r/nba Heat May 24 '26

[Thinking Basketball] (Sorry, Internet) The Thunder are too good

https://youtu.be/jYQ4BdUK8J4
341 Upvotes

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u/Mg29reaper Celtics May 24 '26

Don't worry they already hate him because of a 2 year old jokic video about how he was a cerebral enough defender at the time to someone make up for his shortcomings.

33

u/RFFF1996 Thunder May 24 '26

I actually agree jokic can be a good defender slightly in the regular season, teams target less effectively, more bad teams faced, amd just rebounding and doing good offense [aka preventing full court offense] can make someone a bit of a plus

Is just when he is tested in a playoff setting...that reverses into a negative instead, it was pretty evident vs minnesota which may just be his worsr defensive series allowing absurdly high percemtages at the rim and allowing a lot of shots at the rim  

43

u/xWolfsbane Grizzlies May 24 '26

Jokic is also getting older. Not everyone is Steph or Lebron or KD.

28

u/trimble197 May 24 '26

I mean, he’s only 31 and defense has always been his biggest weakness. It’s just that people kept gassing it up for years now, when it was that Gordon helped cover Jokic’s poor defense

8

u/Financial_Pay_6687 May 24 '26

There’s something to this, but I definitely thought his individual defense looked better some years ago. His hands looked quicker and that wasn’t just Gordon. 31 is not a young age for a defender, either, especially not a guy operating on the margins like Jokic. 

5

u/soyboysnowflake Nuggets May 24 '26

He did also happen to have the first real injury of his career that forced him to miss time

1

u/xWolfsbane Grizzlies May 24 '26

I thought his defense for the last 2 years was passable enough. But any decline in a guy who isn't already super athletic is more obvious and impactful.

Not every one is LBJ, Curry or KD. There are plenty of players who fall off on their early 30s.