He could post up in low positions, play tough defense, and even deliver such brilliant long passes. Although Jokic’s inexperience was evident to the naked eye, his talent was equally apparent.
Center positions in the League were in decline, and seeing a promising young center emerge was a rare find indeed.
At this moment, Popovich stood by the court with his brows tightly furrowed.
His pregame preparations had targeted Hansen and Irving, never expecting Jokic’s starting performance to be so eye-catching.
He’d seen many European White Bears, but it was clear Jokic seemed quite different from them.
Fortunately, Parker’s actions on the court soon brought some relief to Popovich’s mood.
Alderich was struggling in the low post, so Parker immediately started the classic pick-and-roll with Alderich.
With Alderich’s strong mid-range game, the Cavaliers had no choice but to switch on defense.
Jokic, forced into a mismatch against Parker, showed his weakness in iso-defense, allowing Parker to blow by him for an easy layup.
Irving continued to work with Jokic, and this time Jokic opted for a fadeaway post pick-and-roll.
The San Antonio Spurs chose to switch this time. Popovich, though surprised by Jokic’s start, clearly wasn’t as unaware of Jokic as Walton.
Irving chose to create a mismatch and attack Duncan, hitting a stop-and-pop jumper.
Passing the ball when he should, and decisively driving when it was called for, Irving’s growth was palpable.
Although the score difference on the board wasn’t significant, the offensive threat from the Cavaliers had seen a marked improvement from last season.
Last season, when the Spurs played the Cavaliers, as long as they focused on guarding Hansen and kept a watchful eye on Irving to prevent him from scoring in flurries, that was sufficient. But now, it was a bit unclear where to start.
And keep in mind, Hansen hadn’t even started to push himself yet.
During the offensive-defensive transition, Malone continued to micromanage, and Jokic switched back onto Duncan.
But Parker didn’t stop there; he switched to pick-and-roll with Duncan, continuing to exploit Jokic.
The Cavaliers chose to collapse inward.
Duncan, receiving the ball in the elbow area from Parker, took a mid-range bank shot that Jokic’s contesting forced to miss.
Jokic wasn’t quick, so his contest on the shot was fairly limited.
If it had been Duncan from two years prior, he might have ignored the contest and scored anyway. Official source ıs 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹✶𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲✶𝗻𝗲𝘁
But clearly, Duncan was aging, particularly noticeable this season.
Since Alderich’s arrival, his tactical role had been greatly diminished: a career-low in shot attempts and scoring not reaching double figures for the first time in his career.
In such circumstances, a decrease in his condition and ability to seize scoring opportunities was inevitable.
Fortunately, Duncan’s instincts were still sharp. Seeing Jokic snatch another rebound and prepare for a long pass, he immediately fouled on the spot to stop the fast break.
Both teams reset for the half-court play.
Hansen with the ball called Jokic over to continue the pick-and-roll.
Although Jokic’s pick-and-roll still needed better quality, his offensive threat was significant, making it a higher priority in the set offenses than TT.
Facing Hansen with the ball, the Spurs didn’t dare to switch, so they fought over the screens.
And it wasn’t a complete fight over because Duncan would first make a show at Hansen to buy Green time to fight through the screen.
However, this approach had the drawback of offering the screener a certain opportunity.
Jokic didn’t get a chance with an outside shot on the previous play, so this time he chose to roll to the basket after setting the screen.
Hansen saw the opportunity and bounced the ball from behind Duncan to Jokic.
Alderich’s help defense was mediocre, giving Jokic a chance. After taking a step, he unleashed another powerful two-handed dunk.
The Quicken Loans Arena erupted.
Popovich called for a timeout with a raise of his hand.
Even Hansen looked a bit excited as he came off the court.
Bear in mind, he had only scored 2 points so far that night, but the Cavaliers were already dominant on the floor, something unthinkable last season.
In fact, Irving only had 2 points as well; the remaining 6 points all came from Jokic.
Although he had been blocked twice at the start, Jokic’s stable mentality afforded him the opportunity to explode.
