Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets aren’t necessarily a team known for their defense.
They were quite literally a middle-of-the-pack team on the defensive end. Denver’s defensive rating in the regular season was 113.5, which was good for the 15th-best defense in the league. They were OK, but not great.
Part of the problem is that they don’t have a rim protector. For as great as Nikola Jokic is, his athletic limitations on defense are one of his warts.
But Jokic has found a way to work around that and he does it by bending one of the NBA’s rules: The Striked the Ball rule.
According to the rule, players aren’t allowed to kick the ball or strike it with their fists. Any attempt to do so rewards the opponent with possession of the ball and a reset shot clock. It’s simple.
It’s also not very punitive. It doesn’t reward the opponent with points or free throws — it just gives them the ball back instead of giving them a score. That’s a win for the defense, even if the possession continues.
Jokic has used this rule to his advantage on defense all season long including in the Nuggets’ biggest game of the season on Friday in Game 4 against the Heat. The Nuggets got some key stops on Miami because of Jokic’s craftiness.
Let’s take a look at it.
So about this rule
Again, we’re talking about the NBA’s Strike the Ball rule. According to the NBA’s rule book, players are not allowed to intentionally strike the ball with their foot or a closed fist in an effort deflect it away from an opponent.
Here’s what happens if the rule does get violated, straight from the league’s rule book.
- If the violation is by the offense, the ball is awarded to the opposing team on the sideline nearest the spot of the violation but no nearer to the baseline than the free throw line extended.
- If the violation is by the defense while the ball is in play, the offensive team retains possession of the ball on the sideline nearest the spot of the violation but no nearer the baseline than the foul line extended.
- If the violation occurs during a throw-in, the opposing team retains possession at the spot of the original throw-in with all privileges, if any.
That’s pretty cut and dry. But, again, it’s not truly punitive. The worst outcome for the defense is that an opponent gets a longer possession. But the defense gets to reset and play things out again. If anything, that’s an advantage. And it’s one Nikola Jokic uses brilliantly — even if it is a violation of the spirit of the game.
Wait, did Jokic kick the ball a lot in Game 4?
Yes. Absolutely. In total, Jokic had four kicked-ball violations against the Heat. And they all came in the 2nd half of the game, too.
There were two in the 3rd quarter and two in the 4th quarter. Here’s every single one of them.
Nikola Jokic's kick ball violations saved some pretty significant buckets for the Nuggets lol.
I see why Heat fans are mad about this. pic.twitter.com/OSVKxEs3In
— Michael Sykes, II (@MikeDSykes) June 10, 2023
How big of a deal were the kicked ball violations?
They all saved some pretty significant buckets for the Heat. Two could’ve been layups at the rim, one was a potential Gabe Vincent 3-pointer and another was a Jimmy Butler mismatch within a few feet of the rim.
These aren’t guaranteed points, obviously. But they are opportunities missed for the Heat and not necessarily because of great defense. With a second half offensive rating of 97.8, the Heat needed every opportunity they could get.
Jokic actually does this often
Jokic has been doing this all season. At a certain point earlier in the season, Nikola Jokic had 45 kicked-ball violations, according to a stat from ESPN’s Zach Lowe. The next closest player only had 17.
Nikola Jokic leads the league with 45 kicked ball violations this year, per @ZachLowe_NBA
The player in 2nd place has 17
“It's his way of saying ‘I just don't feel like playing defense.’ It's smart … [but] we shouldn't allow guys to karate kick the ball.”
(Via @ESPNNBA ) pic.twitter.com/qnRwE2uG4Z
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) March 14, 2023
Those kicks from Jokic aren’t just accidents, obviously. They’re a staple. And he’s still doing this.
The league probably won't make this a big deal, but it could be a problem
At least not yet. There simply aren’t enough players out there who are kicking the ball like Jokic is here.
It’s not like flopping, where the league wants to step in and crack down on it because so many players are doing it now. Jokic is the only one at this point intentionally kicking the ball.
However, after watching this game and seeing how some of the kicks there from Jokic shifted things, it wouldn’t be shocking at all if we see more players doing this going into next season. The smart thing to do is to use this violation as a defensive tool. Sure, it resets the shot clock and gives the opponent the ball back. But if it saves a bucket, who cares? That’s the main objective here.
Jokic has figured that out and unlocked something for everyone else to copy on defense. So we’ll probably see a lot more of this moving forward.
At that point, the NBA will have a bit of a problem on its hands.
