Michael Malone on Nikola Jokic’s defense: ‘He’s never going to out-athleticize anyone, but he is going to outsmart you’

Eurohoops @Eurohoopsnet
Big brain moment.
Nikola Jokic pretended to tie his shoe to give the Nuggets time to review the play 😂
pic.twitter.com/GXRiowxcYg – 1:40 AM

Eurohoops @Eurohoopsnet
Nikola Jokic couldn’t stop contributing to his team’s win over the Raptors 🥶
35 PTS
17 REB
12 AST
6 STL
pic.twitter.com/Fp7Hvxqmrs – 1:36 AM

Chris Palmer @ChrisPalmerNBA
#LineOfTheNight: Nikola Jokic 35 pts, 17 rebs, 12 asts, 6 stls, 2 blks, 14-26 FG, 6-6 FT, W
No such stat line has ever been recorded. pic.twitter.com/ocbgL7Slfc – 12:31 AM

Adam Mares @Adam_Mares
Jokic was asked which dinosaur is his favorite. He said the big one that eats the grass. – 11:57 PM

Adam Mares @Adam_Mares
Jokic mentioned “in at” in his postgame availability. Said tonight was an example. – 11:53 PM

Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
Michael Malone on Jokic’s defense tonight (8 stocks):
“People criticize Nikola because he doesn’t average three blocks a game, but if you really are a basketball purist and you watch the game, you see he’s got some of the best hands in the NBA bar none.”
“He’s never going to… – 11:40 PM

Adam Mares @Adam_Mares
No DPOG tonight. Instead a DPOH. Defensive player of the half. Gave 2 away. They went to Jokic and Murray. – 11:36 PM

Duvalier Johnson @DuvalierJohnson
Do you guys remember when Nikola Jokic had one of those 1st player ever type of games against the Toronto Raptors?
The inevitable 2023-2024 MVP finished with:
35 points
17 rebounds
12 assists
6 steals
2 blocks
🐐 Talk. pic.twitter.com/MFCQCPX9r5 – 11:22 PM

Harrison Wind @HarrisonWind
Nikola Jokic’s final line tonight: 35 points, 17 rebounds, 12 assists, 6 steals, 2 blocks. – 11:19 PM

Gordon Gross @GMoneyNuggs
Jokic came out of halftime like “nah, I’m not getting picked like this” but Mal getting thrown to the court and getting mad about it really flipped the switch for Denver. Denver now needs some stops to salt this thing away. – 11:12 PM

Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
Jokic with 35-16-12-6-2
Murray with 24-4-10-1 block
Some crooked numbers. – 11:10 PM

Harrison Wind @HarrisonWind
Again, when Nikola Jokic is going 100%, he’s an elite defender. – 11:06 PM

Doug Smith @SmithRaps
Nuggets by 5 with about 5 1/2 to go; Murray and Jokic kicked into champion mode – 11:05 PM

Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
How Nikola Jokic blocked that drive to the rim I have no idea.
8 stocks for defensive sieve Nikola Jokic tonight. – 11:05 PM

Bill Simmons @BillSimmons
Jokic is just the fucking best. That third quarter he had against Toronto just now was out of control. – 10:50 PM

Josh Lewenberg @JLew1050
Jokic in the 3rd quarter: 19 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, 1 block.
He’s up to 31 points, 14 rebounds, 11 assists and 6 steals through 3 quarters and Denver has the Raptors’ lead (once 22) down to 5 going into the 4th. – 10:48 PM

Adam Mares @Adam_Mares
Jokic really helped will the Nuggets back in the 3rd. He’s up to 31-14-11-6-1 heading into the 4th. Nuggets need Murray to carry them for the next 5 minutes to keep this tight enough to close out. – 10:47 PM

Harrison Wind @HarrisonWind
Nikola Jokic just recorded his 126th career regular season triple-double, the 4th most in NBA history. He’s 12 triple-doubles behind Magic Johnson for 3rd on the NBA’s all-time leaderboard. – 10:47 PM

