Lakers and basketball skills expert Raj breaks down the Nikola Jokic vs Marc Gasol matchup following the Denver Nuggets - Los Angeles Lakers game this past Monday (93-89 win for the Lakers), including why Gasol matches up very well with Jokic on both ends of the floor and why other Lakers center Andre Drummond struggled defending Nikola Jokic | Nikola Jokic vs Marc Gasol | The Lakers' answer for the likely MVP? | Lakers skills breakdown For reference, I’m a sports scientist, youth basketball coach, DPT (Doctor of Physio), movement expert, researcher, mindfulness enthusiast and owner of 3CB Performance —providing sports medicine, performance, and mindfulness services online and in-person at clinics in West LA and Valencia, CA. Feel free to hit me with questions and/or you can always find me on my website or follow on social media: Website: https://www.3cbperformance.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/3cbPerformance Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3cbperformance/ Here’s a table of contents: - 0:00 The lead-in - 0:32 Defense - 2:12 Offense - 2:27 Outro Script: Welcome it’s Raj from 3CB. During the Lakers 93-89 win over the Denver Nuggets on Monday, Lakers’ center Marc Gasol went toe to toe with likely-MVP Nikola Jokic, notching a team high +17 for the night. He showcased why his particular skills, skills he’s developed over a very long career, could be a very viable matchup - maybe even a nightmare - for Jokic should these teams meet in the postseason. Lets go through it in more detail - take notes Andre Drummond. Defense The key thing when guarding Jokic is that you have to be a disciplined, positional defender. Watch here how Marc keeps his hands in a contest position but not in a spot where Jokic could potentially rip through them and bait fouls - which he does all too often - and then moves his feet when Jokic commits the dribble. Marc goes up on the pump fake but he’s able to contort himself to avoid the foul while still contesting. Another example here and this time Gasol times his contest to block Nikola’s shot. Drummond has issues with Jokic because Andre tends to rely on his elite hand speed and athleticism. Here Andre goes for the wraparound steal which Nikola easily reads for an uncontested layup. Further, Gasol does a very good job of leveraging his strength and absorbing the force - often taking the contact to Jokic early on - while still staying grounded and in good position. Here he keeps Jokic out of the restricted area and gets a very good contest on the turnaround. Great shot but you live with that, tip of the cap. To contrast that, Jokic is able to get much deeper on Drummond - part of which is due to where Nikola catches the ball - and then Drummond falls for a pump fake which enables Jokic to score easily on the up and under. Clear contrast in styles and Jokic preys on defender’s reaching or overplaying. He’s a master at reading those openings whereas Marc is elite at concealing them. Offense Additionally - on the offensive end - Marc’s added element of spacing and outside shooting forces Jokic to stay engaged and attached or give up open looks like this.