He's foreign. They have immunity lol
If any other all-time center was getting guarded by a guard in a game 7......
I’m assuming no one addressed this response
Even with photo evidence these clowns won’t acknowledge reality.I always judge players, consistently. A shame I can't say the same for this board.
Giannis got beat 1-4 in the 1st round, and that was his first playoff win in over 1000 days. Jokic has won 7 playoff games in this postseason alone (never mind over the last 1000 days), yet somehow the smoke for him and what he failed to do to beat a better and healthier team is much greater than it was for someone who's seen on the same level as him.
It's weird as hell where Denver is forced to play a guy with a Grade 2 hamstring injury (where he couldn't even run up and down the floor) because they don't have anyone else, emphasized by having to play a 36-year-old guard who inadvertently sabotages games and another wing with a Grade 2 AC joint injury with his shoulder hanging down to the floor causing him to lose his shooting ability (his one and only value), yet we're distorting the picture of what really happened in this game to criticize Jokic against a near-70 win squad who're much, much deeper and healthier.
Just look at this possession -
Jokic is trying to seal off Caruso, all the while Shai is literally right beside him, and then you have Wallace one step away. Three defenders right there in his vicinity.
Meanwhile, there's Westbrook and Watson both left wide open; Jokic havivng to deal with multiple defenders because his teammates can't shoot.
That was the theme of the game.
Nike literally took a quote from Giannis about failure (after his playoff exit in 2023) and turned it into a marketing campaign. As if I need to retierate, this is the same player who's only won one playoff game in over 1000 days. Not even winning one series, I'm just talking one playoff game. When he lost 1-4 to the Pacers in the 1st round, everyone just sort of shrugged their shoulders and went about their business.
Not that it's good or bad, just an observation that someone can have the absolute minimum of playoff success over an extensive period of time and still be called the best player in the game.
On the topic of stars escaping criticism -
Unless they're weaponized coming into the league [Bron] or leading the charge of a new boom [Steph], then I don't think we're going to see the same scrutinization around players going forward, in general. The whole sensationalism around NBA fanfare isn't what it once was, due to various reasons. I think that'll only be outlined with an ever-increase in parity where it'll be almost understood that a new season will bring on a new champion. There won't be the same expectations of players winning multiple chips unless they force that expectation upon themselves.
It's why someone like Ant is less likely going to be judged under that microscope if he doesn't win (his comments about past eras, notwithstanding), purely because he doesn't want to be the face of the league and moves like it.
He's just out there to hoop and that's it.
Luka has been the most criticized player this postseason, so that's not entirely true. Meanwhile, Kawhi exited early (yet again), and everyone just brushed that aside as if it didn't happen. Nobody really gave a fukk about Donovan and the #1 seed Cavs when they crashed out either.
With Bron's time in the league nearing its end, I think that'll reflect in how we judge stars too (at least, the severity of the scrutiny). I think Gen Z and Gen Alpha will make sure of that, because they seem to be less invested in romanticizing the game than past generatiions are. A lot of that has to do with the environment they've grown up in, but that's another argument for another day.
Don’t put Greek in this shyt. He literally had one of the best series I ever saw. He had trash all around him
You saw the Bucks and Nuggets play and somehow you thought one guy was surrounded by trash and the other guy had a stacked and healthy team?
I mean posts like this explain the flaw and outright failure of this “eye test” that so many foolish people like to blather on about.
dude had 3 sub 40% games. Idgaf who you surrounded by. If Joker had 40 20 games and lost. I would understand. But Joker was part of why they lost. Giannis dominated and just lost
You haven't seen too many series' if that's what you're judging to be "one of the best", especially with how it unfolded in OT of that elimination game.
And when you're deemed to be the best player in the league, then expectations have to follow suit. That means performing in the postseason and having success, so regardless of whatever measurements you're using for Giannis, winning one playoff game in over 1000 days doesn't do him any favors in that debate.
Over that same time frame Jokic has won 30 playoff games. That's 30x the amount that Giannis has won.
Yet one player has been scrutinized considerably more than the other. This is why threads like this bewilder me when nobody has had more playoff success over the last three seasons than Jokic, yet we're still trying to nitpick at what he's doing or isn't doing, completely disregarding all context as to why it's happening. The same energy isn't being kept for other stars (some even regarded as being better than him).
Jokic dominated against Minny last season (and lost), putting up those kind of numbers you speak of, yet it still didn't stop folks from dragging him. It's almost like whatever stats he puts up doesn't stop those from criticizing him whenever he loses.
If you lose in the playoffs, then you're ultimately part of the reason why your team loses, dominating or not.
And Jokic shooting inefficiently in a playoff game is an extreme outlier, so yes, while he should be expected to shoot better, it's not like you can curate an argument around those isolated games where he's inefficient as if he should be damned for it. If this was a regular occurence for him in the postseason, then yes, damn away, but it's not.
Just to put it into perspective:
Jokic during his playoff career - 27 ppg on 57 eFG%
Giannis during his playoff career - 27 ppg on 55 eFG%.
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