the legendary James Worthy.

Nuggets on SI attended the Harold & Carole Pump Foundation Gala where James Worthy gave an exclusive interview on the Lakers’ history with the Nuggets. When Worthy was asked on how to stop Nikola Jokic, he gave a very simple answer – you don’t. The focus isn’t on stopping Jokic, it’s on stopping the team.

“I don’t think that you put it in that perspective that we need to stop Jokic,” Worthy said. “He’s a phenomenal player and you need to focus on the whole team, including him. I think our best year was 2020 where we had JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard. You could come in and play a little more physical with him, you try to slow him down, take away some of his comfort zones, and get him in foul trouble.”

In Worthy’s eyes, the players that need the most attention are guys like Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon. When those players have it going on the Nuggets, there’s no chance of winning.

“The guys you have to worry about are Aaron Gordon, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Jamal Murray, they are a team,” Worthy said. “They’ve been together for a long time, they’ve been through trials and tribulations, they waited on Murray after he had that serious injury. So, when you develop that kind of chemistry when guys have been together, it finally came together.”

While James Worthy admits there is no stopping Nikola Jokic, he also is very aware of the fact that you can’t make it easy for the Denver Nuggets either. One of the biggest downfalls the Lakers had last season was allowing too many offensive rebounds against Denver.

“So, you don’t stop Jokic, you focus on the whole team and try to take away some of the comfort shots, don’t make it easy, can’t turn the ball over, things like that, can’t give up offensive rebounds,” Worthy said. “They’re going to do what they do, not that many people can stop them.”

With the way things look, the Los Angeles Lakers haven’t made any real improvements to avoid losing to the Denver Nuggets in the playoffs again. While it’s way too early to say, there’s always a chance that these two teams meet in the playoffs for the fourth time in six years.

Related Posts

Caelan Doris: ‘Going after someone’ for a mistake not my style

New Ireland captain Caelan Doris says he hasn’t adopted Johnny Sexton’s “assertiveness” as he tries to develop his own style of leadership. While Peter O’Mahony led Andy Farrell’s…

Exclusive: Wallabies selection twist as Schmidt set to bench Suaalii, surprise tip for Wilson replacement

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii might have delivered one of the great performances on debut, but Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt looks set to slam the brakes on the new face of…

“ทิตาธร” อัปเดตอาการบาดเจ็บ พร้อมตอบคำถามการเป็นตัวแทน “ธีราทร”

แบ็คซ้ายวัย 27 ปี พอใจผลงานหลังช่วย “ทีมชาติไทย” เสมอกับ “เลบานอน” ยอมรับยังมีอะไรที่ต้องปรับปรุงอีกเยอะ “ทิตาธร อักษรศรี” แบ็คซ้ายทีมชาติไทย เผยหลังเกมเสมอ ทีมชาติเลบานอน 0-0 ในศึกฟุตบอลอุ่นเครื่องตามปฏิทินฟีฟ่าเดย์ (International Exhibition Matches) เมื่อวันที่ 14 พฤศจิกายน 2567 โดย ทิตาธร ได้เผยว่า “ก็ดีใจครับและภูมิใจที่ได้ลงไปทำหน้าที่ พอใจในฟอร์มของตัวเอง แต่ก็ยังมีอะไรที่ต้องปรับปรุงอีกเยอะครับ”…

France v All Blacks preview: Scott Robertson’s men to capitalise on ‘fantastic opportunity’ and end losing run against Les Bleus

These games are always special affairs and Saturday promises to be no different as France face the All Blacks in a mouth-watering Autumn Nations Series clash. Les Bleus…

Will the north’s hopes ‘go south’ in world rankings?

Having completed a clean sweep of wins in the first full set of fixtures in the Autumn Nations Series, the dominance of the leading southern hemisphere sides could…

England rugby’s late woes revealed as Borthwick in Springboks’ spotlight

England coach Steve Borthwick leads his side into Saturday’s match against world champions South Africa at Twickenham in desperate need of a win as he bids to end…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *