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Josh Kroenke Reveals Why Nuggets Chose To Build Around Nikola Jokic

金塊總裁Josh Kroenke透露為什麼會選擇圍繞著阿肥建隊

Nuggets President Josh Kroenke broke down how the franchise committed to buildin
g around Nikola Jokic in his second season.

The Denver Nuggets made an ambitious call in 2015 when they decided to build the
ir roster around their second-round pick from the year before, Nikola Jokic. Tea
m President Josh Kroenke explained why they decided to build around Jokic instea
d of Jusuf Nurkic at the time.

金塊在2015年做了一個大膽的決定，就是要圍繞著他們的第二輪選秀阿肥建隊。球隊總裁Jo
sh Kroenke解釋為什麼選擇了阿肥而不是Nurkic

"The thing that was unfortunate was the league was trending to small-ball, shoot
ing everywhere. It was even more extreme than it is now, everyone was trying to
be the Warriors overnight. You couldn't play Nikola and Jusuf together. We had t
wo 7-footers who were incredibly skilled and unselfish guys, but trying to play
them together, it presented its advantages, but it was tough for them to cover w
hen you've got four guards out there moving in sync, it's a tough defensive cove
r."



Kroenke then revealed a statistical analysis showed Jokic was outperforming soph
omore-season Larry Bird, which ultimately tipped the scales in Jokic's favor.

Kroenke隨後透露一份數據分析顯示阿肥的數據比大鳥第二年的數據還好，也因此最終傾向
選擇阿肥

"After Nikola's first season, he made First Team All-Rookie. We were halfway thr
ough his second year and we realized we had to choose. They're both starting-lev
el centers. Jusuf's contract was coming up in a year, so we had our analytics gr
oup run a bunch of numbers of how to compare the two and what to look for... Thi
s comparison comes through with Player A and Player B in their second season wit
h the only difference being that Player A was two years older at the time of his
 second season. You could see Player B's numbers were better in every category.
I guessed that Player B was Nikola... Player A was Larry Bird."



The decision to build around Jokic over Nurkic was controversial at the time, bu
t everyone can say that it was the right decision without a doubt. While Nurkic
has had a solid NBA career, he never progressed to an All-Star level while Jokic
 is looking to seal his third MVP in four seasons and hopefully, a back-to-back
NBA title.



The statistical comparison that showed Jokic was better than Bird might have bee
n more precise, but Kroenke does mention the involvement of PER 36 stats. Sophom
ore Larry Bird averaged 19.4 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per 36 minute
s played, while Jokic averaged 21.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 6.3 assists as a
sophomore.

顯示阿肥比大鳥好的數據分析比較可能會更詳細，但Kroenke有提到PER36。第二年的大鳥PE
R 36是19.4分、9.9籃板、5.0助攻，而阿肥是21.6分、12.7籃板、6.3助攻。


Nikola Jokic Looking To Beat The Lakers Once Again

阿肥希望再次打敗湖人

The Nuggets title-defense tour will have to go through Los Angeles, as the Nugge
ts face the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs. The Nuggets swept the Lak
ers in their 2023 playoff matchup and swept them in the 23-24 regular season. No
netheless, Jokic isn't underestimating his opposition given how tough their game
s have been.



"I think every game in the playoff series was really tough, it could have gone e
ither way. It was probably the toughest series we had. Yes, we beat them 4-0, bu
t they're a really talented team. Well-built, they have a couple of guys. I have
 huge respect for them and I think it'll be an interesting series/round."



Jokic averaged 27.8 points, 14.5 rebounds, and 11.8 assists against the Lakers o
v
er the 2023 series. He's averaging 29.3 points, 12.0 rebounds, and 9.0 assists i
n three games this season, which should worry the Lakers if they hope to get ove
r the hump and pull off a massive upset in the first round.

阿肥在2023年對湖人場均27.8分、14.5籃板跟11.8助攻。今年例行賽三場則是29.3分、12.0
籃板跟9.0助攻。如果湖人想克服困難，在首輪爆冷，阿肥的確是他們該擔心的


https://reurl.cc/WxLQy9


金塊選阿肥可以算是隊史最好的選擇吧


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※ 作者: Skyblueway 2024-04-18 18:50:07
※ 文章代碼(AID): #1c8FhZSJ (NBA)
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