42+22+6, the first in history, but from a super giant to an empty group leader, you really don t deserve the MVP

In the deepening stage of the NBA playoffs, many suspense continued to emerge. It was unexpected that the Pacers were the first to win the match point in the second round of the series. This team, which seems to be the most low-key in the quarterfinals, has shown an amazing dark horse posture this season, successfully suppressing the Cavaliers, which ranks first in the East. At the same time, the favorites to win the championship, such as the Celtics, Thunder, and Cavaliers, all face severe challenges. The backward score in the series makes the Pacers hope to create miracles and launch a blow to the championship trophy.

In the four-group showdown in the second round, the Nuggets and the Thunder were undoubtedly the most intense, and the two teams have been tied 2-2. After four games, the score difference in three of them was within 10 points, and there were also many exciting matches between a winning victory and an overtime match. Behind this peak showdown, there is actually a direct contest between Jokic and Alexander, a popular MVP candidate. During the regular season, Jokic and Alexander have always been in the top two of the MVP list, and their personal dominance is far greater than other stars. As the scoring leader this season, Alexander scored 50+ points in a single game, averaged 30+ points per game for three consecutive seasons, and shot up to 50% from the field, which is enough to match Michael Jordan. At the same time, he led the Thunder to a top record of 68 wins and 14 losses, with a net margin average of up to 13 points per game. Jokic showed more comprehensive personal data. During the regular season, he averaged 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists. His three basic data ranked first in the league, and his average of 1.8 steals per game also ranked second in the league, becoming the first player in NBA history to rank among the top three in the league in all four statistics in a single season.

In addition, Jokic has scored shocking data in the game many times. For example, in the game against the Suns in March, he scored amazing performances of 31 points, 21 rebounds and 22 assists; in the tie-up match against the Timberwolves in early April, he scored an epic triple-double of 61 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, and 61 points was also the highest score in the league in a single game this season. Even in the first match between the playoffs and the Thunder, Jokic was able to score comprehensive data of 42 points, 22 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks.

However, despite Jokic's extraordinary strength in both the regular season and the playoffs, there are still voices who believe he is not worthy of the MVP honor. This view may be controversial, but in any case, Jokic's outstanding performance on the court undoubtedly brought countless wonderful moments to the fans. Jokic set a precedent in NBA history and became the first player to contribute more than 40 points, 20 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in a single game in the playoffs. This feat profoundly illustrates his outstanding talent and is also the key to the fact that many fans regard him as the leader of the league today. The amazing performance of its data and the strong dominance on the field are all amazing. Unlike players such as Alexander who have not yet fully proved themselves in the playoffs, Jokic has long established his position through practical actions, especially in 2023, when he led the Nuggets to win the first championship in team history.

If Jokic can add another MVP trophy, he will be among the historical superstars such as Russell, Jabbar, Chamberlain, James, and Jordan. These legendary figures have won MVP honors at least four times. For now, however, Jokic needs more achievements to consolidate his position. On the one hand, his number of championships is still weak; on the other hand, in the series against the Thunder, Jokic's personal performance showed a downward trend, and his shortcomings gradually emerged. Looking at the top ten superstars in NBA history, almost all have excellent offensive and defensive abilities, and Jokic's performance on the defensive end is obviously lacking compared to his offensive talent. In addition, his team-leading record when facing strong teams was not satisfactory. He has not yet defeated teams with a winning rate of more than 50% in the playoffs, including the Trail Blazers in the 19th season, the Lakers in the 20th season, the Suns in the 21st season, the Warriors in the 22nd season, and the Timberwolves in the 24th season. Facing this season's Thunder, the Nuggets' prospects are also not optimistic. After scoring 42 points and 22 rebounds in the G1 game, Jokic performed poorly in the next three games, including only 6 of 16 shots in the second game, 20 points in 8 of 25 shots in the third game, 27 points in 7 of 22 shots in the fourth game, 21 of 63 shots in the total shooting percentage of 33.3%. As a center, this efficiency is really poor. At the same time, in terms of organizational squad, Jokic is good at, he has not been able to perform as much as he deserves. He only sent 21 assists in this round of series, but made 23 mistakes, and the assist-and-turnover ratio is even lower than 1. The Nuggets' hard-earned two wins against the Thunder are more thanks to the outstanding performance of other players, such as Gordon's three-pointer win in G1, Murray and Porter Jr.'s outbreak in G3, and Gordon's three-point draw before overtime.

Looking back at the first round of the game against the Clippers, if Westbrook hadn't been Westbrook's outstanding performance, the Nuggets might have been eliminated long ago. It can be seen from this that although Jokic has extraordinary talents, his personal dominance still needs further verification. After in-depth analysis, we found that the team's performance did not reach the expected strong level, which was mainly attributed to two major factors: one is poor defensive performance, and the other is that the physical condition has declined significantly. The intensity of the playoffs this year is the highest in history, and the Thunder, as one of the most intense teams in the league, has many young players and a very fast pace on the court. Against this background, Jokic, as a heavy center, does face huge challenges. As the game deepened, Jokic's physical condition deteriorated significantly and his performance also declined from time to time.

As the core leader of the team, Jokic showed shortcomings in many aspects. This season, he made many over-remarks, criticizing his teammates' performances, and even threatening to deduct wages from his teammates' underperforming teammates, and claiming that he lacks a right-hand assistant. These actions almost triggered a locker room turmoil, which eventually led to the team firing the head coach and general manager.

In the series against the Thunder, Jokic seemed increasingly impatient, with more misconduct on the court, including excessive dirty movements and exaggerated fake falls, and more frequent disputes with the referee. As Skip said, Jokic's behavior pattern began to be similar to Luka Doncic, and he would express his dissatisfaction to the referee in an exaggerated way for every penalty or missed judgment. To sum up, Jokic, as an emotionally prone star, may hinder him from leading the team to a better record. So, for the series between the Thunder and the Nuggets, do you think the victory or defeat has been settled?