Why did the Clippers accuse Nikola Jokic of "flailing"? It's pretty simple

After a Game 3 win in which the Clippers were whistled for six fewer fouls and attempted 16 more free-throws than the Nuggets, Patrick Beverley showed his team’s cards.

“He presents the same thing Luka Doncic presents,” Beverley said following LA’s 113-107 win in response to a question about the difficulties in defending Nikola Jokic. “A lot of flailing. He puts a lot of pressure on the referees to make the right calls.”

Paul George, who led the Clippers with 32 points in Game 3, followed up Beverley’s comments a few minutes later when posed a similar question about Jokic.

“It’s tough. He gets those calls. He throws his body around. It’s tough,” George said. “Same thing Pat said. He puts the pressure on the refs. Some of those I don’t think are fouls, but he gets it. I tell Zu he’s just gotta continue to battle. If he gets those calls he gets them.”

It was an interesting response from a Clippers team that just took a 2-1 lead in a series where they were already heavy favorites. Has the free-throw disparity in the series been so heavily tilted in the Nuggets’ favor that the Clippers needed to say something?

No. In three games, the Clippers were whistled for 61 fouls and attempted 72 free-throws. The Nuggets have been called for 70 fouls and have shot 54 free-throws in the series. In Game 3 alone, the Clippers shot 26 free-throws to the Nuggets’ 10, with Zubac attempting six free-throws to Jokic’s four. Denver also had 58 paint points to LA’s 42.

“I don’t listen to Patrick Beverley a whole lot. If Kawhi Leonard was talking, maybe I might have listened to it. Kawhi’s a great player,” Michael Malone said Tuesday about Beverley’s post-Game 3 comments. “But all you got to do is look at the stat sheet. Zubac attempted more free-throws than Nikola Jokic. They shot 26 free-throws, we shot 10. So I’m not really sure what game Patrick is talking about or looking at. I don’t warrant or give much attention to that.”

Beverley’s ire drew from the fact that Clippers center Ivica Zubac fouled out in 22 minutes Monday. In total, Jokic drew seven fouls in Game 3, four of which came on Zubac. The two that were whistled on Zubac in the opening two minutes of the first quarter forced the Clippers to go to their bench earlier than they planned.

Zubac is also the Clippers’ best and only real matchup on Jokic in the series, and the 22 minutes he played in Game 3 were two less than he logged in Game 1 but two more than the 20 minutes he played in Game 2.

Also of note: none of Zubac’s fouls on Jokic in Game 3 resulted in free-throws for Denver.

Were there some questionable calls that went against Zubac in Game 3? Sure, but in his eight years in the league, Beverley’s well versed by now on the generous whistle that star players can receive. George and Kawhi Leonard have both gotten their fair share of favorable calls throughout this series. Before he landed with the Clippers in 2018, Beverley even shared a backcourt with James Harden for five seasons in Houston.

Beverley trying to crack down on flopping is also hypocritical. There are YouTube compilations dedicated to Beverley’s “flailing”. Nowadays, it’s difficult to draw a fine from the NBA office for violating its anti-flopping rules. Still, Beverley managed to write the league a $5,000 check earlier this season after his second flopping infraction of the year.

What the Clippers’ comments following Game 3 revealed is that they’re well aware of the Nuggets’ most realistic path to pushing this series to six or seven games. It’s on Jokic’s back. The Clippers know they don’t have a matchup for Denver’s big man.

After Jokic turned in a historic Game 7 against the Jazz, where his 30 points accounted for 37.5% of the Nuggets’ total offense, he had an uncharacteristic Game 1. Like the rest of the Nuggets, Jokic struggled to shoot the ball from the field and converted on a 2019 playoff-low 43% of field goal attempts. As a team, the Nuggets shot just 42% from the floor in their 120-97 loss.

Since then, Jokic has been a force. His 26 points, 18 rebounds, and four assists in Game 2 paced the Nuggets to a 110-101 win. Jokic’s 32 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists Monday nearly led Denver to a Game 3 victory, one the Nuggets felt they let slip right through their grasp.

The Nuggets led by seven points at the 7:29 mark of the fourth but missed 10 of their last 14 shots over the remainder of regulation. Denver misfired on plenty of open looks too.

Here is every Nuggets miss in the 4th quarter. I'd say they are:

1/3 very well defended
1/3 bad shot selection or bad offensive process
1/3 wide open and good offensive process pic.twitter.com/xGzJAWnirF

— Adam Mares (@Adam_Mares) September 8, 2020

“We missed a huge opportunity tonight,” Jamal Murray said.

The Nuggets don’t get to the second round of the playoffs without Murray’s heroics in Games 4, 5, and 6. But as expected, it’s been tough sledding for him against the Clippers. Through three games, Murray’s shooting just 20-53 (38%) from the field, and 20 of his 53 total points in the series so far came in the first half of Game 2.

The Clippers threw their top two plus-sized defenders Murray’s way in Games 1, 2, and 3. George (13:11) and Leonard (9:21) have spent the most time guarding Murray this series, per NBA.com tracking data, and have made Denver’s point guard work for every open look he’s gotten.

The formula for the Clippers this series is simple: LA can’t limit Jokic 1-on-1, so it wants to double-team him often, especially if Zubac is out of the game. Jokic saw two defenders on four of his six fourth-quarter post-up attempts and was doubled on three of his four post-ups after Zubac fouled out with 4:07 remaining.

Also, the Clippers want to spotlight Murray and force Denver’s role players to make shots. Even though Jerami Grant, Paul Millsap, Gary Harris, Monte Morris, Torrey Craig, and Michael Porter Jr. combined to shoot a healthy 25-51 (49%) from the floor in Game 3, the Clippers will live with giving up those open looks—especially if they can hold Murray to 5 of 17 shooting. In the fourth quarter of Game 3, Nuggets not named Jokic shot 5-18.

What’s the answer from Denver’s perspective? Stick to the game plan. The Nuggets liked the looks they got throughout Game 3, and Michael Malone kept encouraging his players to shoot their open looks with confidence throughout the second half.

“Some games you just don’t hit your shots, and tonight was one of those nights,” Porter said. “We got a lot of shots that we want to get. We were really getting all the shots we planned to get. They just weren’t going down tonight, especially in the fourth quarter.”

But the Nuggets also know that a dominant Jokic, along with better play from Murray, is their best and the only path past Beverley, Leonard, George, and to the Conference Finals. The Clippers want to put the thought in the mind of the league’s officials that Jokic is trying to embellish calls, but it’s not going to change the way he plays.

“What’s flailing mean?” Jokic asked when informed of Beverley’s accusations following Game 3. ” They had 26 free throws. We had 10. I am just showing the ref that it’s a foul.”