Jokic hits back amid MVP criticism as history-making treble looms for center
NBA star Nikola Jokic issued a savage response to analyst Kendrick Perkins.
The Serbian is in the hunt to clinch his third successive NBA regular season MVP award, but faces stiff competition from Joel Embiid and former two-time winner of the award Giannis Antetokounmpo. He certainly has the numbers to help his case as the centre averaged 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds and 9.8 assists for the Denver Nuggets, who topped the Western Conference.
Should Jokic, 28, win it again this year, it would mark his third in a row, the first player since Larry Bird (1983-86) to achieve the feat. But Perkins, who became an NBA champion with the Boston Celtics in 2008, claimed the Nuggets would be in for a tough series against the Minnesota Timberwolves in round one of the NBA Playoffs.
“If Joker get the best version of KAT and Rudy, it's gonna be a long series!!! Carry the hell on…” Perkins tweeted. Jokic savagely dismissed the 38-year-old’s claims as the Denver Post reported him saying: “I don’t really listen to those people.”
This is not the first time Perkins took to ESPN’s First Take to claim Jokic was ‘stat-padding’ and that his team-mates intentionally shoot - whether or not they’re good shots - as soon as he passes them the ball in an attempt to give him an assist. He also inexplicably claimed Jokic deliberately took fewer shots and made more passes in an attempt to accumulate assists.
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“I mean, when you’re stat-padding it’s easy,” Jokic hit back. When asked if he heard the criticism, he said, “Yes, of course, it’s true.” As the MVP race continues to heat up, following a game between Denver and Philadelphia in the regular season, which Embiid missed due to a sore right calf, Jokic was full of praise for his fellow center and award rival.
Kendrick Perkins thinks Jokic and the Nuggets will be under pressure from the Timberwolves in round one of the playoffs and previously accused him of statpadding (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)“I think he’s a great player,” Jokic said. “I think he’s gonna be remembered as one of the most dominant players in the league. The guy’s a beast, and he’s so talented. He can affect [the game] many ways on the floor. He can post up, he can face up, he can shoot 3s.
“He can defend really well. He can, in some situations, guard 1 through 5. So he’s a really, really good player.” As Denver prepares to open their playoff campaign against the Timberwolves, Jokic has been passed fit to play, Harrison Wind of TheDNVR.com reported.
Jokic sat out the Nuggets ' regular-season finale with soreness in his right calf but appears to be fit for his side's first game of the playoffs. Considering he has had a full week to rest and recover, Jokic should be expected to handle a full workload for the team's playoff opener. In three games against the Timberwolves this season, Jokic averaged 25.0 points, 12.7 assists and 10.0 rebounds over 30.7 minutes.
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