This season almost every award except for the ROTY is being contested every other day. Nikola Jokic was initially dubbed as the clear winner of the season MVP title, but recently contradicting opinions have flocked in. Similarly, Rudy Gobert’s position as the DPOY is also being questioned. On a recent episode of the UNDISPUTED show, Paul Pierce said that he is now convinced about Jokic being the MVP, especially because of the way his performance against Gobert in the last game.
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The Celtics legend said that since the DPOY contender was thrashed by the Nuggets star on the court, it proves that he is the only ideal choice for the season MVP. The Nuggets won their last game 116-107 against the Minnesota Timberwolves where Jokic made a mockery out of the second-best team in the West.
Now because of that performance, Pierce is no longer willing to entertain any counterclaim against Jokic as the MVP. The NBA veteran said,
“A super lock. I mean a gorilla glue lock. You’ve got the best player, he just wrapped up the MVP last night.“
“The Denver Nuggets are a Gorilla Glue lock to win the West.”
— @PaulPierce34 pic.twitter.com/umxDWi0766
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) April 11, 2024
Pierce said that the Nuggets and Jokic are so dominant that it’s almost impossible for any team to beat them at this point. On top of that, he also claimed that going to Denver is an additional burden because of the altitude and he doesn’t see them taking an L at home in the playoffs.
Despite trailing behind in the first two quarters, the Jokic-led Nuggets unleashed an attack that the Wolves didn’t know how to deal with. The MVP contender dropped 41 points with 11 rebounds and seven assists.
Rajon Rondo’s plan falls flat on its face
During a recent appearance on All The Smoke podcast, two-time NBA Champion Rajon Rondo was asked about the Nuggets and how a team can stop them from winning the title yet again. Rondo said that the strategy is rather simple because all it will take is a few good big men being pitted against him and he will be restricted on the floor.
He said, “I think the team that has the best shot, it will probably be the two 7-footers that Minnesota can throw at him.”
Even though he said it with conviction, it took only a few days for Nikola Jokic to bust that myth as he once again proved that there was no solution available in the league against him.