Are There Any “Jokic Stoppers” In The League?

[ALonelyDad]

this is facts

 

[YaThreadTrashB!]

We have to admit…

Some of his shots are pure luck.

Like that behind his head, step back, launch off one foot 3 over AD.

That shyt was pure luck, he couldn’t make that shyt again 5 times out of 5

Except he makes it time and time againn

 

[YaThreadTrashB!]

The way to stop Jokic.

Let him score 40 or 50.

Limit his assists.

How many of those were wide open missed 3s?

 

[FAH1223]

How many of those were wide open missed 3s?

A few, sure.

But that's the only way Miami can win. Let Joker score. Make MPJ, KCP and Gordon play like idiots with missed shots, turnovers, fouls and beat them on the break like tonight.

 

[Mook]

Kevin love

 

[ReturnOfJudah]

Rudy

 

[Professor Emeritus]

Definitely Draymond. He can lock down Kareem too.

Folk talking shyt, but Draymond did a damn good job of containing Jokic for the first two games last year. Better than anyone has done this year by far.

Jokic figured him out as the series went on, but it wasn't enough to turn the tide.

 

[Professor Emeritus]

We have to admit…

Some of his shots are pure luck.

Like that behind his head, step back, launch off one foot 3 over AD.

That shyt was pure luck, he couldn’t make that shyt again 5 times out of 5

It don't make sense how often he does it, but he seem to be actually skilled at throwing that shyt up.

A couple years ago when he hit 6 game-winners in one year, like every one of them was a thrown-up prayer. And he made more in one year than most ballers make in their entire career.

 

[Professor Emeritus]

Yeah it would take a prime Dwight or Wilt to slow this man down, the league currently doesn't have that.

Did prime Wilt slow people down like that? I don't think he ever faced a truly elite outside-in player, and his lateral movement was a bit suspect at times. Bob Pettit was a like a poor man's Jokic from a scoring perspective and he:

Bob Pettit Vs Wilt | StatMuse

Bob Pettit averaged 28.1 points, 18.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 56 games versus Wilt Chamberlain in his career.

www.statmuse.com

Put up 50 against Russell in an elimination game too. I think defenders of that era would really have struggled against a versatile center like Jokic.

So far as Dwight, Pau averaged 19ppg on 60% shooting against in him the 2009 Finals. (Bynum started at center but only averaged 19 mpg, Pau played center for far more minutes.) If Dwight can't stop Pau, he's not stopping Jokic.

 

[DraymondT]

He in China... Dwight was lockin up and underrated part completely erase Jokic rebounding impact as Dwight one of best rebounders ever. This was 35yo Dwight after a lot of back problems and surgeries too. He even outplayed Jokic flatout in game 4. Had that cac in foul trouble damn near every game, whinin and goin on his temper tantrum like that fat kid who aint get the last slice of cake.

Peak 09-11 Dwight is a better overall player than Jokic and Embiid.

 

[Trojan 24]

He in China... Dwight was lockin up and underrated part completely erase Jokic rebounding impact as Dwight one of best rebounders ever. This was 35yo Dwight after a lot of back problems and surgeries too. He even outplayed Jokic flatout in game 4. Had that cac in foul trouble damn near every game, whinin and goin on his temper tantrum like that fat kid who aint get the last slice of cake.

Peak 09-11 Dwight is a better overall player than Jokic and Embiid.

Integral part of the bubble team, in the finals he bodied Bam out the series too

 

[Professor Emeritus]

He in China... Dwight was lockin up and underrated part completely erase Jokic rebounding impact as Dwight one of best rebounders ever. This was 35yo Dwight after a lot of back problems and surgeries too. He even outplayed Jokic flatout in game 4. Had that cac in foul trouble damn near every game, whinin and goin on his temper tantrum like that fat kid who aint get the last slice of cake.

Peak 09-11 Dwight is a better overall player than Jokic and Embiid.

You're talking about a guy who got controlled by Pau Gasol on both ends.

