Nikola Jokic praised LeBron James and Anthony Davis ahead of Game 1 of the Conference Finals
The Denver Center talked about the stars of the Los Angeles Lakers ahead of the series that will determine the champion of the West. Tuesdays at 8:30PM ET/5:30PM Pacific on ESPN Deportes.
DENVER – Nikola Jokic will enter the Western Conference Finals with a new mindset after getting a new haircut on Monday.
Although it will be the Denver Nuggets’ second conference finals since 2020 against the Los Angeles Lakers, Jokic says it will be a new experience against a new team. Which is good, because when asked what he learned from the Nuggets’ five-game loss to LeBron James and the Lakers in the bubble, Jokic said: “Nothing, to be honest. I don’t remember.”
Jokic definitely won’t recognize these Lakers. Since these teams last met on January 9, the Lakers have lost Russell Westbrook, Patrick Beverley, Kendrick Nunn, Juan Toscano-Anderson, and Thomas Bryant, and Rui Hachimura, D’Angelo Russell, Jared Vanderbilt, Malik Beasley, Mo. Bamba has been added. and Tristan Thompson.
Of the starting team in 2020, only James and Anthony Davis remain.
“We don’t play with this type of Lakers (team),” Jokic said. “So it’s basically going to be a new team for us. Maybe everything is new, everything is different.”
“They’ve been playing amazing in these playoffs. Since the (trade) deadline, they’ve been playing amazing.”
Jokic also spoke enthusiastically about his great counterpart, Davis. It will be Jokic’s biggest test after the season after facing Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert in the first round and Phoenix’s Deandre Ayton in the second.
Nuggets forward Aaron Gordon said, “Eddie is a guard on a 7-foot-2 (2.18-meter) body.” “He’s able to handle the ball very well, able to get fouled, so you have to be careful with your hands. He can shoot at medium range, misses over both shoulders, just his skill.” Packed while he’s so big.”
Of course, the Lakers will have to deal with Jokic, who has collected two MVP trophies since they last saw him in the Western Conference Finals.
Jokic entered this matchup fresh off the back of recording three triple-doubles in his previous four games against the Suns. He averaged 34.5 points, 13.2 rebounds and 10.3 assists on 59.4% shooting from the field against Phoenix.
Denver coach Michael Malone says Jokic has always been great on the court, but in the years since the bubble, he has matured.
“Nicola has been the definition of greatness for me for a while,” Malone said. “The consistency with which he plays, the level with which he plays is something that sometimes amazes you. (But) he has changed. He is married, he is a father, he has matured. ”
“I’m sure the game was slowing down for him. But he was great in the bubble. Jamal (Murray) was great in the bubble and Nicola continues to do things that very few people in NBA history have done. To come out of the series that just ended averaging a triple-double against Phoenix was incredible.”
Jokic hopes that in this rematch of the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers will also see a different team than the Nuggets. While he still has Murray and Michael Porter Jr., Jokic’s new team now includes veterans like Gordon, former Laker Kentavius Caldwell-Pope, Bruce Brown and Jeff Green.
“We have more experience,” Jokic said of this current team. “We’ve been there before. Maybe we’re a little more, not as focused, (but playing) in different environments (than the bubble). So I think we just have the experience, a little and play together.”
