BREAKING: Nikola Jokic problem that could become Nuggets’ fatal flaw in the playoffs

It’s not a problem until it is

Denver Nuggets v Houston Rockets | Tim Warner/GettyImages

The NBA regular season is over and the postseason is finally set. The Nuggets won their final three games under new coach David Adelman and secured the number four seed in the Western Conference, with a first-round date against the five-seed, the Los Angeles Clippers.

This should be a great matchup, full of elite players with championship experience and expectations. On paper, this should be a battle for the ages with each team claiming advantage in different areas.

Much of the talk leading into this series will, rightfully be about the best player in the world, Nikola Jokic. The three-time MVP had arguably the best season of his career, finishing with 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 10.2 assists per game on the season. He also shot 58% from the field, 42% from three, and 80% from the free throw line.

It was about as dominant and efficient of an offensive season as we’ve ever seen. His play is, of course, the main reason that the Nuggets were able to withstand all the turmoil of the season and still finish with 50 wins and a top-4 seed despite all of the roster holes, talent deficiencies, and shocking overhaul of the GM and head coach.

Jokic’s defense the biggest question mark in playoffs

But with Denver, the big concern is on the other side of the ball. The Nuggets’ defense has fallen off a lot this season and the play of Jokic has been a big part of that. A lot of it isn’t his fault as his offensive burden and responsibilities have reached a level that is likely unsustainable.

The amount of effort required of him on that end is so great, it’s almost impossible to expect much on the defensive end. Still, he is the team’s starting center and he is relied upon to be the last line of defense at the rim.

While Joker’s steal numbers have gone up, most of his other defensive metrics have regressed and he has been a sieve around the basket. He was never an ace rim protector, but this season, things have fallen off a cliff, to an extent and opposing players have shot better than their averages with Jokic as the closest defender.

It’s one thing over the course of the regular season, but things are about to ramp up in the playoffs, every possession is intensified, and each trip on defense will be paramount. The Clippers are going to present a lot of tough matchups for Denver, especially on the perimeter.

James Harden, Norm Powell, and Kawhi Leonard are going to be pressuring the Nuggets’ defenders on the outside and constantly requiring extra help. The onus will be on Jokic, and others, to protect the rim and challenge drivers who beat their man off the dribble.

If Jokic is able to pick it up and at least get back to his play of recent seasons, the team should be in good shape. In the first few games of the Adelman era, Jokic has been less involved on offense and touching the ball slightly less frequently, getting his teammates involved even more than usual.

Hopefully, this is, at least in part, so that he can conserve more energy for defense. The Nuggets don’t have any feasible options at backup center and their only other real sources of rim protection come from Aaron Gordon and smaller bench players like Zeke Nnaji and Peyton Watson.

Jokic’s ability to take on a bigger defensive burden and at least provide some level of rim protection and resistance against the Clippers will be key to their chances of competing with the Clippers and beyond. But if we continue to see the level of interior defense from Joker that we’ve been seeing all season, it may end up being the Nuggets’ undoing.