“No More Joking Around.”
As the late great Heath Ledger once said in The Dark Knight: “I
Thought my jokes were bad!” Yes, the final “joke” ran its course on
Sunday evening as Nikola Jokić and the Denver Nuggets were
Eliminated by Minnesota in game seven of the Western Conference
Semi-round. What’s even funnier is how the national media will likely
Dismiss this epic failure on behalf, Jokic “ran out of gas.” Hmm… Let’s
See here folks, allow me to be very khaotik in this piece.
For starters, Nikola Jokić is one of the premiere power forwards in
Basketball. Fans have been in awe over his triple-double stats for the past.
Few seasons. Winning MVP three out of four seasons and breaking
Through 2023 with an NBA Finals Championship. 2024 was supposed
To be a “repeat”, but Minnesota had other plans.
Now, we’ve been told for years the “MVP Award” is presented to the
Best player on their team, not the best player in the league. “Valuable” is
Taken for granted, in part, other guys around a star player makes him
Better. For Jokic, winning MVP in 2024 is an indictment like the Nuggets
Were embarrassed in game seven. Not only that, but Denver also lost.
Three games in their building! The defending champions with Jokic’s
MVP and lost an elimination game after leading by twenty points early.
In the third quarter.
Here's where I’m going to throw blows and validate my case as to how
Bad this looks for Jokic. Everyone praises him for being the most skilled.
Power forward, great player and teammate. Boring, yet everyone sits in
Front of their televisions to enjoy a sleepwalking game with a boring
Team. But now that he’s experienced this type of collapse, NBA fans
Want the same energy of defeat if it were said: LeBron James, Kevin
Durant, Steph Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Let’s call a spade a spade and be real: the national media will deflect
Blame away from Jokic and say, “he ran out of gas.” The same media
Who chastised LeBron James for “running out of gas” in year 21 against
This same Denver team in round one. Denver played their B+ games
Against the Lakers; while Jamal Murray hit (2) lucky jump shots in
Games 2 & 5 to beat Los Angeles. Semi-final round started and right on
schedule, Denver found themselves down 0-2 to Minnesota.
Winning two games in Minnesota and regaining control of the series;
Taking game five and supposed to send the Wolves back to their wooded
Forest. But… A team who got exposed early in the series by their slowness
The first quarter start doomed them. Head coach Mike Malone was “elite”
Enough to figure this out. Jokic, Murray, KCP, Gordon, Braun, and MPJ
All knew their roles. Minnesota exposed Jokic and outplayed him.
Defensive schemes and coverage doomed Denver and they couldn’t.
Hide it. Credit to Minnesota head coach Chris Finch for running a strong
Defensive gameplan to wear down Jokic. If Joker is your MVP and game
Seven in your building, you’re not supposed to gag it. Plain and simple,
You have everything to play for and You know the ramifications after a forty-
Five point blowout loss to even the series at three games apiece. Again,
“MVP” was tired. Miss me with that please! I don’t care about what
Casual fans have to say. Everyone throws strays at the superstars and uses
It was sticking points. Jokic is no different and tonight should serve as a
Reminder of what the “MVP Award” really means.
You take Jokic away from Denver, they’re a good team; SGA, who had
Better stats away from Oklahoma City, they’re well below .500 LeBron
Should have more “MVPs” if that’s the narrative! In the end, Jokic will
Likely be dismissed for his MVP year; but real basketball fans will keep
Receipts IF the media doesn’t acknowledge his team failing to advance in
A seventh game after leading by double-digits. You can’t ignore this or
Hide it folks! You can defend Jokic, but the realist basketball fans will be
right here waiting for your level of intelligence. Bring that same energy
as you would for any other superstar and a chair so we can chop it up.
Stai tuned.
