As Nikola Jokic struggles to find his rhythm, the spotlight has shifted to a brewing clash of opinions, one that pits praise against skepticism. With the Minnesota Timberwolves seizing a 3-1 lead, much of the credit is being funneled toward Rudy Gobert’s defensive grit. While voices like Charles Barkley are quick to applaud the French center’s impact, Shaquille O’Neal remains unconvinced, keeping their long-running tension very much alive.

That divide in opinion didn’t just simmer in the background- it took center stage as the conversation turned to Jokic’s uncharacteristically poor performance. On Inside the NBA, the panel zeroed in on Jokic’s rough night in Game 3, where the Denver Nuggets star shot a lowly 27%, missing 19 of his 26 attempts. That stat line set the tone for a heated exchange.

Barkley didn’t hesitate, saying, “I said it’s time for Rudy to step up and say I got Joker, and I said Edwards had to do the same thing to Jamal Murray… I got to give Rudy Gobert his flowers. Joker is shooting a lot, too. They might not let him get assists. He (Gobert) is earning that reputation. He’s guarding him. Man-o-man-0, and you got to give him flowers, Shaquille.”

But when it came time for O’Neal to respond, his blunt dismissal cut through the praise, as he fired back, “I hate when y’all do that,” making it clear he wasn’t ready to credit Gobert for Jokic’s struggles.

“Do you understand the law of averages? Let me explain it to you. The Joker has dominated him a lot, right?… Okay. So he has two bad games. So now you’re saying Rudy is shutting him down. Bro, just because you miss a shot and have a bad game doesn’t mean the defense is shutting you down… When you’re a guy like Joker, you’re just missing shots. I’m not going to sit up here and say Rudy Gobert is shutting him down. I’m never going to say that,” Shaq concluded. It seems the law of averages caught up to the Wolves center.

Keeping alive their long-standing beef, which stems from Shaq’s repeated past criticisms of Gobert’s massive contract relative to his offensive production, and Shaq’s frequent claims that he would have physically dominated Gobert in his prime.

In Game 4, the Nuggets led the Timberwolves 54-50 at halftime, shooting 48.0% (24-for-50) from the field and recording 18 assists. Nikola Jokic had 14 points and 8 assists, accounting for 44% of Denver’s dimes. Apart from creating, the 3x MVP got his buckets, which were missing in the previous game. He shot 7-12 in the first half, and he was hot from the first whistle. The Joker generated 19 of the Nuggets’ 23 points at the end of the first frame. While Rudy Gobert grabbed 7 rebounds, he had just 2 points with 1-3 attempts and had 1 turnover and 1 foul.

No doubt, Rudy Gobert has been a huge factor in making it difficult for Jokic. In Games 2 and 3, Gobert contested numerous shots at the rim, forced several turnovers, and notably held Jokic to under 30% shooting in Game 3, contributing to a visible dip in the Serbian star’s efficiency when directly guarded.

In the playoffs, the numbers are low. 25.3/14.3/ 7.3 and converting just 5/24 from the 3-point range. Again, this suggests that Jokic had slowed down. That’s why, for Shaquille O’Neal, the French star is no Joker-stopper. “Like making it difficult but not shutting him (Jokic) down.”

David Adelman backed Nikola Jokic after Game 3 performance

The Nuggets star began the series with a triple-double of 25/13/11 on 58% shooting from the field. Then in Game 2 and Game 3, he produced just 11 dimes combined. His shooting took a huge hit in the previous game, as he scored just 7 from 26 attempts, and it was even worse from beyond the arc: 2-10. From the end of Game 2, the performances took a hit. The Nuggets were outscored by 10 points in the final seven minutes, and he missed six of his seven shots.

Game 3 began with similar dull energy. Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets went 3-of-21 shooting in an 11-point first quarter, their lowest-scoring quarter of the season. This was the first time in Jokic’s career that he attempted at least 26 shots in a game and made only seven or fewer of them. But it was the second instance that Gobert limited the Joker to less than 30% shooting. Even the head coach praised Jokic despite the dismal performance.

“He had a tough night,” Nuggets coach David Adelman said. “It happens to players. This guy’s played a million playoff games. There are nights that are poor. He’ll bounce back. Everyone needs a day to understand we didn’t play well offensively.”

Similar to Adelman, even Shaquille O’Neal believed it was a couple of off nights for the Joker. Now, top it off with his history of dissing Rudy Gobert, and there was no chance he gave flowers to the Wolves center.