2009 NBA Finals - Magic vs. Lakers | Basketball-Reference.com

Summary and statistics for the 2009 NBA Finals - Magic vs. Lakers

www.basketball-reference.com

Tribute to Pau Gasol, NBA Champion

In these playoffs, and especially in the Finals against the beast of Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol proved otherwise. Howard is bigger, bulkier, and stronger, but it was Gasol who man-handled Superman, rather than the other way around. As for "banging with the bigs" in the low post, Gasol didn't have any problem. Andrew Bynum was on the bench for the majority of the postseason, and Gasol willingly stepped up as the Lakers' tough, capable center. As I mentioned recently, he defended Howard better than any other center in the playoffs:

Pau Gasol defending Dwight Howard was expected to be a huge advantage for the bigger, stronger Howard, but Gasol's defense of Howard was masterful. The Lakers provided Gasol with significant help, and their defensive scheme was hugely successful in frustrating Howard, but Gasol deserves a lot of credit for his defense on Howard. According to ESPN DB, Dwight Howard was held to 4-10 shooting when guarded one-on-one by Gasol (Gasol, meanwhile, was 9-19 when guarded one-on-one by Howard). In Game 5, Gasol was the primary defender on Howard for in 38 possessions – in those 38 possessions, Howard didn't make a single field goal, and went to the line only once, where he went 1-2, for a grand total of one points on 38 possessions with Gasol as his primary defender.

On the other end of the floor, the Magic simply had no answer for Gasol. In possessions where Gasol was guarded one-on-one by Howard, Gasol shot 9-19 from the field. In the paint, he scored 56 points on 28-44 shooting from the field (63.6%), compared to Howard's 42 points on 21-42 shooting (50%). Outside the paint, Gasol was 7-14 for 16 points, while Howard did not score a single point outside of the painted area.

Overall, Gasol shot 36-60 (60%) from the field, averaging 18.6 point, 9.2 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, and only a single turnover per game in the Finals. Dwight Howard, on the other hand, shot 21-43 (48.8%) from the field, averaging 15.3 points and 15.4 rebounds per game. While he did record an incredible four blocks per game, he also committed four turnovers per game, and in the end, it was Gasol who turned in the better defensive performance at the center position.

Gasol's offensive efficiency was simply off the charts in the Finals. Despite mostly being guarded by the Defensive Player of the Year, his True Shooting Percentage was an incredible 64.7%, while Howard's was a mortal 56.2% – not bad, but low for a dominant center, and significantly below his previous playoff TS% of 65.0% (not to mention his TS% of 68.8% against Cleveland).

Meanwhile, Gasol showed himself to be a fantastic rebounder. While Howard got his rebounding numbers, the Lakers consistently dominated the boards, and a large part of that was due to Gasol's effort. In particular, the Magic were unable to get much in terms of offensive rebounds, which was yet another subtle way in which Gasol and the Lakers limited the productivity of Howard, the master of the offensive rebound and putback.

Simply put, Pau Gasol was the true beast in the low post. What he did both defensively and offensively in the Finals was not the work of a power forward playing out of position at center. That is the work of an elite NBA center, one of the best in the game.

Kareem: Howard's play with Magic 'predictable'

"So far, it hasn't been all that bad," Lakers forward Pau Gasol said about guarding Howard.

Witness The Evolution Of Pau Gasol

When asked about the match-up of guarding Dwight Howard without any assistance, Pau responded with, “it really hasn’t been that difficult.”

We have witnessed the evolution of Pau Gasol throughout the current NBA season, and these playoffs.

With the emergence of Pau Gasol, as a physical, dominating force, Laker fans can realistically expect their team to be right back in this same position next Spring.

Dwight used to regularly struggle against Yao Ming too, so thinking he'd be inferior to Jokic/Embiid is wild.

