It was a legitimate question to ask of Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.
Nikola Jokic is the best basketball player in the world, but when perhaps the greatest passing big man of all time is held to just four assists like he was in Game 2 of the NBA Finals in the loss to the Heat, you wonder: Is keeping his dimes off the score sheet the way to beat the Denver Nuggets?
That’s what many fans were asking after the Heat won, and a question asked of Spoelstra.
But he shut it all down.
“That’s ridiculous,” he replied. “That’s the untrained eye that says something like that. This guy’s an incredible player, twice in two seasons he’s been the best player on this planet.”
Erik Spoelstra shut down Ramona Shelburne's question about turning Jokic into a scorer or a passer quickly pic.twitter.com/PxcWQNN5w4
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) June 5, 2023
He’s right. There’s no magic defense that suddenly — poof! — turns him into a one-dimensional player who can’t find the open man. Is it more of a question of Jokic’s supporting cast finishing? Perhaps.
But the theory of turning Jokic into scorer? Like Spo basically said, let’s shut that down real quick.
