Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets quickly dispatched the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals in four games.
Jokic had another phenomenal playoff series by averaging a triple-double with 27.8 points, 14.5 rebounds and 11.8 assists per game on 50.6 percent shooting from the field and 47.1 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
Denver’s Bruce Brown recently spoke about Jokic’s performance in that series and said that the two-time MVP had Lakers big man Anthony Davis in “shambles.”
"He had AD in shambles last round"
🏀 @nuggets Small Forward Bruce Brown on the dominance of Nikola Jokić #BringItIn #NBAFinals@TermineRadio | @Jumpshot8 pic.twitter.com/QxV4qvaRfQ
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) June 1, 2023
“He scores the ball so effortlessly on whoever’s guarding him,” Brown said. “I mean he had A.D. in shambles last round. A.D. didn’t know what to do.”
Jokic did have his way against Davis in the Western Conference Finals. The University of Kentucky product guarded the Serbian big man for a little over 25 minutes in the whole series, allowing Jokic to score 44 points on 17-for-33 shooting from the field and dish out 25 assists.
Rui Hachimura had more success guarding Jokic, as he held the five-time All-Star to 31 points on 10-for-25 shooting from the field and 12 assists in 23 minutes of action.
Regardless of who was better at defending Jokic in the series, the Lakers were unable to even win a game against the Nuggets. Three of their four losses came by less than 10 points. The Lakers were close to grabbing multiple games in the series but were unable to close things out.
The Nuggets are now getting ready to take on the Miami Heat in the 2023 NBA Finals, with the first game of the series coming on Thursday night at Ball Arena.
Los Angeles has a very important offseason ahead of it. Players like Hachimura and Austin Reaves are set to become free agents, though it seems like both of them will be back next season. D’Angelo Russell, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, might not be back.
There’s also the uncertain future of LeBron James, who offered interesting comments about possibly retiring after his team’s Game 4 loss. However, it seems like people around the team expect the four-time champion to come back.
Rob Pelinka and company will surely do everything they can to improve Los Angeles’ roster and make it back to the NBA Finals.
