The official Denver Nuggets thread.

[DenverBlood]

1 down 3 to go. The fourth gave Malone something to talk about for the next 3 days.

[DenverBlood]

Woah. They just said Jokic and Murray first duo in the finals to each score 20+ and have 10+ assists since Jordan and Pippen in 1992.

[Hadez]

Nuggets handled business GM 1 but you know MIA coming hard next game

Got faith in Joker's Gang!

[beastlyskronk]

I thought the zone gave us a little more trouble than I thought it should have. Entry passers seemed to hesitant to get it to Jokic in the middle of the zone, also thought Jokic missed some passes that he usually sees. There was a bounce pass to Murray that likely would’ve been a catch and shoot if it wasn’t a bounce pass, he also had I believe KCP wide open in the corner one time when they doubled.

Definitely some room for improvement from everybody, despite that it was still a good game from us where we really didn’t seem to exert ourselves too much. Jokic will probably hedge a lot more next game as letting Lowry walk into 3s off of screens sparked their run in the 4th. Would also like to see Murray get closer to shooters and not wander in no man’s land on switches. Not sure if that’s a communication issue or if he’s trying to play the passing lane but he’s giving up some looks he really doesn’t need to. Also I don’t think Gordon needs help, I know Butler has had a great run (although he’s cooled off recently) but Gordon can handle him one on one, if Butlers going to make tough shots then so be it, but Butler against us in this series is more dangerous as a passer than scorer IMO. Would also like to see Jokic bang with Bam a bit more and not give him so much space. Felt like Jokic was too comfortable to just swipe at the shot attempt from a drop coverage rather than putting his body on him. Either way I still don’t expect Bam to shoot like that throughout the series and if he does 26 points on 25 shots isn’t really that bad for us outside of the narrative.

[Spice 1]

I thought the zone gave us a little more trouble than I thought it should have. Entry passers seemed to hesitant to get it to Jokic in the middle of the zone, also thought Jokic missed some passes that he usually sees. There was a bounce pass to Murray that likely would’ve been a catch and shoot if it wasn’t a bounce pass, he also had I believe KCP wide open in the corner one time when they doubled.

Definitely some room for improvement from everybody, despite that it was still a good game from us where we really didn’t seem to exert ourselves too much. Jokic will probably hedge a lot more next game as letting Lowry walk into 3s off of screens sparked their run in the 4th. Would also like to see Murray get closer to shooters and not wander in no man’s land on switches. Not sure if that’s a communication issue or if he’s trying to play the passing lane but he’s giving up some looks he really doesn’t need to. Also I don’t think Gordon needs help, I know Butler has had a great run (although he’s cooled off recently) but Gordon can handle him one on one, if Butlers going to make tough shots then so be it, but Butler against us in this series is more dangerous as a passer than scorer IMO. Would also like to see Jokic bang with Bam a bit more and not give him so much space. Felt like Jokic was too comfortable to just swipe at the shot attempt from a drop coverage rather than putting his body on him. Either way I still don’t expect Bam to shoot like that throughout the series and if he does 26 points on 25 shots isn’t really that bad for us outside of the narrative.

I guess it's going to be KCP or Brown who benefits when Miami zones up. They're probably going to have to let somebody shoot in the corner because of Jokic. Bam's going to be in a bind if they don't. Jokic is a zone beater.

I'm surprised Butler is turning down so many mid-range shots to move the ball. Bam doesn't hesitate, because he knows that area 10-15 feet is going to be there. At one point Bam brought the ball up, dribbled directly to the foul line, and pulled it. Jimmy's turning those down, and I get why, but he has to shoot that 15 footer with conviction in game two. That's going to help him dribble drive and find open shooters. But this is how I felt going into this series. Miami is going to have to be more unconventional and take risks defensively to have a chance.

As far as Jokic defending pick and roll goes, Lowry is pretty good at handling in the pick and roll. He's better than Booker for sure. He can make you pay either way. And Bam is a better screener in the pick and roll than Ayton. I'd argue he's better than AD at it. So, I would expect Spoelstra to stay with that when given the chance. I was talking to somebody about how teams play the Nuggets, and I said something about what would happen if they had to face Stockton and Malone in '97 or '98 vintage. It's almost like a lost artform. There just doesn't seem to be a lot of tandems around the league who are really good at it.

But Bam is a smart player. You see it out there. And I agree about how to defend him. One thing you don't want to do is concede to him and let him get into a rhythm.

[Bronco51]

They were rusty and still won by double digits. If they start on fire Sunday, you can turn out the lights.

[GMTD]

Game started earlier than I expected. It may have started earlier than Denver expected. 10-2 Heat.

[beastlyskronk]

Poor officiating getting into Denver’s head early. Don’t think that foul on butler by Murray was a foul as Murray pulled back. Strange to see a double dribble called, didn’t actually see if he did or not though. But the biggest indicator to me that the officiating is going to be slanted was the charge call. Don’t get me wrong, that was a charge, but the ref waited to see if he made it before he called it. If he misses he isn’t calling that and Miami is off in transition.

[beastlyskronk]

Tremendous energy by this 2nd unit. Christian Braun with a huge spark that got the rest of the group going and now Murray is feeling himself which is a good sign for us

[GMTD]

The transformation in the performance of the bench over the course of the season has been astonishing.

[DenverBlood]

It feels like this team never closes out the half well.

[beastlyskronk]

Rhythm got thrown off when the starters came back in, seemed more like Butler guarding Murray cooled him down but Murray was still trying to keep it going for a few too many possessions. Still, we have the lead going into half, just have to come out in this 2nd half and stay physical and aggressive attacking the basket.

[GMTD]

It feels like this team never closes out the half well.

Malone should have kept some of the bench players in for longer.

[beastlyskronk]

Just too much ball watching when Butler has the ball. Trust in Aaron Gordon and stick to your assignment. Gordon is as good of a matchup for Butler as you can ask for. As long as Murray isn’t getting switched onto Butler, live with whoever is guarding him.

[DenverBlood]

Need someone else to show up and help joker.