Nikola Jokic and Denver won Game 3 on Wednesday to take a 2-1 series lead over Miami.
It’s an understatement to say that Nikola Jokic is a special player. With his 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists in Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday, the two-time MVP has more 30/20/10 playoff games in his career (3) than every other player in NBA history combined (2).
He’s a huge human with great hands, a deft touch, and incredible vision, which allows him to play like both a center and a guard.
Here’s a bit of film illustrating the versatility of Jokic in the Denver Nuggets’ 109-94 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 3.
1. Playing big … in the post
Jokic averaged 9.1 post-ups per game in the regular season, 2.6 more than any other player, according to Second Spectrum tracking. He’s at 9.0 per game in the playoffs and his 11 in Game 3 were two more than he had in either Game 1 or 2 (9 each).
He didn’t score against Bam Adebayo on any designed post-ups the post on Wednesday, but toasted the Heat’s guards and wings when he got a switch. Early in the first quarter, Jamal Murray attacked Adebayo off a Jokic screen, forcing the Heat big man to switch. And Jimmy Butler, one of the best defenders in the world, was no match for Jokic in the post …
Jokic’s 23 post-up points in this series are nine more than every other player in the series combined. The Heat did double Jokic in the post a couple of times in the second quarter, forcing a turnover and giving up a Murray 3-pointer.
Jokic was also effective in the post against the Heat’s zone. He found space and then found cutters …
2. Playing big … on the roll
According to Synergy tracking, Jokic had eight points as a roll man in Game 3, tied for his fourth-highest total of the season. He’s obviously not a Tyson-Chandler-esque lob threat after setting a screen, but this guy has shot an amazing 59.8% from 5-9 feet this season (regular season + playoffs) and the pick-and-roll allows him to catch the ball closer to the basket …
Murray had seven assists to Jokic on Wednesday and now has 65 to him in the playoffs. That’s the most from one player to a single teammate in the last seven postseasons. The next highest combinations in the 2023 playoffs are Jokic to Murray (46), Jokic to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (37), Jokic to Aaron Gordon (36) and Jokic to Michael Porter Jr. (34).
3. Like a guard … off a screen
Jokic’s skill set allows the Nuggets to use him, at times, like a guard. After Murray (570) and Bruce Brown (149), the Nugget who’s had the most ball-screens set for him in the playoffs is Jokic (95, 5.3 per game).
Early in the third quarter, Gordon set a ball-screen for Jokic to get a switch onto Kevin Love. Jokic didn’t beat him off the dribble, but just tossed up a ridiculous turnaround shot off one foot that swished through the net.
On the first play of the third quarter, the Nuggets ran their “flex” offense, and Jokic curled off an off-ball screen for a more standard jumper from the same spot …
Jokic has an effective field goal percentage of 62.9% on catch-and-shoot jumpers, a mark that ranks eighth among 22 players who’ve attempted at least 50 in the playoffs. So you might want to challenge him on the perimeter.
4. Like a guard … with the pump and go
Then again, you might not. Because if you bite on a pump fake, Jokic can put the ball on the floor. He beat Adebayo off the dribble once, drawing help and tossing a lob to Gordon …
Then he beat him again a few possessions later and got all the way to the rim.
Jokic has actually passed the ball on only 22.8% of his drives, the third-lowest rate among 46 players with at least 50 drives in the playoffs.
5. Like a big … on defense
With Jokic leading the way, Denver has had the No. 1 offense in the playoffs (119.3 points scored per 100 possessions). But in this series, the much bigger difference between the Nuggets’ wins and the Heat’s win has been on the other end of the floor. Miami scored 111 points on just 86 possessions (129.1 per 100) in Game 2, but has scored just 101.1 in its two losses.
In Game 3, the Heat shot just 17-for-46 (37.0%) in the paint, tied for the seventh-worst shooting performance in the paint for any team in any game this season. Jokic was on the floor for almost all of that, registering his third-highest minutes total of the season (43:35). With Jokic on the floor, Miami was 15-for-42 (35.7%) in the paint, including a brutal 7-for-21 in the restricted area.
He was in drop coverage, and the Heat were able to score on occasion when he didn’t leave the basket. But he was also a big deterrent, and if Miami wanted to shoot a bunch of 10-15 foot jumpers, so be it. If they tried to get to the rim, he was there …
Over the three games in this series, the Heat have outscored the Nuggets by 49 points from outside the paint. But Denver is a +50 in the paint and a +22 at the free throw line. The biggest reason is the big man who can play both inside and out.
Jokic has the Nuggets two wins away from their first NBA championship. To draw even in this series, the Heat will have to find a solution for the two-time MVP in Game 4 on Friday (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC).
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John Schuhmann is a senior stats analyst for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on Twitter.
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