If things followed suit, tonight would be a career highlight for Jokic.
After the timeout, Popovich made a substitution that caught everyone off guard.
He rested Duncan and brought in Boban Marjanovic, a 27-year-old rookie signed by the San Antonio Spurs this season.
Boban, standing at 2.24 meters with a wingspan of 2.34 meters, was a true giant on the court, and with his massive hands, a basketball seemed like a bowling ball in his grasp.
Popovich’s intention was clear: to use a bigger player to overshadow Jokic.
There was another point to consider: Boban also hailed from Serbia, and although Jokic had not made the national team, making them not quite national teammates, Boban was nonetheless a basketball predecessor for Jokic and could exert psychological pressure.
Boban first made his mark on the offensive end, and though he was very slow, even slower than Jokic, his sheer size was too much as he effectively sealed off Irving. Parker took advantage of the situation to break through Jokic, drawing Tucker’s aid defense before passing to Leonard, who scored from mid-range.
Parker’s basketball IQ was high, and it was clear he aimed to force Jokic off the court.
However, just as the Spurs focused on Jokic, the Cavaliers were sure to target Boban.
Irving and Jokic ran a pick-and-roll, with Irving driving to the basket, drawing a double-team from the weak side, then passing to the open Hansen.
Hansen drove with the ball as the Spurs’ defense converged on him.
And it was at that moment that Hansen sent a no-look cross-court pass.
Jokic played it smart, popping out to the perimeter as Boban approached, choosing to position himself along the baseline on the strong side, pulling aside to create space for Irving, and at the same time, staying under the radar.
Hansen’s pass was discreet enough that by the time the ball reached Jokic, the Spurs were only just reacting.
But having been pierced twice by Irving and Hansen already, it was too late for the Spurs to close in again.
Without hesitation, Jokic stood in front of Popovich and hoisted a three-pointer.
Jokic’s form, evident from the earlier hook shot, showed he was having a good night, nailing the three-pointer through the net.
The cheers in the arena were unstoppable.
They simply adored this rotund player!
The big LED screen in the arena displayed Jokic’s performance for the night.
He’d scored 9 points from 4 out of 6 shots this quarter!
"He’s playing nothing like a rookie!" Kenny Smith, usually the objective analyst, couldn’t help but drop his analysis.
"If he can step up his defense, he’ll become one of the League’s top centers in the next five years!" O’Neal took his praise for Jokic up a notch.
At that moment, Popovich watched Jokic in silence.
How on earth did the Cavaliers get this guy?
The Cavaliers’ lineup was just missing a good big man!
And considering Jokic was still a rookie, he would grow, and Popovich dared not ponder the Cavaliers’ future!
Parker continued to target Jokic, and this time Jokic tried hard to defend but ended up being used by Parker, who drew a foul.
Garnett then stood up, calling Jokic over and quickly shared his defensive wisdom, patting him on the shoulder.
Parker made both free throws, helping the Spurs keep the score close.
On the turnaround, Hansen continued to run pick-and-rolls with Jokic.
After the pick-and-roll, he bounced the ball horizontally to Jokic.
Knowing he couldn’t keep up with Jokic, Boban preemptively retreated to the basket, raising his hands high to contest Jokic’s shot.
At that moment, upon receiving the ball, Jokic dribbled once, turned around, and in mid-air, adjusted his posture, all in one fluid motion.
Clearly, confidence was fueling his movements now.
The referee’s whistle blew just as Jokic, after adjusting in mid-air, released the ball in a soft lob.
The ball knocked against the back rim, teetered for a moment, then fell through the hoop.
The always-smiling boy wouldn’t have such bad luck, and tonight, Jokic wasn’t just lucky with his shots; his luck was notably good.
Jokic simply nodded after seeing the ball go in, as if even the finest shot could not elicit a celebratory gesture from him.
But by then, the Cavaliers’ bench and all the fans in the arena were already in a frenzy.
TT on the court ran up to Jokic for a chest bump, then let out a roar at him.
After tonight, the world would know who number 15 on the Cavaliers was!