Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokic has been a monster in these playoffs so far, and his team has looked like one of the best out of the eight remaining. But despite Jokic’s best efforts to avoid any drama this postseason, his incident with Mat Ishbia in Game 4 was bound to incur some kind of penalty.
For those who missed the play, Jokic was given a technical foul for “shoving” the Suns owner, who was sitting courtside. While many across the league have blamed Ishbia for flopping on the play and initiating the contact, the NBA will still hand down a hefty fine for Jokic.
Jokic will be fined $25K, source tells ESPN. https://t.co/L6M9cSWxfl
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 8, 2023
In these playoffs, we’ve already seen one player suspended for their actions during a game. Against the Kings in the first round, Draymond Green became the first after stomping on Domantas Sabonis.
In this case, Jokic got off with only a fine due to his lack of previous incidents in the past.
Did Jokic Deserve A Fine?
In this case, Nikola and the Nuggets are probably just glad he wasn’t suspended, but many argue that he was the innocent party in this. According to JJ Redick, it was actually Ishbia who overstepped.
“I don’t think [Jokic] should be suspended,” he said. “I think it was bull**** what Ishbia did. I think it would be if any fan did that. Jokic was not the instigator. Give the f*****g players the ball. You’re not part of the game.”
Love him or hate him, you can’t blame Ishbia for going to bat for his team, and it actually helped his team win the game in the end.
If you’re the Nuggets, you’ve still got to be feeling good about where you stand after all this. With the series tied at 2-2, Denver is set to return home where they’ve been nearly unbeatable all season long.
It will be interesting to see how it all plays out, and if Jokic can do enough to push his team past a very determined Suns squad.
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