Chapter 1 Jokic Versus Green

Jokic and Green at center court for the jump ball.

The Pelicans usually have Davis jump, but today they changed it up and went with Jokic.

It was basically impossible for Green to win a jump ball against Davis, so he’d originally planned to give up on it.

But when he saw it was Jokic, he couldn’t help but smile.

In last season’s playoffs, other than Jokic hitting a few three-pointers, he’d been completely dominated on both ends of the court.

He was full of confidence against this opponent.

Plus, there was a significant height difference between the two, but his wingspan of 216cm wasn’t that far off from Jokic’s 221cm, and he had the advantage in speed.

Of course, the most important thing was that he had the same desire to dominate Jokic as he did in last year’s playoffs.

The referee blew the whistle, and he used his speed to jump and get in front.

However, Jokic was faster than he expected, and with the advantage of his wingspan, he beat him by half a finger's length, tipping the ball back to the Pelicans’ half.

The Pelicans got the first chance to attack!

A burst of cheers erupted from the crowd.

We can win the jump ball without Davis!

Green let out a disdainful sound.

Jokic just got lucky.

But luck wouldn’t play a big role in a game of this level.

Holiday dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, and Jokic held the ball at the high post to orchestrate the offense.

The Warriors, like the Pelicans, basically hadn’t changed their lineup during the offseason.

Their improvement was similar to the Pelicans’, and after a season of working together, their switch-everything defense and constant off-ball cuts were already very mature.

Facing the Pelicans’ still-immature offensive system, their defense was airtight.

More than half of the Pelicans’ shot clock had expired, and they still didn’t have a good shot opportunity.

Tang Tian held the ball on the outside, with Thompson standing in front of him, and Iguodala on the weak side ready to come over and help.

Moreover, after Curry was targeted last season, the Warriors were now very careful to protect Curry, using switch-everything to get him to the weak side corner without the ball.

It would take time to switch him back.

Tang Tian didn’t choose to do that, he signaled Jokic to the right side low post, and then directly passed the ball inside.

With the ball in Jokic’s hands, the Pelicans had spread the floor, clearly intending to let Jokic go to work in the low post.

The Warriors didn’t seem to want to double-team.

Although Green was an undersized center, his defensive ability in the low post was top-notch in the league.

Besides, in last season’s playoffs, Jokic simply couldn’t push Green around.

“Come on! Come on!”

Green was also excited to see Jokic wanting to take him on, yelling from behind while pressing against Jokic’s big butt.

Jokic backed down, then spun and went for a layup.

Green was right with him; in addition to being strong, his defensive awareness was also absolutely first-class.

But Jokic didn’t shoot, instead performing a beautiful turnaround.

The Serbian Dance!

Jokic’s footwork under the basket had a bit of Yao Ming’s flavor.

But Green still kept up, his reaction speed as a big man was truly extraordinary.

And he was also very smart, only using his hands for contact and not trying to block the shot, which allowed him to completely shut down Jokic.

“Textbook defense.”

Miller said in the commentary booth.

Van Gundy nodded in agreement, as an undersized player, you couldn’t ask Green to defend this play any better.

Green may be loud-mouthed and annoying, but the main reason he dared to do that was because of his on-court performance.

“Swish!”

But the next second, after Jokic and Green had some hard contact, he sent the ball into the basket with a close-range hook shot!

“Soft shooting!”

Breen exclaimed in the commentary booth.

The shot went in quite smoothly, like a peanut dropping into chocolate sauce, silky and smooth.

If the footwork from before only had a hint of the flavor, then this little hook shot really did resemble Yao Ming.

“His strength has improved.”

Van Gundy, after all, was a well-known former NBA coach, and he quickly discovered the most essential thing about this possession.

The premise for Jokic being able to complete the little hook shot was that he hadn’t been at a disadvantage in his contact with Green.

After the Warriors’ small-ball lineup developed its switching-everything chemistry, they weren’t afraid of tactics, nor were they afraid of outside stars, but what they feared most was dominant centers.

No matter how strong Green was or how good his defensive ability was, it couldn’t change the fact that he was an undersized center.

So if a dominant center took him on, the Warriors could only double-team, and double-teaming meant that other spots would be open.

But after the arrival of the small-ball era, dominant centers had become a scarce commodity, which was a big reason why the Warriors were able to dominate with their small-ball lineup.

Jokic wasn’t yet a dominant center, but as Van Gundy said, Jokic hadn’t been at a disadvantage in that previous play.

With improved strength, plus the advantages of height and wingspan, as well as a soft touch, he successfully put the ball in.

Green showed a disdainful expression even after being scored on.

He had underestimated Jokic a little.

The Warriors’ offense saw Green holding the ball at the arc, with the others making constant cuts.

The Pelicans showed their current super-strong defensive strength in this possession.

Curry’s continuous movements didn’t give him any shooting opportunities, and Thompson’s final shot was also disturbed by the switching Davis.

The basketball hit the rim and bounced out, and Tang Tian secured the long rebound.

The Warriors retreated quickly, not giving the Pelicans a chance for a fast break.

Tang Tian dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, signaled Jokic to go to the low post again, and then passed the ball inside.

Targeting Curry was the best way to play the Warriors, but not to break their small-ball lineup.

Eating Green inside was the way to strike at the heart of the snake.

And no one else knew, not even Green, what Jokic had gone through this past summer.

Practicing with a madman like Butler was like training with Might Guy; what you’d gain would be a Lee Rock.

Jokic was completely different from the big white guy in last season’s playoffs!

Jokic received the ball and continued to back down Green in the low post.

Barnes on the weak side wanted to come over to help, but was directly yelled back by Green.

On the one hand, Jokic’s passing was too good, and if Barnes came over, Davis would definitely get a shooting opportunity;

On the other hand, and more importantly, Green had his pride; if he was scored on once and then needed a double-team, wouldn’t he lose face?

Seeing that there was no double-team, Jokic continued to lower his center of gravity and back down.

This past summer, with Cecilia’s help, he had completely bulked up, not gaining much weight, but directly elevating his strength to a new level.

He might still be a little short of going up against black, strong, and rough guys like DeAndre Jordan, but he wasn’t afraid of undersized centers like Green at all.

With continuous turnarounds, Green’s defense was well in place.

He wasn’t thinking about getting rid of Green, but after finding a suitable angle, he made a bank shot over Green’s shoulder.

Because of the strength, Green couldn’t jump up to interfere, and the ball passed over his fingertips and hit the backboard.

“Swish!”

The ball then bounced into the net.

Jokic, scoring on Green in the low post consecutively!