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Given that it's often been quite a divisive topic in the past, what's the current general consensus on Nikola Jokic's defensive level? Is he a weakness, a positive, or somewhere in the middle? (alien.top)

submitted 2 years ago by honestnbafan@alien.top to c/nba@nba.space

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Denver last playoffs and this regular season so far have shown another level of defense to in the past playing at a borderline top 5 level in both instances

However many still view Jokic's rim protection as a major issue and simply think Denver have done a good job of hiding this

Personally I'd probably say he's obviously not All Defense level or anything but at this point is probably someone between a neutral and moderate positive overall

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[–] TrRa47@alien.top 1 points 2 years ago

Somewhere in the middle. He has great hands, knows other teams' plays, which lets him have positioning more often than not, and doesn't get bullied by other offensive centers. Also, being just tall and wide is a natural deterrent, regardless of how good you are as a defender

However, rim protection/interior D still isn't preferable for a center, definitely not switchable, questionable in space, weak to backdoor cuts. Just like a lot of centers, guarding the PnR can be a huge problem.

Overall, I'd say he's average to slightly above average and against certain match ups just straight up a good defender.