33% shooting percentage + 18% three-point shooting percentage! What happened to Jokic in the past three games?

In the past three playoffs, Jokic averaged 21.3 points, 12.3 rebounds and 5 assists per game, shooting percentage of 33.3% and three-point shooting percentage of 18.2%. On the critical playoff stage, the three-time MVP experienced a rare downturn. What happened to Jokic?

Against the Thunder's G2, Jokic made 6 of 16 shots; against the Thunder's G3, Jokic made 8 of 25 shots; against the Thunder's G4, Jokic made 7 of 22 shots. With a shooting percentage of less than 40% in three consecutive games, Jokic's last shot performance dates back seven years ago. In November 2018, Jokic had a shooting percentage of less than 40% in four consecutive games in the regular season, with 3 of 13 against the Timberwolves, 2 of 7 against the Magic, 6 of 20 against the Thunder, and 5 of 14 against the Lakers.

How big is the difference between Jokic in the past three games and the normal level of the regular season? The shooting percentage in the past three games was 33.3%, and the regular season was 57.6%. The three-point shooting percentage in the past three games was only 18.1%, and the regular season was 41.7%. The average score in the past three games was 21.3 points and the regular season was 29.6 points; the average of only 5 assists in the past three games was 10.2 games, and the average of 5.7 turnovers in the past three games, while the regular season was only 2.3 games. After the G4 game, the first question Jokic asked at the press conference was about his current poor shooting status. Jokic responded: "There are many reasons. They have a great defense against me, they have been close to me, and their physical confrontation is also very fierce. I think I missed about two or three open shots tonight. So, this is caused by many factors. They compressed my offensive space and arranged personnel behind the defensive players. In short, there are all kinds of factors. Of course, I also need to do better, but this is also part of the game."

Thunder adopted different double-teaming strategies against Jokic. "Their physical confrontation is very fierce, their hands are very active during defense, and they are always assisting in defense. Sometimes I just can't make a shot. So, now there are all kinds of factors. I remember in the fourth quarter, I had an opportunity to shoot with an open hook shot and missed two key free throws. We were only 4 points behind at that time. If I made a penalty, I would only be 2 points behind and I could tie the score in one round. But then they scored, and the difference between the points became 6 points, and the difference between the two rounds was even more. So, I think we had a chance to win the game, we had a lot of opportunities, but basically didn't make it."

Most of the playoffs only have one day off, how much impact does this have on Jokic's condition? Jokic himself thinks the impact is not big: "I won't think about these when I play. So, the impact is really not big."

However, data shows that Jokic may be really tired, and the rest time still has a significant impact on the hit rate. Jokic has played in 11 playoff games, and only has one day off in 8 of them. The shooting percentage of these 8 games is 44.4%. In two games with two days off, Jokic's shooting percentage is 48.1%, while in one game with five days off, his shooting percentage is 50%. Therefore, Jokic's physical fitness is indeed facing a severe test.

legend Barkley believes that the Nuggets' rotation lineup is too short and there is no real backup inside, which is one of the reasons why Jokic is in poor form.

Barkley said: "The Nuggets have not solved their substitute center problem, and the depth of the bench is not enough. I think this is one of the problems that bothered them last year. Because Jokic was exhausted when he played against Gobert Towns last year. I'm not saying that he would blame Jokic for all the problems, but he did not play well, and he is getting exhausted." In the second half, the Nuggets used only six players, and the Nuggets had only one real substitute center Jordan Jr. He played for only 36 minutes in the seven games in the playoffs.

Therefore, in this series, Jokic averaged 40.3 minutes per game, which is much higher than his average 36.7 minutes of playing time in the regular season. Jokic has struggled in the last quarter of the past two games, averaging only 3.5 points per game in the final quarter and shooting percentage of 23.1%. In the last quarter of these two games in Denver, he missed all 5 three-pointers. Fatigue does seem to affect his condition. The

series has arrived at Tianwang Mountain. Can Jokic get rid of the sluggishness of the past three games and re-show the style of the three MVPs?