Despite the Denver Nuggets winning the first game in the series against the Los Angeles Clippers, Nikola Jokic wants more.
The 30-year-old face of the franchise, has warned one teammate to either focus or stop playing basketball.
Nikola Jokic wants his peers to be fully focused on winningGettyThe Nuggets have been in a whirlwind over the last couple of weeks after they fired their head coach and general manager just days before the postseason.
No team in NBA history has had such little time to adjust to a new setup heading into the playoffs but the Nugget responded by winning Game 1 of their first round series against the Clippers, 112-10 on Saturday.
It was a game won by stars with Jokic finishing 29 points, 12 assists and nine rebounds, Russell Westbrook scored a clutch three to tie the game at the end and Aaron Gordon scored six points in overtime.
While the headlines after the game were focused on what was a thrilling playoff game, one talking point that has emerged was the fact the Nuggets opted to go with Westbrook instead of Michael Porter Jr. down the stretch.
Porter Jr, who is in the third year of his five-year, $179 million contract, recorded 3 points, 4 rebounds and 0 assists against the Clippers in 26 minutes.
However, his poor showing evoked no sympathy from Jokic when asked about the 26-year-old after the game.
“If you’re not going to be engaged right now, then you’re not supposed to be playing this sport,” Jokic said.
Although while Porter Jr. didn’t perform against the Clippers, there will be expectation for a quick bounce back.
He averaged 18.2 points, 7 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 50.4 assists from the field in the regular season, a strong campaign in what what was a mixed campaign for the Nuggets.
The Nuggets will look to have a less dramatic game if they are pull away with the series against the Clippers in Game 2 as LA star Kawhi Leonard knows has already reflected on what went wrong.
It wasn’t Michael Porter Jr’s finest game in a Nuggets shirtGettyClippers-Nuggets schedule
Western Conference, 1st round
Game 1 – Nuggets 122- 110 Clippers
Game 2 – Clippers @ Nuggets, April 21
Game 3 – Nuggets @ Clippers, April 24
Game 4 – Nuggets @ Clippers April 25
Game 5 (if needed) – Clippers @ Nuggets, April 29
Game 6 (if needed) – Nuggets @ Clippers, May 1
Game 7 (if needed) – Clippers @ Nuggets, May 3
“We just got to be decisive, get more in attack-mode situations,” said Leonard, who hadn’t played a game in Denver since November 2023.
“That’s it, really. A lot of the turnovers, we caused. That’s all you can do.”
The belief that this loss was self-inflicnted is one shared by James Harden as he was left perplexed as to why the made so many errors.
“I’m trying to figure it out, too,” Harden said about why they made so many mistakes .
“Like, literally, trying to figure out what the hell was the reason for it. So we’ll watch film, get better and be ready for Game 2.”
Clippers head coach Ty Lue also echoed this sentiment, saying that a loss is a guarantee when you lose the ball as many times as they did on Saturday.
Jokic dragged his team to an OT win against the ClippersGetty“If you turn it over 20 times against the team that is No. 1 in offensive transition, then you’re going to lose the game,” Lue said.
“So we understand that, we just got to be better.”
The Clippers led by as much as 15 in the second quarter yet still lost and if they are to send the 2023 NBA champions home in round one, they just have to play even better.
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