(09-16-2020, 10:48 AM)dirkfansince1998 Wrote:(09-16-2020, 10:16 AM)Dahlsim Wrote: The Nuggets big Game 7 win over the Clippers demonstrated EXACTLY what I was ranting about in this thread and in general about what I wished the Mavericks and Coach Carlisle would do, but I knew they wouldn't.
The Nuggets STUN the Clippers in Game 7, the same Clippers that the Mavericks couldn't handle and a BIG part of the reason why was the BIG man and the way they used their SIZE advantage over the small ball center super wings guard heavy super D' Clippers.
I wasn't just the monster Nikola Jokic game putting up a triple-double with 16 points, 13 assists, and 22 rebounds leading the Nuggets to get the Game 7 upset over the Clippers.
It was the fact that Clippers had to often throw 2 and 3 players at the big man then scramble back, opening up the scoring for Jamaal and company. They also were compromised in floor position for rebounding as the floor was wide open for the Nuggets size with the slow footed Jokic getting a ridiculous 22 point triple double!
Thing about it is, even after the Unicorn was sadly injured and out, giving up some of the Dallas size advantage, they still had Boban. Boban had already demonstrated on multiple occasions, in the full game earlier in the season and then alter in his short minute stints that he could really hurt the Clippers.
It just wasn't in the coaching playbook for Dallas. Fortunately for the Nuggets, down 3-1, they found it in their playbook!
[video=youtube] https://youtu.be/wWQodbewQpA[/video]
Sure. Find me a center like Jokic and I am all for a big lineup. Fact is that they did play single big lineups. Not the previously used Plumlee-Jokic combination. They also had bigger/stronger wing defenders (Millsap, Grant).
Boban was great against Harrell but not good against Zubac. For a player like Jokic the matchup doesn´t matter. He is the best player on the floor. Not to mention that he is a way better defender than Boban.
This wasn´t about going big or small. This was about a unique alltime great performance from Jokic who is easily the best passing big ever.
Boban is not Jokic and I'm not saying he is. Per minute in fact the case has been made that Boban is a "star" offensively on historic levels, but they aren't the same player. For this discussion though the similarities can be seen easily. Both are BIG, relatively slow footed skilled offensive players, not great defenders, powerful rebounders etc. etc.
In Boban's minutes, severely underused limited minutes, on the floor. He was at times the ONLY + player on the floor, he was extremely productive in most of his opportunities but the BIG difference is utilization.
Jokic is a high utilization player on offense in his time in the floor. Boban is often a big giant screen setter that gets a few plays run for him then has to get most of his touches cleaning up the boards.
Boban even in his minutes doesn't have offense run through him or off of him consistently often enough to give full advantage to Luka, Seth, THJ the way Jokic impacts the floor for Murray, Harris and the Nuggets wings and guards.
So Boban's best assets as a big were never maximized in the Dallas vs Clippers the way Jokic's were against the smaller Clippers.