Brad Stevens and the Celtics had Nikola Jokic in the middle of their crosshairs for most of Monday night but especially right before halftime.
Over the final 7:52 of the second quarter, the Celtics had 16 total offensive possessions. Thirteen of those included Boston running through its regular motion offense and on every one of those 13 times down the floor, the Celtics targeted Jokic, putting Denver’s 7-footer in one pick and roll or dribble handoff after another.
It’s a strategy that teams like Boston and those with upper-echelon lead ball handlers have used over the last few years to try and take advantage of Jokic’s biggest weaknesses. Draw Jokic away from the basket, force him to venture high up the floor, involve him in a screening action, and try to expose his lack of quickness.
Teams are hoping to get a number of high-quality looks by taking advantage of Jokic’s foot speed, from open mid-range or three-point jump shots to advantageous downhill drives to the rim where the point guard can find his rolling big man. Also, getting Denver’s defense moving and rotating to cover for one another can open up seams and alleyways to the basket that weren’t there before.
It’s also the blueprint teams will look to in the playoffs.
In the postseason, you’re defined by your deficiencies. The game slows down, and possessions become drawn out mismatch-hunting games of chess.
Boston threw the kitchen sink at Jokic. Take these two Celtics possessions, both of which involved a two-man game between Irving and Al Horford.
The first, an Irving-Horford pick-and-pop, gets Irving 1-on-1 against with Jokic going downhill. He settles for a 16-foot pull-up, which he’s hit at 50 percent clip this season, per Cleaning the Glass. That rate slots Irving in the 79th percentile among all lead ball handlers from that distance this season. Irving misses this one thanks to a good contest from Jokic.
The second puts Irving in a dribble handoff with Horford, again going to his right. He puts Jokic in his sights, comes off Horford tight and pulls up for a 17-footer. Irving drains this one.
Jokic is a much-improved defender from a season ago. He’s always been an elite rebounder, and his efforts on the glass have helped the Nuggets become the best rebounding team in the league this year and in two out of the last three seasons (in 2017-18 Denver was second in Rebound Percentage). Jokic is averaging a team-high 2.4 deflections per game this season too, good for 34th in the league. His effort, discipline and attention to detail on defense this year is noticeably at a different level than last season. Jokic is also using his voice more, a necessity for big men who have to alert their guards of screens coming their way.
“It always starts with buy-in and commitment,” Michael Malone said of Jokic’s defense earlier this month. “This is Nikola’s fourth year. I thought his first year he was really good. His second year I didn’t think he was very committed. Last year much improved and this year I think he’s just as committed on that end of the floor. I think he’s really grown in his willingness and ability to communicate. You want and need your bigs to talk. They need to be traffic cops on the floor, constantly talking to the ball because if I’m guarding the basketball, everything’s happening behind me. I have no idea. So I need a big man to constantly talk to me and let me know what’s about to happen. So I think Nikola has improved in that area.
“And he’s such a smart player. He’s got great hands, great anticipation, lots of deflections and a few years ago it felt like if somebody tried to post him up we’d have to give him help. And I think he’s taken on the responsibility of ‘I’m going to guard 1-on-1, take a little pride on that end of the floor,’ and I think the results are very apparent.”
Jokic looks lighter on his feet this year too. It’s a testament to detailed summer workouts in Sombor, Serbia, where Jokic worked hard to increase his lateral quickness. You can see the improvement when he gets switched out onto Jayson Tatum on possessions like these. Jokic doesn’t have to sag completely off Tatum and can play closer up to the ball, knowing he has a better chance of sticking with the quicker forward on a drive to the basket.
The Celtics came away with points on six (five baskets and one set of free-throws) of the 13 possessions where they targeted Jokic at the end of the second quarter. Overall, the Nuggets outscored the Celtics 25-18 during that stretch and some of Boston’s field goals to close the quarter came on possessions like this Tatum three with under two minutes remaining before halftime. Jokic played this Irving-Horford pick and roll well.
No matter which first-round opponent the Nuggets match up with, Jokic’s ability to defend in these types of situations will be tested. It’s the blueprint that Russell Westbrook, Donovan Mitchell, or Lou Williams — all dynamic lead ball handlers who the Nuggets could draw in the first round — will try to follow in a potential playoff series.
