No I actually didn't present it as a 1 on 1 thing, you perceived it that way..they play different positions, and it's not like the game is played in a way where teams are just dumping it down to bigs for 1 on 1 post isos anyway...my point was in regard to their individual impacts as bigs...
You mean their respective individual impacts where one had a significant advantage of playing in more favorable conditions?
Jokic had a number of ISOs against AD, where he took full advantage of that matchup and did whatever he wanted against him. That avenue of offense would've been exhausted more had AD not had the luxury of having Dwight/McGee rotating on Jokic. If here you're stating it's not a 1v1 exchange, and you don't believe that there was any positional-crossover to any notable degree, and given the fact that AD had the definitively better support cast, how could you possibly come to the conclusion that he
washed Jokic on both ends?
Like I said in my original response to your claim -
more like we saw the Lakers washing the Nuggets.
The situations and roles that they both played in that series were of a contrasting effect that there's no reason for you to make out like this was a mano-a-mano big man contest to see who was better. Sometimes series' play out where there's no absolute of who's better. As I told you before the series,
AD v. Jokic was not going to be anything more than a subplot. That series wasn't a reflection of who the better big man is; if anything, it emphasized more that they're both completely different players, whose strengths lie in different areas, where it comes down to more team structure than anything else.
for all the talk about how Jokic is this offensive genius and how his passing is supposed to be transformative and create offense better than anyone in history other than Bron and whatever wild shyt...
Again, the Nuggets were severely outmatched in nearly every conceivable way. This isn't some comic-book tale where Jokic's superpowers overcome reality. Just like Bron couldn't beat the KD/Steph Warriors; as is no other player in Bron's place would've conquered them either. At the end of the day, only one team can win - you can't erase the abilities of all players who lose as if they cease to exist in the first place.
Jokic went toe-to-toe with a 2x DPOY and arguably the best interior defender in the 1st round - swallowed him whole and spat out the bones; Jokic led an offense that saw his squad topple one of the championship favorites, who were led by two of the best wings in the last decade. Just because he couldn't overcome even greater odds and take out the Lakers doesn't suddenly mean he's not a generational-type talent.
It's important to understand the context of the argument here.
I said, and I quote:
"Every big man would ultimately look pedestrian going up against one of the best defensive frontcourt collectives in modern history"
Keywords - Every big man.
Yes, Dwight and McGee are most certainly relevant when bringing up the Lakers frontcourt defense in relation to what they offer when defending big men. Both of them being unplayable against small-ball lineups in other series' is irrelevant. The Lakers frontcourt rotation could counter any small-ball or big lineup, that's what makes their defense what it is. You had Dwight, AD and McGee to throw at a team like the Nuggets whose offense was based around Jokic, and you had AD, Bron and Morris to throw at a team like the Rockets and Heat whose offenses were based around small-ball lineups.
And it's hilarious how you're propping up AD's defense as this all-encompassing power, yet in the same breath denigrating Jokic's offensive abilities when AD had no absolutely no answer when he was tasked to defend him. What was Jokic supposed to do? Use mind control and transfer his ability to the rest of his teammates so they too could have success against AD, who was able to freelance on the defensive end and help out wherever he could cause he didn't need to defend his man?
As far as no big in the history of basketball would've looked better than Jokic did against the Lakers
...
.I promise I'm not trying to hate on the dude but the way you house this shyt it almost forces it to sound that way...a more athletic and explosive scorer would've been harder for the Lakers to defend..
Except you were hating on Jokic before I even said anything.
A more athletic and explosive scorer would've been
easier for the likes of AD and McGee to defend. AD and McGee have more difficulty defending against someone like Jokic who has a weight advantage, counters-on-counters in the post, and doesn't rely on athleticism to function. The Lakers have the defensive personnel to literally defend any type of big man.
AD is tailor to disrupt all the lil cute passes Jokic likes to throw and his lack of speed makes it easy to recover on pnr and close out on jumpers...
You say this like AD isn't tailored to disrupt any type of passer and offense.
As I need to keep reiterating, AD played a free safety role in that series because of Millsap's bum ass, which allowed him to help out on Jokic's teammates. It only stands to reason he blew up Denver's offensive actions, especially given the fact that the role players aren't always cognizant of where to be on the floor to capitalize on Jokic's passing. He would've done the same thing to Bron too if he was on the opposite side.
If AD had to defend Jokic all series long, you can guaran-damn-tee his overall impact on both ends would've been severely limited. There sure as hell would have been none of this downplaying of Jokic's orchestration prowess either, cause AD would be having to deal with bear shoulders landing in his chest on every defensive possession.
