Jokic gave the Cavaliers an early lead, and turning around, Alderich received the ball in the low post to back down TT.
Popovich was using him as if he were Duncan in his prime.
Alderich didn’t disappoint either, hitting his signature post-up spin and slight fadeaway shot after receiving the ball.
The Cavaliers’ offense saw Irving signaling a play, rewarding Jokic with a low post strategy.
Jokic quickly backed down Duncan for position.
The crowd immediately erupted in cheers.
Jokic had already shined by scoring on Duncan one-on-one earlier, and now he was establishing position with such resolve; he didn’t at all seem like a rookie.
Popovich then stood up and walked to the sideline, and the gesture he made was quite interesting; he signaled the Spurs not to help on defense.
If Duncan couldn’t defend a rookie, he might as well retire on the spot.
"That’s not a good choice," Kenny Smith interjected with objectivity.
In fact, Jokic couldn’t really move Duncan in the low post.
Duncan had only slowed down a step, but his height, arm span, and talent still gave him a considerable advantage in this more static confrontation.
Moreover, Jokic’s strength wasn’t enough to throw Duncan off balance.
After some shuffling, Jokic’s forced shot was promptly blocked by Duncan.
Including the block from Leonard earlier, this was the second block Jokic suffered in the opening three rounds; he was still quite inexperienced at this level of competition.
However, what happened next surprised everyone; Jokic somehow scooped up the blocked shot with his long arms, turned around, and completed the second-chance offense with a big hook shot.
And crucially, he exhibited a soft touch in the process, even managing to make the shot! Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵✶𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮✶𝓷𝓮𝓽
That left Smith speechless.
In his rational analysis, Jokic had just slapped back lightning-fast!
Not just Smith; even Duncan widened his eyes in disbelief at the youngster before him.
It wasn’t because Jokic had made the second-chance bucket, but rather, it was Jokic’s mentality.
It was as if the prior block was a fluke.
If Jokic wasn’t playing for the Cavaliers, Duncan would have wanted to take him on as his own apprentice!
Hansen high-fived Jokic while retreating on defense.
Off the court, Jokic appeared to be a "normal" person; he might not want to go to work, could harbor self-doubt, enjoyed life, and didn’t much care about what others thought of him.
If you just lived with him, you wouldn’t see any signs of the superstar spirit.
But on the court, he transformed into a hard worker, steady and cool, doing everything he could, showing the best of himself.
The difference between the two was so great that it could even make one feel as if their "account" had been logged in from a different location.
But that’s precisely what made Jokic unique.
San Antonio Spurs continued to go to Alderich in the low post.
This time Tucker stepped in to help, but Alderich still hit his signature baseline spin and slight fadeaway.
Alderich’s physical prowess wasn’t explosive; the only thing worth mentioning was his excellent 7’4" arm span.
Yet it was precisely this advantage he utilized, perfecting the simplicity of his small fadeaway turnaround shot, lethal as Nowitzki’s Golden Chicken Stance.
Two years ago, when the Blazers met the Rockets in the playoffs, it was this move he used to explode the Rockets’ interior defense.
TT was a strong defender, but somewhat helpless against this style of play.
Hansen scored his first field goal of the night with a quick stop and mid-range jumper in the break.
Back on defense, Malone waved his hand, and the Cavaliers made a defensive switch.
TT went to guard Duncan, while Jokic switched onto Alderich.
This choice seemed poor, as TT’s defensive capabilities were much stronger than Jokic’s.
But real basketball isn’t a game decided purely by attribute scores.
As good as TT’s defense was, being a shorter, power-type interior player, he was well-suited for low post confrontation and agile enough to help on defense but at a disadvantage against a skillful player like Alderich.
On the other hand, while slower, Jokic’s height and arm span were there, theoretically enough to disrupt Alderich.
The reality quickly showed that Malone’s adjustment was a stroke of genius.
Alderich kept trying to back down in the low post, but Jokic successfully anticipated his spin move, used his long arm to interfere, and made the shot miss.
And after disrupting the shot, Jokic quickly turned to box out, then used his long arms to secure the defensive rebound.
One detail even Hansen might overlook was that Jokic’s rebounding ability was underrated.
Or perhaps because of his outstanding offensive displays and relatively weaker defense, this aspect of his game was subconsciously neglected.
Jokic’s positioning and rebounding anticipation were actually quite good, explaining why, despite average physicality, his rebound numbers remained high.
Then, right after, he displayed one of his best qualities.
After grabbing the rebound, he held the ball high to prevent a steal, then, like a sniper scope, he immediately looked ahead and quarterback-like hurled a long pass toward Irving, leading the fast break.
It might seem improbable, but this long pass was indeed steering Irving’s offense.
Irving caught the ball without much need for adjustment, accelerated in two steps, and went up for a quick layup.
"I kid!" exclaimed O’Neal.