In what was billed as a ‘matchup of MVPs’, the Thunder and Nuggets’ second round series is proving to be anything but. Neither Shai Gilgeous Alexander or Nikola Jokic have had memorable games, and they’re both struggling from the field in general.
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When ESPN’s Malika Andrews asked Kendrick Perkins and Stephen A. Smith what the cause of Jokic’s struggles could be, they both came up with separate reasons. Perk, who had a sustained career in the league, attributed Jokic’s lackluster play to fatigue.
This is fairly reasonable given that the Nuggets went to 7 games with the Clippers, and had only a day’s rest before playing OKC. The Thunder, on the other hand, had more than a week to recuperate after sweeping the Grizzlies.
Stephen A., however, thinks it’s nothing to do with fatigue, and everything to do with OKC’s smothering defense. He reminded his co-hosts just how good the Thunder defense has been all throughout the regular season, and claimed that they were figuring out how to slow the Serbian down.
“If you remember weeks ago, I pointed out like 9 different categories that Oklahoma City’s defense was number 1 in,” Smith said. “Loose balls, steals, everything, I mean my God they were like a bunch of piranhas. Watch them guard Jokic. One minute its Hartenstein, another minute its Williams, it’s someone else. The second he puts the ball on the floor, there’s 6 hands in the vicinity, they’re constantly looking at him!”
Most defensive metrics point to the Thunder having been a generationally brilliant defense. They led the league in defensive rating at 106.6 while also being atop the NBA in deflections at 21.3. Not to mention that they contested a league’s 2nd best of 46.1 shots per game in the regular season.
Smith also pointed out the flaws that the Nuggets need to address with such thorough coverage on Jokic. In order for them to eke out a win in this series, Smith reminded fans that the Nuggets will need significant contribution from their role players. They cannot rely on Jokic to be the offensive coordinator in every possession, because the Thunder will simply smother him, force a turnover, and score on the other end.
After last night’s Game 4 loss, a stat page on X revealed that over the last three games, Jokic had been shooting 33% from the field and 18% from beyond the arc. He also had 15 assists, along with 16 turnovers.
Nikola Jokic over his last 3 games:
33.3% FG
18.2% 3PT
15 assists / 16 turnovers pic.twitter.com/0eR5kY84cX— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 11, 2025
This is an unprecedented struggle for someone with 3 of the last 4 MVPs. But this also means that the Thunder have figured out a way to contain the greatest offensive engine in the league. If they can keep this up for two more games, they will walk away with a hard-fought series win and a very real chance at the Larry O’Brien trophy.
