Tag: Nikola Jokic

With each passing day, narratives continue to get worse

Just when we think the highest level of buffoonery is reached, people are there to prove us wrong

In life, everyone has an opinion, and changes in narratives almost equal the amount of viewpoints. It’s all subjective who is believable or not, but no matter what side of the equation one is on, there’s no arguing with hard facts. Despite that, there are many who will try, due to the fear of having to admit they’re wrong about something. Therefore, it’s time to crush the garbage narratives that are (or was) out there about a few players, using the NBA Finals as the basis. Before we dive in, it’s keenly understood basketball is a team sport, and nobody can win championship or other awards by themselves. With that said, the culture is one that loves to look at what individuals are doing, especially when it comes to discussing anything best of. So because of said culture, let’s embrace instead of fight against, and do a deeper dive into the cesspool of word salad.

Let’s start with Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, who just led the club to their first ever league title, and won the NBA Finals MVP in the process. Before this season, Jokic won the previous two regular season MVP awards, asserting his status as one of the best players in the world. It’s hard to please everybody, but the narratives that came Jokic’s way is comical and sad at the same time. We had people saying he was “stat-padding,” and the awards he won were due to some sort of a racial bias supporting international players. We even have many saying Jokic should not have won the MVPs because the Nuggets didn’t have much postseason success in those two seasons, despite the fact the playoffs have nothing to do with the voting. Objectively speaking, Jokic has been a great player for a while in the NBA, long before he was an MVP candidate. What happened this season is the casual fan (and the haters who support these claims) got to see the 28-year-old center do what he’s been doing on a national and worldwide spotlight. With an NBA title now under his belt, there isn’t much for people to hate on, and the ironic thing is Jokic didn’t win the regular season MVP award this year (that went to Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid). To those people who said Jokic didn’t deserve those MVPs, does that mean Embiid doesn’t deserve his, since the 76ers blew a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Boston Celtics? This isn’t intended to be a campaign for Jokic, but if we’re in the business of looking at things fairly, let’s do so. It’s understood that probably won’t happen, but Jokic has done more than enough to make the case.

Staying with Denver, let’s discuss the narrative surrounding Jokic’s teammate and potent sidekick, guard Jamal Murray. Before discussing Murray in detail, let’s remember what he had to endure to get back to playing at a superstar level. On April 12, 2021, Murray tore the ACL in his left knee, and missed the next two postseasons due to the injury. Even this season, there were worries about his durability going forward, with questions surrounding if he would be fully available for the Nuggets’ title run. As we now know, Murray was arguably the second best player in the playoffs behind the aforementioned Jokic. With that in mind, the narrative on what the 26-year-old did during Denver’s run being a surprise is beyond wild. When Murray is right, he’s one of the games best scoring threats. In the playoff bubble closing out the COVID-plagued 2020 season, he had two 50-point games and the same number of 40-point games. With Murray suffering the torn-ACL, the guess is many forgot how good he is capable of being, but if people are historians of basketball like they claim to be, the performance the guard put on shouldn’t be much of a surprise. It also verifies how good Denver is when they have their two stars playing together. The last time Murray was healthy for the playoffs (prior to this year), the Nuggets made it to the Western Conference Finals. The proof says he can play with anyone in the league, and put up big numbers doing it. For those who forgot, Murray properly reminded them.

For the final case of trash narratives, let’s go to Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler. In general, the Heat are an interesting case. On one hand, Miami was the eighth and final seed in the East, barely getting into the dance after surviving the play-in tournament. They turned the birth into an improbable run to the NBA Finals before losing to Denver in five games. On the other hand, this is primarily the same squad that has advanced to at least the Eastern Conference Finals three of the last four seasons (twice making it to the NBA Finals). Knowing that bit of info might make one believe the Heat’s run shouldn’t be a shock, but it would be logical to think otherwise given how bad Miami looked at times. One thing that has been consistent is the play of Butler, and that reaches another level come playoff time. Bottom line, the Heat are nowhere close to this level without Butler’s leadership and energy, but losing brings criticism and narratives that weren’t even thought of the day before. Now, questions about being whether or not Butler can be the best player on a championship team are simmering. Remember when everyone was praising “Heat Culture?” Those praises have disappeared into the Rocky Mountain air. Taking the big picture view, it’s a minor miracle Butler and Miami have been as successful as they have been. They have never had the most talent, but it’s hard to match them in consistent effort and passion. Even still, people have to make up narratives to fill blocks on the debate shows that cover the airwaves.

