The OKC Thunder bounced back after dropping Game 1 at home and losing Game 3 against the Denver Nuggets. They won Game 4 in Denver with the score 92-87 to tie the series at 2-2. Nikola Jokic has been struggling to perform at his usual level, and he even missed two crucial free throws down the stretch in a close game. After the game, Jokic spoke to the media about his struggles and how OKC managed to grab the victory in this game.
“I mean, it’s a little bit of everything. They’re playing really good defense on me, they’re really– into my body, handsy, physical, and I think I missed like two, three open looks tonight, so it’s a little bit of everything. They’re shrinking the ball, they’re shrinking the floor for me, they have a guy behind the defender, so it’s a little bit of everything, you know. I need to do a better job, of course, but it’s part of the game,” said Jokic.
Jokic has averaged 26.5 points, 14.8 rebounds, and 5.3 assists in four games played so far in the series. While on the face of it, this does not look like the numbers of a struggling player, if you dive deeper into his shooting efficiency, you will realize the truth about these numbers.
Jokic went 15 of 29 in the first game from the field for his 42 points, shooting 51.7% for the game. However, in Games 2 to 4, he shot a combined 21 of 63 shots (33.0% from the field). He went 4 of 22 from beyond the three-point line in these three games combined (18.18% efficiency), which also includes a shooting dud in Game 3, where he went 0 for 10 from beyond the three-point line.
What Does This Mean For Nikola Jokic And The Nuggets?
The aforementioned numbers clearly show that Jokic has been on a bit of a slump in terms of shooting efficiency. As the OKC Thunder regain the home-court advantage, Jokic must come out of the slump if the Nuggets are to have any chance of coming out with a win in this series.
Despite his struggles in Game 3, the Nuggets prevailed due to offensive contributions from Aaron Gordon (22 points) and Michael Porter Jr (21 points). In Game 4, Porter Jr only had three points in the entire game, and the Nuggets lost by five points. This shows the reliance of the Nuggets’ offence on Jokic to produce consistently at a high level. If the Joker doesn’t come out of the slump, the Nuggets will need their backup offensive options like Gordon, Porter Jr, and Murray to step up and showcase their championship caliber.
However, in this battle of MVP candidates, I feel the Thunder now how the mental advantage as well in this series to go along with their regained home-court advantage. Therefore, my prediction is the Thunder take this series in seven games.
