The treatment of Nikola Jokic by the refs might not have been criminal, but it’s certainly farcical, MarkKiszla writes. What does the once and future MVP have to do to earn a more favorable whistle from the refs?
SAN FRANCISCO — In a league notorious for curtsying in the presence of its stars, giving LeBron, KD and Steph all the favorable calls, why do NBA referees insist on giving Nuggets center and reigning MVP Nikola Jokic the no-soup-for-you treatment?
“They’re going to realize he’s a back-to-back MVP,” replied Malone, punctuating his zinger with a self-satisfied grin. “How about that one, Kiz?”But as for Malone’s theory refs would show Jokic respect?Jokic, who spent much of the evening cradling a frustrated head in his hands, took 22 field-goal attempts before drawing his first foul from a Golden State defender with 2 minutes, 36 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
The real problem for the Nuggets now, unless they’re intent on heading to the beach sooner rather than later, is not the referees. If Jokic is playing one-on-eight, it’s because he has too many teammates, most notably the ridiculously overpaid Aaron Gordon, that are big fat zeroes on the big playoff stage.
So what happened? Jokic gallantly waged a war on the basketball floor. But the Invisibles shrunk in the spotlight. With Draymond Green harassing Jokic, however, the Invisibles stumbled into halftime, allowing the Warriors to finish the second quarter on an 18-4 run and take an 11-point lead into the locker room. That was the turning point, but not the main reason why Golden State won. With Curry far from Vintage Steph, the Warriors needed somebody to step up. Guard Jordan Peele did, burning Denver with 30 points.
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