Nikola Jokic says he doesn’t even bear in mind when the Nuggets confronted off in opposition to the Lakers within the 2020 bubble within the Western Conference Finals.
Lucky for him, as a result of LA went on to win the championship and now its solely two remaining gamers from that title are LeBron and Anthony Davis.
Jokic is anticipating a difficult sequence from the new-look workforce forward of Tuesday’s Game 1.
“We didn’t play with this kind of Lakers [team],” Jokic said. “So that is going to be principally a brand new workforce for us. Probably every little thing is new, every little thing is completely different.
“They’re playing amazing in these playoffs. Since [the trade] deadline, they’re playing really well.”
Matching up in opposition to Lakers famous person Anthony Davis will likely be Jokic’s greatest problem in these playoffs but and will probably be an unmissable battle of the bigs.
“AD is a guard in a 7-foot-2 body,” Denver ahead Aaron Gordon mentioned of Davis. “He is able to handle the ball really well, able to draw fouls, so you have to be conscientious with your hands. He can shoot that middy, fadeaway over both shoulders, just his skill package while being that big.”
Jokic has been constructing after he recorded three triple-doubles in his final 4 video games in opposition to Phoenix, whereas averaging 34.5 factors, 13.2 rebounds and 10.3 assists on 59.4 % FG taking pictures.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone believes that Jokic has modified because the bubble 12 months: “He’s married, he’s a father, he’s matured.”
Jamal Murray, Nikola Jokic, Michael Porter Jr. and Vlatko Cancar are the remaining gamers from the 2020 Denver workforce, which has bolstered its ranks with veterans together with Gordon, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Bruce Brown and Jeff Green.
“We are more experienced,” Jokic mentioned. “We have been there before. We are maybe a little bit more, not focused, [but playing in] different environments [than the bubble]. So I think we are just experienced, playing a little bit more together.”
Game 1 of the Lakers-Nuggets Western Conference Finals sequence will happen on Tuesday, May 16 at 5:30PM PDT, on Jokic’s residence court docket.
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