With a brilliant performance in the Denver Nuggets’ pivotal Game 5 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves, reigning MVP Nikola Jokic showed everyone why he is regarded as the best player in the NBA. Following the match, Anthony Edwards was questioned about his feelings regarding the big man’s incredible evening. The 22-year-old acknowledged that all he could do was hand him his flowers while grinning a little.
“I just laugh, that’s all I can do. I can’t be mad… he’s the MVP. The best player in the NBA. He showed it the last three games. He was special tonight. I have to give him his flowers. He was that guy.” per Ben Golliver.
Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards on Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic’s Game 5: “I just laugh. That’s all I can do. I can’t be mad. … He’s the MVP. He’s the best player in the NBA. He showed it the last three games. … He was special tonight. I have to give him his flowers. He was that guy.” pic.twitter.com/C0x3kylQS2
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) May 15, 2024
It seems sense that Edwards responded in a somewhat resigned manner. The Serbian did, after all, post an astounding 40 points, 7 rebounds, 13 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block in a crucial Game 5. In addition, his field goal percentage was 68.2%, and his 3-point percentage was 66.7%.
Even worse, in the last two games, the Timberwolves have tried two distinct strategies against Jokic, and none of them have been successful.
Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns double-teamed the Serbian big in Game 4. However, the Nuggets star would just pass the ball to an open Aaron Gordon in the paint for easy dunks when the help defender arrived. As a result, the forward ended with 27 points on 11 of 12 shots in the game, forcing Minnesota to give up on the strategy.
The Timberwolves assigned Gobert to protect Jokic on Tuesday in a man-to-man defense. Even worse, the MVP outperformed the four-time Defensive Player of the Year, scoring forty points and dishing out thirteen assists without committing a single turnover. In the last two games, Minnesota appears to have tried every strategy under the sun, but they still don’t have a response for Jokic. With Game 6 approaching, the team’s only remaining alternative is to give him their due and start over from scratch.
