Adelman Fiercely Defends Jokic: 'He Can't Box Out Four Guys by Himself'

"Tonight was completely different. I thought we handled the big-to-small pick-and-rolls fairly well. The problem was the guard-to-guard pick-and-rolls. The way we defended those actions simply wasn't good enough."

"We talked about it in the locker room after the game. Above all, we lacked physicality. I don't think we committed a single hard foul. We were switching on almost every play, which allowed them to slip screens and cut behind our backs. That leads to two-on-ones and three-on-twos on the weak side. In that sense, it was a poor game in every aspect. They shot the ball extremely well when we collapsed the paint, but that wasn't the main issue."

"No, I think the issue actually lies with the rest of the guys. A lot of teams crash three or four players to the offensive glass. In a one-on-one battle, Jokic is going to win that matchup. But if two or three guys are attacking the glass in his area, the rest of the team has to do a better job. As you said, our transition game depends on that, but we have to secure the ball first. Jokic can't box out four guys at the same time. He's an incredible defensive rebounder, one of the best I've ever seen. But this is a team-wide issue, and we will address it."

"DeMar was great offensively. We spaced him in the corner, and the way they were guarding us left him open. He got to his spots and knocked down shots. I thought he kept us in the game during the first half right when things started slipping away. That's what he brings to this team. That's what he's always done. The problem is on the other end of the floor—we have to defend better collectively. But DeMar did his job. As I said, we competed. He played really well and helped keep us in the game."