NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

June 6, 2023

Nikola Jokic

Denver Nuggets

Practice Day

Q. Jimmy said the other day that he gets his inspiration from watching other sports, other elite athletes do their thing. I was wondering, where do you get that inspiration?

NIKOLA JOKIC: I think just playing basketball. I think I don't have inspiration from other athletes or whatever. I admire them and respect them, but it's a different sport. It's really cool to meet them or whatever. But I don't have any inspiration from them, if that makes any sense.

Q. One of the lesser talked about aspects of your game is your really high basketball IQ. It's something LeBron praised. When did you realize that your basketball IQ was so high, and how have you used that to your advantage throughout your career?

NIKOLA JOKIC: I don't know that other people are saying that. I'm just trying to play the game and reading the game. Other people talk about me like that. But for me, it's just a random basketball or whatever, reading the game.

Q. Giannis has spoken many times of how he draws inspiration from the Greek fans in many cities. Do you make an effort to connect to a lot of Serbians here, to fans in different cities?

NIKOLA JOKIC: Yeah, the fans are really coming to the games and bringing the flags and chanting my name and just talking to me in my language. I think that's really cool, just to see how many Serbians are in the world, and they're still coming and bringing the flag and cheering for me.

I think that's really nice. It's nice to play in front of them. I think that is really cool.

Q. Nikola, the other day after Game 1 you looked at the stat sheet and you were surprised to see that Michael Porter Jr. did not hit seven threes. He is not shooting well from behind the arc. Is there anything you can do to get him unlocked, and how much do you need him to be able to spread that?

NIKOLA JOKIC: We need everybody, not just him. Yes, we need to do a better job of finding him or just getting him open. That's going to help us collectively, of course. But it's not just him. We need to, as a group, be better.

Q. When you're reading the zone and playing against the zone, what did you see from them defensively when you were at the foul line? I'm curious if you move to the baseline and attack it, what you plan to see or how you may make that adjustment?

NIKOLA JOKIC: I cannot tell you that, my friend, because I think they are looking at this, too. They're a really intelligent team. They have really smart players, Jimmy, Bam, Kyle, who can read the moment and read the game. They can just kind of morph in some different zones, if that makes any sense.

Just as a team, they know what they want to give up or whatever. They're really intelligent, from the coach to the players. That's why the zone is so effective, not just against us; it's against the whole Playoffs.

Sometimes we get a good look, sometimes we don't. But I think that is even in regular man-to-man; sometimes you get a good shot, sometimes you don't.

Q. Miami is shooting a really high percentage from three in their wins, but especially on their contested threes. What have you made of your three-point defense in Games 1 and 2 and overall for them in the post season?

NIKOLA JOKIC: They are shooting against Milwaukee 43 percent. They are shooting against Boston 40-something percent. They have good shooters, and that's why they are so deadly and dangerous, because you cannot leave them open.

Yes, the first game Max and Caleb didn't shoot well. But we know they're going to be better. We just need to don't give them wide-open looks. They are two great shooters that at least they need to see somebody in front of them, not just a basket.

Q. Jamal had a huge game in Game 1; fewer touches, fewer shot attempts in Game 2. I'm wondering what you saw about the way they defended him, if there is anything you can do to try to get him a little bit more open in Game 3?

NIKOLA JOKIC: To be honest, I didn't realize -- I mean, when you play the game you don't think about it. You're just trying to win.

But yes, definitely we need to get him going. And it's not just Jamal or Mike or me or whatever. It's collectively we need to find the open man. I think the open man wins the game. We need to be better as a unit.

Q. Coach Malone was in here just before you and said he showed you guys a lot of film this morning, 17 plays in particular, and said he gave players an opportunity to speak afterward. I'm curious what you saw, and if you shared a message with the group about what you saw in the film, what was it?

NIKOLA JOKIC: It's communication, I think, was the main word. Just to don't get them wide-open looks. Yes, we know they're going to score. Yes, we know they have talented players. But we cannot give them open looks, and that was the main key.

Q. Piggy-backing off of that, Coach Malone was really kind of harsh in calling out the effort of the team in Game 2. Just curious as to how you guys received that and how you responded to that when you heard him just question the effort.

NIKOLA JOKIC: Yeah, we're probably going to see tomorrow, are we going to respond well or not. That's the answer.