{"id":711629,"date":"2026-04-16T08:14:56","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T08:14:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/711629\/"},"modified":"2026-04-16T08:14:56","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T08:14:56","slug":"jokic-dismisses-gobert-rivalry-urges-nuggets-to-be-aggressors-for-playoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/711629\/","title":{"rendered":"Jokic dismisses Gobert rivalry, urges Nuggets to be aggressors for Playoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Johnny Askounis\/ info@eurohoops.net<\/a><\/p>\n

The Denver Nuggets<\/a> are preparing for the 2026 NBA Playoffs, presented by Google, as they aim to reclaim their championship form following a record-breaking 2025-26 Regular Season for their star center. Nikola Jokic, who became the first player in NBA history to lead the league in both rebounds and assists per game.<\/p>\n

The Joker addressed the media during team practice on Wednesday, previewing a best-of-seven series opposite the Minnesota Timberwolves<\/a>. \u201cThe key is likely for us to set the tone and be the aggressors,\u201d he mentioned.<\/p>\n

The 31-year-old Serbian looked back on what has become a burgeoning rivalry. \u201cI don\u2019t know. I just think every game is a really good game. Last year was a good series, and the year before was a good series as well, so we\u2019ll see. Hopefully, this one will be, too,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

This matchup serves as a rematch of the 2024 Western Conference Semifinals, which the Wolves<\/a> won in seven games. In 2023, the Nuggets<\/a> prevailed in five games during the opening round en route to the only NBA championship in franchise history. Despite the history, Jokic downplayed the conflict with French starting center Rudy Gobert.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we are going to guard him, but everyone is going to guard everyone, and they are going to guard us. It isn\u2019t going to be a matchup between just one person and another. It\u2019s going to be collective because there will be so many different defensive coverages from both sides,\u201d the Joker explained.<\/p>\n

He noted the familiarity between the two rosters, adding, \u201cWe have played against them about 40 times in the last three years, so it\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to international matchups between Serbia and France, Jokic and Gobert have faced each other 50 times in the NBA. While the French big leads the head-to-head series 27\u201323, Jokic holds an 11\u20137 advantage in the Playoffs.<\/p>\n

The Sombor native expressed readiness for the upcoming postseason challenge, noting the significance of the shift in intensity. \u201cThe Playoffs are what you work for the whole season. This is the final touch. It\u2019s exciting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

However, he admitted he isn\u2019t a fan of the extended layoff before Saturday\u2019s opener at Ball Arena. \u201cTo be honest, I don\u2019t like it. I just want to play because we have never had six days off like this. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to help. It might help the guys who are injured get back to being healthy, but if you ask me, I would like to play right away.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the regular-season portion of his 11th season in Denver, Jokic averaged 27.7 points, 12.9 rebounds, 10.7 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game, logging 65 appearances.<\/p>\n

Read the latest News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Johnny Askounis\/ info@eurohoops.net The Denver Nuggets are preparing for the 2026 NBA Playoffs, presented by Google, as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":711630,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3782],"tags":[7,307,152,3954,6,308],"class_list":{"0":"post-711629","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-timberwolves","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-minnesota","10":"tag-minnesota-timberwolves","11":"tag-minnesotatimberwolves","12":"tag-nba","13":"tag-timberwolves"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116413396994665967","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=711629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711629\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/711630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=711629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=711629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=711629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}