[Tim MacMahon] Jimmy Butler on Nikola Jokic: “As much as people look at what he does on the offensive end, he’s a hellified defender as well.”
Jimmy Butler on Nikola Jokic: “As much as people look at what he does on the offensive end, he’s a hellified defender as well.”
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) June 3, 2023
by Wonderful-Balance711
33 Comments
r/nba is not gonna like this one
I thought Joker is not a playoff guy and doesn’t defend
Not only the best player in the NBA, but the best joker as well.
Had to pull out my dictionary for this one
Jokic doesn’t block a lot of shots but he has great hands and anticipation. And he’s fucking big and tall. He won’t bite on Jimmy’s fakes because he can’t jump, but he doesn’t need to jump.
As for the lowlights from the last month of the season, he was clearly resting up for the playoffs.
what will the doubters do when they’re forced to accept that not only is Nikola Jokic at the absolute tip top echelon of offensive production – right alongside Jordan, Lebron, Shaq, and Curry – while also being an effective and functional defender – given his limitations and unique skill set?
when do we start talking about how we’re witnessing an all time great, possibly top 10 talent ever?
u/zhugo
Jokic is a pretty good defender. Jimmy would know .Hes the guy playing against him.
Jimmy needs to watch the actual games and stop looking at DWORPS and DSHWORPS.
I mean, he guarded AD better than 2 supposed DPOY candidates JJJ and Green could. So yea, i give Joker his fucking flowers
Just spam pick and roll on him and he will be exposed as the worst defender in the NBA /s
It’s 1 game but i heard somewhere that jimmy went 1 for 9 when guarded by jokic. Could be just jimmy having another off night but a decent job nonetheless based on the results.
Meanwhile I wouldn’t blame bam going off on him because that looked by design, they were leaving him pretty open on those middies and he made em.
This going to make the stats bois go crazy.
Below average rim protector but excellent anticipation. He gets a ton of steals and deflections and even had some good blocks too.
Overall net positive defender not a bad one.
Hellified or Helluva?
If Jimmy was saying ‘Helluva-defender’ it might sound like ‘Hellified-defender’
This doesn’t fit my narrative and will therefore be ignored.
Both teams have taken the “let’s just only say nice things” approach. MPJ walked away from Butler talking a bit, Aaron Gordon has been the poster child for the guy you want to not talk shit about Butler, Miami saying nothing but shit like this. Real gentlemanly so far.
Jimmy Butler, 2x Finalist and current opponent of Nikola Jokic: “Jokic is a pretty good defender”
r/nba: “UHM AKSHUALLY”
In this thread: people who know basketball better than Himmy Butler
When it comes to defense, I think a lot of people, including myself, overvalue athleticism and undervalue bball iq. Jokic overcomes his lack of athleticism with great timing and understanding of what the other team is trying to do.
His rebounding is so fucking good I know the stats say he does it with ease but seeing him rip down rebounds with my own eyes is crazy. He is such a pleasure to watch
Wow, the 7 foot 280lb guy is tough to score on? Crazy
Always been saying to people who don’t watch Nuggets his defense is solid and hes still positive defender . Zhugo posting highlights can eat a bag of dicks , most of them were far fetched even and some ppl ate it up
The way to beat Jokic is by pick and rolling him with an agile guard, not going through him with a power player or a big man
Someone like Steph/Dame running PnR against Jokic’s man could really hurt him
Damn I didn’t know Jimmy was an advanced stats nerd. He should watch a game sometime and he would see that Jokic clearly doesn’t pass the eye test.
Someone on reddit will apin this as: Jimmy is only saying this cause he struggled game 1.
sixers fans and embitch in shambles
Jimmy to the nuggets next year. Lol.
Another 76ers L, you love to see it
Yes. You can’t post him up or just shoot over him he’s within contesting reach. Only thing he can’t do is stick to players on the perimeter.
But sympathy mvp sheeps had a whole pr campaign that said otherwise
Embiid fans absolutely in shambles right now
If Jokic gets the Finals MVP then Embiid needs to retire