Need ‘all five guys’ to guard Nikola Jokic – Heat’s Jimmy Butler ahead of NBA finals against Denver Nuggets

 

One of the biggest obstacles between the Miami Heat and the NBA title will be Denver Nuggets’ talisman Nikola Jokic, who is in terrific form and will hold the key for the latter. Jokic could be a thorn in the Heat’s flesh in the NBA finals and it will be imperative for the eighth-seed to keep the linchpin at bay in order to increase their chances of winning.

Jokic has been averaging 29.9 in the 15 matches of the ongoing postseason. The 28-year-old from Sombhor was averaging 24.5 in 69 games he played in the regular season of 2022-23 and thus he has played a key role in taking the Nuggets to the final of the NBA 2022-23 season.

Once again, there is no doubt that Nuggets’ success will hinge on the shoulders of the Serbian.

“He’s very unique,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said Wednesday. “He doesn’t really have any noticeable weaknesses in terms of his size, his skill set. He’s one of one in the myriad of ways that he can impact the game and impact winning.”

Jimmy Butler, who is going to hold the key for Miami Heat, feels a collective defensive effort will be needed from all five players to keep Nikola Jokic in check.

“Guarding him as a team with all five guys,” Butler said. “He does everything so well, and we’re going to have to be in the gaps, we’re going to have to gang rebound. We can’t have defensive lapses. We’re just going to have to get after it. I think at the end of the day, he’s a major key, as DJ Khaled would say, and we’re going to have to lock in.”

Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo believes they will need to force the Serb to take tough shots under pressure in order to put the brakes on him.

“Force him into tough shots, and live with the result,” Adebayo said. “That’s the biggest thing for me. I feel like this is one of those series where he becomes very dangerous when you let his teammates get involved, and he can make those incredible passes and end up with 12 assists.”

There is no doubt that Nikola Jokic is going to hold the key for the Nuggets and it will be interesting to note how Heat decides to defend against him.

The first game of the NBA finals will be played on Thursday night.