DENVER — The Knicks' mile-high defensive woes won't get any easier Monday night as they face Triple Crown contender Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets.
The three-time NBA MVP may somehow be having the best statistical season of his 10-year NBA career. Through his team's first 16 appearances, he ranked first in the league in rebounds (13.7 per game) and second in both points (30.3) and assists (11.1) per game.
All three numbers are career highs for Jokic, who missed three games earlier this month due to the birth of his son.
The six-time All-Star is logging a career-best 38.1 minutes per game this season, second only to Knicks wing Mikal Bridges (38.3) through Saturday's game.
In fact, Bridges was benched by coach Tom Thibodeau in Saturday's game against Utah, playing minutes (33), points (7) and field goal percentage (3-of-15) with 10:03 left in the game. achieved a season low.
Fellow rookie Karl-Anthony Towns will also be the main defensive force against Jokic, but he had a tough game on both ends of the floor. Although KAT grabbed 16 rebounds against the Jazz, the starting center missed 8 of 9 3-point shots and finished the game with an astounding defensive rating of -34.
Coach Thibodeau and the players who spoke to the media afterward (Bridges, Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson) blamed the team's poor defensive effort for their first loss in five games, not an eventful shooting night (39.0 percent overall). I lamented that.
“I think we need to pause a little bit and communicate with each other a little bit more,” said Bridges, who was benched in place of veteran reserve Cam Payne. “I think it’s tough, we’re not the only team, but it’s human nature to sometimes miss a shot or let your guard down a little bit and lose your voice.
“So we have to get through that and still communicate with each other. We can't afford to make mistakes and confuse the defense. If we make mistakes, they're going to push us even harder. We have to get better at that.”
At 7 feet tall, Towns should be better defensively against a player of Jokic's caliber.
Thibodeau even admitted after Saturday's game that he considered putting backup Jericho Sims under center in the fourth quarter after he was plus-19 in the first nine minutes of the game. They pulled the Knicks within two points.
With Isaiah Hartenstein's departure in free agency and Mitchell Robinson's recent injury, the Knicks are clearly sacrificing an intelligent defense. The tradeoff is that Towns, a four-time All-Star, leads the team in scoring (26.1 points) and rebounding (12.5 points) in 15 games played.
Still, the Knicks (9-7) ranked 21st in the NBA in defensive rating through Saturday, allowing 115.7 points per 100 possessions, which Hart on Saturday night called a “recipe for disaster.”
“We just didn't play well enough,” said Hart, who posted a team-worst minus-37 point loss for Utah. “We're not physical enough. We don't put enough pressure on the ball, myself included.
“We have to figure it out. We can't just be an offensive team, and that's what we've been doing from the beginning. [16] game. And when you don't shoot well or don't figure it out offensively in a game like this, things look bad. ”
Jokic, 29, could become the first player in NBA history to lead the league in both assists and rebounds per game in the same season. Wilt Chamberlain led the league in total boards and assists in the 1967-68 season, but lagged behind Oscar Robertson in assists per game.
