When they say take it philosophically. This one did Nikola Jokiccenter of Denver Nuggetsafter the defeat against i Los Angeles Lakers in game 4 of the first round of the playoffs. The final 119-108 leaves a bad taste in the mouth of the coaching team Michael Malone That could close the case with a dry sweep, like last year in the Western Conference Finals. But as Jokic repeated: “It’s like horse racing.”
Nuggets, Nikola Jokic’s philosophy: “it’s like horse racing”
Jokic, a well-known horse racing fan, uses a horse racing comparison to describe the defeat: “I learned from horse racing: it’s not how you start, but how you finish. Jokes aside, winning is a way of life for us. I was here when we lost, so I don’t want to go back to that situation.” The point is that Joker he put his all into winning but it wasn’t enough, even in the face of one triple double of 33 points, 14 points, 14 assists.
The comparison with horse racing, in addition to recalling the words of a famous football coach, offers a very interesting statistic. THE Los Angeles Lakers They were ahead for 136 minutes overall in the series, the Denver Nuggets by just 41. Result? Denver still leads 3-1 in the series, with match point to be played at home. This explains to us how pragmatic and tough Michael Malone’s team is which, in addition to Jokic, also finds confirmation in Michael Porter Jr. (27 points and 11 assists) e Jamal Murray (22 points).
Very good in attack one might say. It’s a shame the same can’t be said on defense for the Denver Nuggets, who conceded well 72 points in the painting. Things got really bad for Jokic and his teammates in a particular moment, when the Lakers extended their lead to 15 points in the third quarter and continued to build it until the final minutes, when Jokic and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope they triggered the Nuggets’ turnaround.
Jokic added: “They were really pushing the pace. They had open layups. They destroyed us in the painting. We couldn’t make a shot. They also couldn’t shoot at times, but it seems like that affected our defense a lot. It’s a great team.”