The Important Question Regarding Dwight Howard's Struggles Against Yao Ming

An Orlando Magic blogger tries to discern why Magic center Dwight Howard struggles against Houston Rockets center Yao Ming.

www.orlandopinstripedpost.com

head to head record: Yao 7-2

Yao 23.6ppg / 10.4rpg / 1.2apg / .7spg / 2.1bpg
Dwight 12.2ppg / 9.8rpg /. 8apg / 1.3spg / 1.7bpg

 

[BBG]

You're talking about a guy who got controlled by Pau Gasol on both ends.

2009 NBA Finals - Magic vs. Lakers | Basketball-Reference.com

Summary and statistics for the 2009 NBA Finals - Magic vs. Lakers

www.basketball-reference.com

Tribute to Pau Gasol, NBA Champion



Kareem: Howard's play with Magic 'predictable'



Witness The Evolution Of Pau Gasol



Dwight used to regularly struggle against Yao Ming too, so thinking he'd be inferior to Jokic/Embiid is wild.

The Important Question Regarding Dwight Howard's Struggles Against Yao Ming

An Orlando Magic blogger tries to discern why Magic center Dwight Howard struggles against Houston Rockets center Yao Ming.

www.orlandopinstripedpost.com

head to head record: Yao 7-2

Yao 23.6ppg / 10.4rpg / 1.2apg / .7spg / 2.1bpg
Dwight 12.2ppg / 9.8rpg /. 8apg / 1.3spg / 1.7bpg

What point are you trying to make with Yao? Barring injuries I truly believe he'd be in the top 10 best bigs of all time. Health matters so he isn't, but getting dominated by a 7'6 center in his prime that's money inside 15 feet isn't really something to be ashamed of..

 

[Professor Emeritus]

Integral part of the bubble team, in the finals he bodied Bam out the series too

I predicted that shyt from the beginning of the season.


September 27, 2019

LWO ideal would definitely be for Dwight to start because McGee has already proven that he's not getting any better than he is, and what he is ain't that good. If Dwight can't beat out McGee that doesn't bode well for the team's chances this year.

October 25, 2019:

Even old Dwight is a better basketball player on both ends than McGee. If he can work hard and fit in then he definitely gives the Lakers the higher ceiling. Dwight starts the game with the starters (25 minutes), McGee plays with the 2nd unit (15 minutes), and AD at the 5 in crunch time.

November 2, 2019:

I was telling ya'all since the moment Dwight was signed that he taking that spot.

But I dunno if McGee needs to be moved out of the starting lineup now. Slow starts aren't a big problem yet. If McGee has to play 15 minutes (and I doubt you want Dwight playing 35), might as well have half of them at the beginning of the game, if that keeps him from causing a disruption.

It's crazy how important completely fringe players like Dwight, Rondo, KCP, and Morris were to that title run. None of them put up big numbers and Bron/AD fukking balled out, but you still need those team contributions to win. Each of them played their role competently that year even though they were damn near unwanted by the rest of the league, and that's something that was missing in 2021 and 2023.

 

[Heretic]

You're talking about a guy who got controlled by Pau Gasol on both ends.

2009 NBA Finals - Magic vs. Lakers | Basketball-Reference.com

Summary and statistics for the 2009 NBA Finals - Magic vs. Lakers

www.basketball-reference.com

Tribute to Pau Gasol, NBA Champion



Kareem: Howard's play with Magic 'predictable'



Witness The Evolution Of Pau Gasol



Dwight used to regularly struggle against Yao Ming too, so thinking he'd be inferior to Jokic/Embiid is wild.

The Important Question Regarding Dwight Howard's Struggles Against Yao Ming

An Orlando Magic blogger tries to discern why Magic center Dwight Howard struggles against Houston Rockets center Yao Ming.

www.orlandopinstripedpost.com

head to head record: Yao 7-2

Yao 23.6ppg / 10.4rpg / 1.2apg / .7spg / 2.1bpg
Dwight 12.2ppg / 9.8rpg /. 8apg / 1.3spg / 1.7bpg

So off topic but... my brother used to call Pau Gasol, Pooh Grissom, and to this day I have no idea why but he called him that so much that I called him that too for years just out of habit