Duvalier Johnson @DuvalierJohnson
Nikola Jokic is closing in on Magic Johnson as he records another triple-double.
Took him only 3 quarters to get this one.
He has 25 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists with 3:00 remaining in the 3rd. – 10:41 PM

Doug Smith @SmithRaps
Kelly Olynyk channelling Hakeem around the rim, bamboozled Jokic at times as Raptors maintain an 18-point lead – 10:25 PM

Gordon Gross @GMoneyNuggs
Nuggets are down 17 at the half. The live odds money line for a Denver win is still -110. Gamblers have seen the Nuggets win with one good quarter of basketball too many times at this point I guess. Jokic belief is strong out there. – 10:17 PM

Doug Smith @SmithRaps
Raptors by 17 at half, RJ with 15, Dick with 13 and they re picking Jokic’s defence apart – 10:12 PM

Duvalier Johnson @DuvalierJohnson
At the half: Raptors 68, Nuggets 51
Denver is getting blitzed and having an abysmal defensive performance
RJ Barrett and Grady Dick combined for 28.
Jokic has 12p/10r/7a and MPJ & Gordon combined have 12 pts apiece
If you’re Malone, what’s your message to the team? – 10:08 PM

Michael Grange @michaelgrange
68-51 Raptors at half. They have played great on both ends. Very unselfish (17 assists) and great ball movement. RJ w 15 and Gradey with 13. But they have the Nuggets attention know, Murray finally woke up with a couple of late hoops, and Jokic has 12/10/7 already. We’ll see. – 10:05 PM

Josh Lewenberg @JLew1050
Lots of credit to go around here, but Jontay deserves his share of it. Has hit a couple 3s, recorded 5 assists (!!) in 13 minutes and is doing a great job on Jokic (how many players, let alone 2-way guys, can say that?). Impressive stuff. – 9:57 PM

Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
Alright, Nuggets down 2 at the end of the 1st quarter. They tried a slightly different rotation and went to AG at the 5 for about 60 seconds, bringing Jokic out earlier.
Didn’t really work, but notable. – 9:36 PM

Adam Mares @Adam_Mares
Interesting rotation from the Nuggets. Jokic to the bench with 3 minutes to go. AG at center. Nuggets might be experimenting. – 9:31 PM

Michael Grange @michaelgrange
17-14 for Nuggets with 7:05 left in 1Q. Olynyk has hit a couple of threes against a very much dropping Jokic. Bruce Brown has four points in his first start vs. his old team. – 9:22 PM

Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
It will never happen, but if the Nuggets ever got Kelly Olynyk to be their backup center, he could do some of the functional things Jokic does. Super smart setup guy who can handle every DHO. – 9:22 PM

Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
Nikola Jokic is in the “Let’s try stuff” phase of tonight already. – 9:15 PM

Doug Smith @SmithRaps
Raptors say Barrett and Brown will play. The 11-man roster team represents 208 total games in Toronto uniforms.
Jamal Murray has played 458 and Nikola Jokic 658 games each for Denver – 8:13 PM

Adam Mares @Adam_Mares
“You can’t put a saddle on a mustang.”
-Michael Malone on Nikola Jokic
-Brendan Malone on Dennis Rodman – 7:54 PM

Harrison Wind @HarrisonWind
Michael Malone: “Contrary to recent reports, our whole goal is not being the No. 1 seed. It’s not why we cancelled the trip to the White House. I don’t know where these things come from. If we get the 1-seed, great.” – 7:44 PM

Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
Michael Malone on tonight’s matchup vs an injured Toronto team:
“Hopefully we have the same approach as we had to start the game…as disappointing as the third quarter [last night] was, the first half was incredible.”
“Tonight, they have a lot of guys out. Can we have the same… – 7:35 PM

Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
Michael Malone disputed the report that the Nuggets cancelled their White House trip because they are trying to get the 1 seed.
Malone emphasized that being healthy was the biggest priority, especially when it comes to Jamal Murray and his ongoing bumps and bruises. – 7:29 PM

Vinny Benedetto @VBenedetto
Nuggets coach Michael Malone is refuting the report the Nuggets are not going to the White House, because the team is in prioritizing the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference. – 7:25 PM

Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
Here’s @ElGee35 on why the Nuggets are so great in clutch moments the last two years.
The trap and recover scheme is why Denver’s defense is so good, especially with Jokic on the floor to wall off driving and passing lanes in the middle of it.
youtube.com/watch?v=A3S1JF… – 5:30 PM

Kendrick Perkins @KendrickPerkins
Let the big men FEAST 🍽️ I’ve got Richards, Allen, & Jokic each to record over 10.5 rebounds tonight. Who’s riding on @ESPNBet? #ad pic.twitter.com/tEQ95py0pR – 1:53 PM

Kendrick Perkins @KendrickPerkins
Let the big men FEAST 🍽️ I’ve got Richards, Allen, & Jokic each to record over 10.5 rebounds tonight. Who’s riding on @ESPNBet? #ad pic.twitter.com/JyVj4D4bhX – 1:35 PM

Eurohoops @Eurohoopsnet
Novak Djokovic recently witnessed Nikola Jokic’s playing beauty from courtside and praised his countryman’s historic accomplishments 🇷🇸
“We’re super proud of him, he’s the best, and it’s amazing he’s from Serbia”, the 24-time Grand Slam winner commented:
eurohoops.net/en/nba-news/16… – 12:08 PM

Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
NEW for @MileHighSports
Jamal Murray wasn’t worried about last night’s third quarter.
Michael Malone is focused on building better habits, calling the third quarter “embarrassing.”
Who’s right?
On Denver’s inevitable plight against boredom.
milehighsports.com/jamal-murray-n… – 12:56 PM

Alvaro Martin @AlvaroNBAMartin
El balón sale fuera de las líneas en DEN y Jokic pide la revisión, se acerca al árbitro y compra tiempo fingiendo que tiene que atarse los lazos de su zapato.
Los árbitros esperan un momento, Michael Malone revisa y desafía.
KCP se ríe.
Vídeo: @NBA
pic.twitter.com/d5ZRRW4XcB – 11:13 AM

Harrison Wind @HarrisonWind
Michael Malone speaking about his second unit: “I think Justin Holiday needs to be in the game.” – 11:35 PM

Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
Michael Malone told us postgame that he was thinking of his father, who would have said “these are the same old Nuggets” who let teams back into the game year after year after that -20 point-third quarter.
“Don’t get bored with success.” – 11:33 PM

Harrison Wind @HarrisonWind
Michael Malone on the 3rd quarter: “That was embarrassing. He said he could hear his father up in heaven saying, “You guys are the same ole’ Nuggets” in terms of giving up big leads. – 11:32 PM

Harrison Wind @HarrisonWind
Michael Malone: “An ugly ass win is better than a pretty loss.” – 11:32 PM

Tony Jones @Tjonesonthenba
The Jazz have forced Michael Malone to put Jokic back into the game, something he did not want to do – 11:13 PM

Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
We have a Michael Malone rage timeout.
A tale as old as time. – 10:23 PM

Harrison Wind @HarrisonWind
Brice Sensabaugh just stared down Michael Malone after draining his first basket of the game. – 9:18 PM

Ryan Blackburn @NBABlackburn
Michael Malone on tonight’s game vs Utah:
“Boston’s a sexy game. It’s easy to get up for the best team in the NBA.”
“Tonight is different. You’re playing against a team that’s 5.5 games out of the play-in…These guys don’t know who Brice Sensabaugh is.” – 7:34 PM

Chris Haynes @ChrisBHaynes
🏀 Inside an inspiring Michael Malone huddle
🏀A personal story on how Kevin Durant saved the day
🏀 Injuries around the league and much more on #ThisLeague Uncut with @TheSteinLine
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thi… – 10:43 AM

Chris Haynes @ChrisBHaynes
🏀 Inside an inspiring Michael Malone huddle
🏀A personal story on how Kevin Durant saved the day
🏀 Injuries around the league and much more on #ThisLeague Uncut with @TheSteinLine
🎧: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thi… – 10:41 AM