LeBron James Makes Honest Nikola Jokic Statement

The Los Angeles Lakers had trouble defending this Denver Nuggets play

Mar 2, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) is greeted / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Lakers were swept by the Denver Nuggets in last year's Western Conference Finals. Nikola Jokic was dominant, as was his co-star Jamal Murray, and there was one particular action those two ran that was especially difficult for the Lakers to defend.

During a recent episode of his Mind The Game podcast, Lakers star LeBron James broke down how to defend an inverted pick and roll, and why the Nuggets are so lethal when they go to that action.

"If the big has it going and he's shooting it well, i.e., you know, it could be Joel [Embiid], it could be [Kristaps] Porzingis, it could be [Nikola Jokic] where he might be shooting it well, then the guard can get out and give a hard ass hedge, and the big that's guarding the ball goes one removed," James said. "So he goes underneath his player, in between his player and the offensive player. If that doesn't work, then you have to switch and then fire. And with Joker, that's what makes their team insane to guard. Because when you switch and you fire he can make every single pass."

.@jj_redick and @KingJames dissect the inverted pick-and-roll.

Watch Episode 2: https://t.co/HlorOT0sWV pic.twitter.com/nN8Ssb69xv

— Mind the Game (@mindthegamepod) March 27, 2024

As James mentioned, Jokic's passing ability doesn't allow the defense to send help, because he will make the right pass every single time. This is what separates the Nuggets star from so many other players in the league.

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