“Watsup, guys?
“Hey, Nikola.”
The same call and response between the Nuggets’ All-Star center and reporters kicks off every one of Jokic’s postseason media sessions, which over the last three weeks have converted multiple arena’s postgame interview rooms into late-night comedy clubs. Monday’s show started right as the clock struck 12 p.m. as Jokic climbed the stage, took the mic off its stand and held it Dirk Nowitzki style as if he was getting ready to sing karaoke, not discuss his latest dominating performance on the hardwood.
“Can everyone write this down right now so no extra questions about Jamal and me,” Jokic replied to a question about his chemistry with his point guard, scolding a reporter who brought up the subject which had been spoken about to death over the course of the season.
A few minutes earlier he heard a writer typing away on his laptop in the midsts of one of his answers.
“Someone is typing really fast,” Jokic said. “Is that you? Good job, brother.”
Monday morning he jogged into a media scrum following shootaround and joked to all in attendance that it was the first time he’s run in his life. During Denver’s first-round series in San Antonio, Jokic reacted as if he was hearing his voice through a microphone for the first time, amused at how deep it was through the room’s surround sound speakers.
Jokic’s act reveals his comedic genius, but also his refreshingly pure and genuine personality that’s shown through time and time again over his four seasons in a Nuggets’ uniform. It hasn’t faded during his first time on a bigger playoff stage either. In fact, its shined brighter.
“It’s just basketball,” Michael Malone said after the Nuggets clinched their series win over the Spurs last week. “Whether it’s regular season Game 54 or it’s Game 7, at the end of the day it’s just basketball, and that’s how he approaches it.”
Jokic was himself once again in Game 1 of Denver’s conference semifinals matchup against the Trail Blazers, finishing with 37 points, nine rebounds, six assists, three steals, and two blocks in the Nuggets’ convincing 121-113 win. Jokic took what the defense gave him in Denver’s first matchup with Portland, slipping out to the 3-point line where he knocked in three triples while also imposing his will on a banged-up Enes Kanter in the paint where six of his 11 field goals came from.
Jokic is averaging 25.9 points on 50.3% shooting from the field and 37.1% from 3, 11.8 rebounds and 8.8 assists across eight playoff games. It’s the best stretch of basketball Jokic has played in his career, even if it pains him to admit it.
“I think I had a really good stretch last year, last couple of games when we had that 8-1 stretch I think I played really good basketball that time, and the team was playing really good,” Jokic said. “Right now it’s playoffs, the whole team I think needs to step up to another level and I’m just trying to play my best basketball. I don’t know. Is it the best? It probably is.”
Jokic will need to be at his best for at least another three games, or however long it takes the Nuggets to wrap up their series against the Trail Blazers, which got off to a promising start Monday. In a stark reversal from the offensively challenged and defensively dominated first-round tilt against the Spurs, Game 1 against Portland was a shootout, a theme that’s likely to continue throughout the next few weeks.
The Nuggets tallied 121 points in Game 1 after not scoring more than 117 in any of their seven matchups with the Spurs. Denver shot a healthy 50.6% from the field, 41.4% from 3 and overcame a 39-point effort from Damian Lillard. However, the Nuggets believe that their key to a berth in the Western Conference finals lies on the opposite end of the floor.
“I think the series is really going to be about the defensive end,” said Paul Millsap who finished with 19 points on 7 of 12 shooting to go with six rebounds and three assists. “We’re not too worried about the offensive side of the ball. We know we can score. Defensively, we can’t let them get off and have big nights, so I think the pressure is on us to stop them defensively.”
If Denver figures out how to contain the Lillard-Kanter pick-and-roll, which was effective for most of the night and helped the Trail Blazers big man who’s playing through a separated left shoulder score 26 points on 11 of 14 shooting, the Nuggets will win the series handily. But stopping Portland’s offense will be no easy task. The Trail Blazers’ attack is a polar opposite of San Antonio’s scheme which was designed to manufacture mid-range jumpers and straight line drives the basket. Lillard and McCollum desire one pick-and-roll after another and if they can’t finish at the rim or dump the ball off to their big men, either guard will look for a jump shooter patrolling around the 3-point arc. Unlike DeMar DeRozan, the Trail Blazers’ shooters will actually rise and fire from 3.
Denver’s high-octane matchup with Portland will also come down to which superstar, Jokic or Lillard, shines brightest. Based on how easily Jokic worked over Portland’s big men in Game 1, which includes Kanter, Meyers Leonard and Zach Collins, a series after going up against the much more physical Spurs’ front line, Denver’s All-Star is a strong bet.
“He’s a sponge, he picks it up. He sees how people are playing him and guarding him, and he makes the right play every time,” Millsap said. “That’s what’s great about him, is he doesn’t force anything. He’s going to make the right read. He’s like a quarterback out there. I consider him like Tom Brady. He’s always going to pick you apart and make the right reads.”
Ask around the Nuggets’ organization and most aren’t surprised that Jokic seems as relaxed as ever off the court and has still has remained incredibly poised on it, even in a playoff environment that comes with heightened internal and external pressures. A common hypothesis as to why his demeanor and candor haven’t changed is because the playoffs are just about basketball. Jokic can lock in on one matchup and one team at a time. He’s sticking to a comfortable routine and a set schedule, one which involves a lot of home-cooked meals from his girlfriend, few trips outside of his downtown apartment and not a lot of practices. Jokic is more focused than ever, which is a scary proposition for the Trail Blazers.
The last portion of Joker’s gameday routine comes after the final buzzer. Jokic is typically one of the last players to shower, dress, and speak with the media after wins and losses. He didn’t saunter into the interview room following Game 1 until the rest of his teammates had long left the arena.
“I just like the hang out with the guys. I just have my routine and I feel good after that. I’m just trying to keep my routine. … It’s just a cold tub and a stretch. I’m just taking too much time.”
The Nuggets are more than OK with giving Jokic all the time he needs postgame, especially if he’s going to finish with a stat line in Game 1 that only two players — LeBron James and Julius Erving — have ever recorded the playoffs.
That’s no joke.
