The official Denver Nuggets thread.

[beastlyskronk]

It appears I underestimated Gordon’s defense. I knew he had the physical tools but I didn’t realize he was this good. Seemed like the rest of the team wanted to make a good impression on him too, they played great for the most part and stayed active on defense. Looks to have lit a fire in Green and Millsap too since they’re now essentially competing against each other for minutes or at least competing to keep McGee on the bench.

I think the best part of the trade might actually be that Murray doesn’t always have to be the engine that sparks the team. Gordon can share that load with his dunking ability. Jokic/Gordon pick and rolls are going to be fun to watch as well as Murray setting screens for back door cuts. Nice touch for Gordon to go with 50 as his number, a little homage to his dunk contest slights lol

[Bronco51]

Porter is taking advantage of Gordon being on the court with him. This might what they needed.

[beastlyskronk]

Nikola Jokic is 2nd in the NBA in total steals, tied for 4th in steals per game and is top 10 in defensive win shares. I’m not saying he’s an amazing defender, he has his flaws, but the media needs to stop pushing the narrative that he’s terrible on defense because while he may not be a rim protector he does make up for it a bit in other areas.

[Bronco51]

About to give up another huge double digit lead. This is super frustrating.

[Bronco51]

For a legit MVP candidate, the Joker gets absolutely no calls.

[beastlyskronk]

For a legit MVP candidate, the Joker gets absolutely no calls.

I’m not one for conspiracy theories (ok maybe a tad) but I can definitely see the NBA not wanting him to be the MVP. While Jokic may be exactly what a coach wants, he’s the antithesis of what the NBA likes to hype. He won’t do any glass shattering dunks or throw shots into the nosebleeds of the stands and that’s where there hype machine has always put its focus.

No free throws means less points and less points means less casual fan attention. Not to mention free throws allow us to set up our defense which makes it a slower more drawn out game where it’s harder to score for the other team so the less free throws the team takes the easier it is to push the narrative that Denver isn’t good on defense and the easier it is to push the narrative of Jokic being a terrible defender which hurts his candidacy as a MVP.

Jokic deserves it and I think he’ll get it. Too many missed games for James and Embiid. Playoff struggles and back to back MVPs hurt Giannis. Harden is probably the stiffest competition but I think that his time in Houston should and will hurt him a lot as he gave up on that team and basically took the easy way out.

[Bronco51]

MPJ is straight ballin since the Gordon trade.

[beastlyskronk]

Slowly but surely just creeping up those standings

[beastlyskronk]

Nuggets have waived Gary Clark and Greg Whittington. They also signed G Shaquille Harrison. Not super huge news but we have an open roster spot now.

[beastlyskronk]

I think one way or the other the Bol Bol decision will hurt us. If the intent was to keep him all along, I think he should’ve had a small role off the bench early in the season to gradually build him up over the course of the season. Anthony Davis is a nightmare matchup for us and the only guy we really have that can do anything against him is Gordon who will likely be on LeBron the majority of the time. McGee helps but at the most he’s probably getting maybe 12-15 minutes and that’s only against the Lakers, he’s a DNP against most other teams. Unless you start him with Jokic but Barton plays too much hero ball with the bench unit and the Lakers likely counter by putting Davis at the 5 and Kuzma at PF so you’d likely get McGee on Kuzma and MPJ on KCP.

Bol Bol wouldn’t have shut Davis down but with his length and athleticism he could’ve made him really work for his points. Also it would’ve forced Davis off of Jokic on the other end and allowed Jokic to torch Drummond and Gasol all series. I realize that they seem to be giving him the MPJ treatment so next season he probably starts to find a role on the team, but I think it just hurts our chances a good bit this season. I’m also not convinced Malone would know exactly where to put him in the rotation because he’s going to stick with Millsap as long as possible.

[GMTD]

I think one way or the other the Bol Bol decision will hurt us. If the intent was to keep him all along, I think he should’ve had a small role off the bench early in the season to gradually build him up over the course of the season. Anthony Davis is a nightmare matchup for us and the only guy we really have that can do anything against him is Gordon who will likely be on LeBron the majority of the time. McGee helps but at the most he’s probably getting maybe 12-15 minutes and that’s only against the Lakers, he’s a DNP against most other teams. Unless you start him with Jokic but Barton plays too much hero ball with the bench unit and the Lakers likely counter by putting Davis at the 5 and Kuzma at PF so you’d likely get McGee on Kuzma and MPJ on KCP.

Bol Bol wouldn’t have shut Davis down but with his length and athleticism he could’ve made him really work for his points. Also it would’ve forced Davis off of Jokic on the other end and allowed Jokic to torch Drummond and Gasol all series. I realize that they seem to be giving him the MPJ treatment so next season he probably starts to find a role on the team, but I think it just hurts our chances a good bit this season. I’m also not convinced Malone would know exactly where to put him in the rotation because he’s going to stick with Millsap as long as possible.

It could still happen. There are 20 games or so remaining in the regular season, and most teams are starting to see injuries or just general fatigue due to the weight of games affect some of their starters and 2s.

if it does happen, I would like to see him play with the 2s at the top of the second quarter, when there is still a lot riding on the game and not just in the final 2 or 3 minutes of a blowout.

[GMTD]

Jokic gets no respect from the officials...

[Bronco51]

Absolutely embarrassing performance

[58Miller]

Absolutely embarrassing performance

Brought down to earth today. We really missed Jamal Murray.

[GMTD]

Absolutely embarrassing performance

They thought they had won at 76-62 towards the end of the third Q, just before the 1s took a rest.

Then Malone took too long to put the 1s back on court.