Jokic, Murray and Butler are not the first people to find themselves in the narrative cesspool, and they definitely won’t be the last. No matter how hard someone may try to avoid them, opinions will be out there, left to be found in some way, shape or form. All of that is fine, but let’s at least be sensible and objective about the views. Nowadays, it’s easy to wonder if the ones who paint these narratives even believe what they’re saying, or is it all about selling hot takes in an attempt to maximize click bait. These three players don’t need me to have their backs at all, but it does feel good to call the BS out in their favor.

Cutting through the created clutter of the NBA’s MVP discussion

In the wide world of sports, there hasn’t been too many topics generating more buzz than who this season’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the NBA should be. The discussion is everywhere, and it’s the type of conversation all of the fake-debate shows dream about. As usual, there is a lot of disagreement in terms of who should win the award, but there is agreement on the three contenders, who are all bigs. The three players (in no particular order) are Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic, Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid and Milwaukee Bucks swingman Giannis Antetokounmpo. On the surface, deciding a winner should seem more cut-and-dry, but it never is, and it’s because the voters make up their own criteria in picking first place. Opinions are what make us unique, but they can also create unnecessary complications, which leads me to this conclusion. No one (including myself) knows what the MVP, in any sport, represents, but I believe I can tell you what the award isn’t.

It’s not a lifetime-achievement award. From reading articles and hearing viewpoints on television and radio shows, it appears some of the voters want to give the award to the best player in the league. That sounds good, but what if said best player is on a team that struggled to make the playoffs? There’s no denying what a person has done in his or her career, but that shouldn’t have any bearing on what happened for a particular year. If lifetime accomplishments is what the MVP is measured on, then there wouldn’t be a need to have this award given annually. For an example, let’s look at the 2017 season. At that time, most people would have said LeBron James, then a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, was the best player in the world, but Russell Westbrook, who was with the Oklahoma City Thunder, won the MVP. There aren’t many who think Westbrook is a better player than James overall, but that didn’t stop voters from giving the award to him (it’s funny these two are teammates on a dysfunctional Los Angeles Lakers squad that’s at home with us). In other words, best player is different from most valuable.

The MVP is also not a who has the best stats award. Since the glamour stat is scoring in the eyes of many, that would mean Embiid is the winner, since he won that title during the regular season. Even with that feather in the cap, the 76ers finished fourth in a rugged Eastern Conference, which is a spot behind Antetokounmpo and the Bucks in the standings. It’s one thing to see stats, and it’s another to see how it happened in game action. This is important because Jokic and the Nuggets, a team that plays in the Western Conference (and finished sixth and those standings), might not get as many eyes on him simply because of where he resides. There are a lot of players who put up empty stats that don’t lead to team success. I’m not trying to call the stats these three great players empty at all. I’m just saying while numbers never lie, they don’t always tell the whole truth.

Finally, the MVP is not a playoff-projection award. Ideally, it would be better if the postseason was included in the voting, but with the system we currently have, the playoffs have nothing to do with anything. Therefore, how people and voters think a player’s team is going to do during money time is completely irrelevant. With Denver facing the Golden State Warriors in the first round, not too many people like the Nuggets’ chances of advancing. Philly has a scrappy Toronto Raptors squad to deal with, and while Milwaukee should be able to get by the Chicago Bulls, nothing is a guarantee. The overall point is there’s a possibility the Nuggets, 76ers and Bucks can go home early. Are we going to say Jokic, Embiid or Antetokounmpo are all of the sudden not worthy of MVP consideration if their respective teams fall short of supposed expectations? Of course, there are some voters who will say that, and ultimately regret choosing the way they did. If and when they have this viewpoint, one can wonder where the meter of understanding lies with these individuals.

Ultimately, the MVP is a regular season award. What standards are used to choose the winner is up to the person with a vote, but there’s no denying that fact. Nothing else matters, and if people want to include the playoffs in the voting, then change the rule, so voting doesn’t start until the NBA Finals conclude. Until that happens, all of the clutter created by voters, and the stats, should cease. Pick the winner for this particular season (not an accumulation of seasons), the person who is most valuable to their team winning games, given the situations they’re in. This includes availability for the team, and the potential lack of availability with other key players on their squads. The three players on the ballot are all deserving, considering this is (again) a regular season award. Let’s keep it there, and I’m confident most of the complications will go away.