Last season, Nikola Jokic dominated the Dubs. He averaged 31.3 points, 13 rebounds, and 9.8 assists as the Denver Nuggets swept the Golden State Warriors in the 2023-24 season. Now the Warriors will face the three-time MVP without their best front court player.
Thanks to Draymond Green’s balky calf, he’ll miss the team’s final opening round NBC Cup game. Coach Steve Kerr is going relatively small with his new starting lineup, inserting Kevon Looney at center and putting Jonathan Kuminga in at power forward.
There’s no good way to stop Jokic, who is 4th in scoring, 2nd in assists, and tops in rebounding in the NBA this season. The Warriors have chosen to match up Jokic with Looney, perhaps to at least counter The Joker’s rebounding. They’ve also got Kuminga at the four in Green’s place, just in time to face the newly-healed Aaron Gordon. Perhaps Kuminga will be extra inspired to get to the rim against the greatest Dunk Contest competitor to never win a trophy.
Steve Kerr suggested that Kyle Anderson will back up Kuminga at power forward, which could mean continued minutes for Pat Spencer as a backup ballhandler. Trayce Jackson-Davis will also be available as a defender, or sacrificial lamb against Jokic.
The silver lining in this matchup is that the Nuggets take the fewest three-point attempts in the NBA. For a Warriors team that’s let opponents make 15.5 three-pointers per game during their four-game losing streak, they can at least expect less volume. Of course, Denver makes those limited threes at a 39% clip, third in the NBA, which is even better than the 37.8% the Warriors have been allowing the last four games.
It’ll be tough to face Jokic without Draymond Green, but there is another silver lining. There’s virtually no way he can rack up another ejection or suspension in this one. Although if anyone can do it on a bad leg, it’s Draymond.
