Wemby Is Good. Jokic Is Better
After Minnesota handled the Nuggets in game two of the second round series, X (twitter) was talking real rough about Jokic. “Exposed.” “Plays in a league with only four centers.” “Frauds.” “Only played [so many] 50-win teams” and so on.
Denver adjusted — made a little attitude change and a little schematic one too (different ball handlers) — and suddenly they have won three straight. Basketball is a cruel sport. The highs are Everestian. The lows are Mariana.
While there are Nuggets fans who believed even though it looked dire. There are those who gave up. When things look bleak, there doesn’t seem to be any recourse. Back in 2005, when I was a youngin’ the Spurs dominated the Finals through two games. In Detroit the Pistons got to manhandling any and everyone. Pop was famously captured patting Tim’s arm in game four. One guy laughed “Tim needed some hugs.”
When you lose it seems like there will never be another win. When you win, you can’t imagine the possibility of ever losing. Believe it or not, that is the beauty of the sport. The rollercoaster has hurt but if you are afraid of hurting you shouldn’t be a fan of sports.
In any case, as I was watching the specifically-constructed-to-stop-Jokic team get deconstructed by Jokic I was thinking of how Wembanyama will have to go through these same Nuggets in the near future. The Joker is peaking right now — obviously — but any plans for the future will have to consider how to match up with them.
The Wemby-Jokic matchup in the regular season told us some things, but this all-time performance against the T-Wolves in this one was instructive. The best have another gear. The best can do more, go higher, dig deeper and whathaveyou.
Victor Wembanyama has a ridiculous upside. I am excited to see him challenged at the highest levels. That means, of course, that there will be some tough losses in the playoffs to deal with.
Of course that is a long way off. Right now his first year of “feeling out” and “learning” led to … two more lottery picks. I completely understand the value of loading up on talent — the Thunder had to do a lot of losing to get good — but there is nothing like the playoffs to take your game to the next level. You see who is built for the big moments on ESPN and TNT, and not just the Bally Sports nights, you know?
I probably just miss the Spurs playoff nights. I find myself tuning in halfway through a game, and tuning out if it is a blowout. It used to be that May and June were cleared out for Spurs basketball. I cannot wait for that to be the case again. Even if it hurts some nights.