Nuggets 3- pointers: Initial observations from Game 1

Wilbon rejects objectivity

It’s a poorly kept secret that many of the NBA’S major media personalties have struggled to accept Nuggets center Nikola Jokic’s historic dominance this season. ESPN talking head Michael Wilbon revealed his own issues with the mounds of statistical evidence backing Jokic’s MVP case in a bizarre “old man shakes fist at clouds” pregame rant. “I’m tired of the numbers distorting the narratives. I mean people now have to hide behind numbers or produce numbers to make any argument. He had no more impactful season than ( Joel) Embiid. … He did not.” Suppose it’s easier to make that case when you, uh, ignore the numbers.

Where’s Gordon?

If the Nuggets are going to have any chance of pulling an upset in this series, forward Aaron Gordon has to be a two- way menace. Unfortunately for Denver, he was a net negative in the first half of Game 1, most notably on the offensive end, where he missed six of his first seven shots, including a couple of awkward oneonone isolation opportunities. On the other end, the self- labeled defensive leader helped hold “sixth man” Steph Curry to five points in the first half, but two of those came when he was caught sleeping on a backdoor cut — one of several lapses for the Nuggets during a gametilting 18- 4 run to close out the first half.

Putting Jokic to work

From the opening minutes Saturday night, the Warriors made their intentions clear regarding the Nuggets’ superstar center. One, the double teams would be few and far between, but the single coverage physical. Two, many of Golden State’s offensive actions, including countless screen- and- rolls on the perimeter, would put Jokic to work on defense. The cumulative effect appeared to show itself near the end of the second and third quarters, when a clearly gassed Joker struggled to finish around the rim or hold up defensively. The gauntlet has been thrown. Jokic will have to dig deep on both ends over the next two weeks.