Where do we draw the line on physicality? And wasn’t handchecking made illegal a long time ago?
Nikola Jokic, three-time NBA MVP and in the running for yet another one this year, is not one to shy away from physicality. At 6’11, 284 lbs, the Denver Nuggets big man is hard to contain under the basket, but he has another asset that opponents fear more: His vision and playmaking.
So in order to try to contain him, get to him mentally and tire him, the Minnesota Timberwolves had a type of hack-a-Shaq plan to try to stress him during the first games of the playoffs: hit him, poke him, hack him, jab him constantly. It’s a case of death by a thousand cuts.
This clip from game two in Denver this week made its rounds because it clearly crosses a line. 13 hits, pokes, taps, hacks, jabs – whatever you want to call it – in a seven second possession.
It’s not the straightforward hack-a-Shaq type tactics, where you foul a bad free throw shooter because you can’t defend him any other way. It’s a more subtle tactic.
These tiny but constant hits are not just stressful, they tire you and distract you. Just playing through it as Nikola Jokic does here without even acknowledging it, is a power move in itself, but it is bound to wear on you and limit the energy you have for other things, like creating, playmaking and finishing.
And it seems to have worked. Jokic has great touch but in this game he missed 12 field goals, his field goal percentage was down to 40 compared to 57 percent for the season.
This is not a new strategy if you want to try to contain certain players. It was so used that they abolished handchecking in 2004.
The question is: if this is handchecking, why aren’t they calling it?
If this is not handchecking because Julius Randle keeps moving his hand, only to jab repeatedly, then why aren’t they calling the hits?
In game three, Jaden McDaniels is lauded for his great defense on Denver’s Jamal Murray, but he clearly steers him by the hip on multiple occasions just in this clip. That is how you define handchecking, and it’s been illegal since 2004.
If handchecking is illegal, why aren’t they calling a blatant example like this one?
If you compare what referees call on another player in the running for MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander from the Oklahoma City Thunder, the contrast is glaring. He would have moved into a shooting motion right away as in this clip and probably not end in a similar situation as Jokic in the first clip. But overall, it’s an interesting comparison. What constitutes a foul, and why?
Though Jokic usually doesn’t refrain from talking to refs (Murray neither) he chose not to here. The smart and experienced player knows that the energy he has to expend complaining to the referees about this stuff amounts to energy not spent on the game. And opposing teams know it’s worth it to try to get under his skin like this.
But is it ethical? Is it the kind of basketball we want in the NBA – or to develop into?
There’s two ways to go here: we can either agree that the best players should be protected by the refs, ensuring longevity and less injuries during a long NBA season. And we can agree on what is legal and what is not.
Or we can buy into the somewhat old-head argumentation that physicality is part of the game and that players today are too soft. And there is something appealing in that. ‘Let them play, it’s a smart strategy to win and it’s part of the game’. Whoever outsmarts the other wins, and they deserve it, right?
But don’t all players deserve to be treated more or less the same? Allowing this type of mental (and physical) game on one player and not the other seems unjustifiable. And it makes the NBA harder and harder to watch.
Now, in the Balkans – like Serbia – these mind tricks and mental games and trying to get around the rules are not new. Jokic and his “I played in Serbia, brother” grew up with this stuff. He’s unfazed here and will probably tell you he’s tried worse.
But the question remains: Is it ok that Julius Randle gets to jab Nikola Jokic 13 times in 7 seconds with no whistle?
And that Jaden McDaniels blatantly gets to handcheck Murray again and again?
If your answer is yes, then you have to consider the outcome of not protecting players and what that means for the league if they keep allowing this – in the case of Jokic. Less availability, more injuries, less minutes and games played by the most popular players.
This is not a one time thing, the physical play allowed on most occasions fails to protect the players. If the referees would call this stuff and still allow for physical play under the basket, things would look different.
Often, they don’t. They miss it or don’t call it, and the game suffers on that account. This specific game two, but also the game of basketball.
If they keep allowing things that were made illegal decades ago, why do we even have the rules?
If we keep letting this stuff happen, imagine what it could turn into. I don’t even want to entertain that thought. And if the NBA wants its best players to play as much and as long as possible, they need to protect them better.
Basketball is about moments. It’s about the biggest players taking over when it matters the most, of chemistry and connection and not shying away from pressure. But it’s also about strategy and tactics and coaching, about IQ and vision and defense.
All of this is diminished, made pedestrian even, by this type of mind tricks and dirty plays. The great game of basketball becomes mundane. Normal. We can all get ahead by finding ways to trick and cheat. But that’s not what we want to see from the best athletes in the world.
Find more Beyond Basketball pieces here.
This is the title for the native ad