The official Denver Nuggets thread.

[GMTD]

The MVP is presented with the trophy:

https://twitter.com/TheHoopCentral/s...RtA42WsmxgfCPg

[beastlyskronk]

That was Embiid’s last chance to win MVP IMO. Next season he won’t top Jokic in the seeding again and even if he does it won’t be by much and their record could still be worse. The Jokic detractors could only point at our seeding until about 3 days before the end of the season when they hopped on Nick Wright’s hypocritical take on advanced stats. But the advanced stats are what they are because of his raw stats, he put up 2k points, 1K rebounds, and 500 assists for the first time ever in nba history. That’s historic and if Westbrook’s seed gets thrown out for being the 2nd player ever to average a triple double then Jokic’s should too especially since he was much more efficient than Westbrook was.

Then there’s the tired narrative of his defense. No he isn’t an amazing shot blocker, but he’s top 10 or 15 in steals as a center, he led the league in deflected passes, the shooting percentages he allowed were lower than Embiid’s and he’s a great post defender. How many times have we seen him walk off a player under the basket facing the baseline, that’s where almost all his blocks come from. Stop blaming him for our guards putting him in no win situations at the rim.

What’s the argument against Jokic next season? They won’t be able to say seeding anymore because we’ll be fully healthy and probably a top 3 seed. It won’t be his numbers because he’s likely to top his numbers this year, he might actually average a triple double with actual shot makers. I don’t think they can go back to voter fatigue like they did with Giannis because Giannis was coming up short in the playoffs with his full team, Jokic hasn’t had that the past 3 or even 4 playoff appearances. Or will they finally admit that they don’t want to support someone who isn’t dunking, breaking ankles, euro stepping, or knocking down step back 3s from 30 feet? And yes Jokic still does all of that, it’s just in slow motion compared to what they usually see.

Instead of admiring the beauty and purity that Jokic plays with, the media wants to diminish the award and it’s disgusting.

[famicommander]

If the Nuggets called up any team in the NBA and said we want your best player and multiple first round picks for Jokic, every team in the NBA makes that trade including the Bucks or 76ers. That's the reality of the situation right now.

Jokic is on a level by himself.

[GMTD]

Jokic wins his second consecutive NBA MVP.

Consecutive MVP awards, NBA history:
Bill Russell 60-61, 61-62, 62-63
Wilt Chamberlain 65-66, 66-67, 67-68
Kareem Adbul-Jabbar 70-71, 71-72
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 75-76, 76-77
Moses Malone 81-82, 82-83
Larry Bird 83-84, 84-85, 85-86
Magic Johnson 88-89, 89-90
Michael Jordan 90-91, 91-92
Tim Duncan 01-02, 02-03
Steve Nash 04-05, 05-06
LeBron James 08-09, 09-10
Stephen Curry 14-15, 15-16
Giannis Antetokounmpo 18-19, 19-20
Nikola Jokic 20-21, 21-22

He absolutely deserves it too.

I watched Embiid last night. He's obviously not 100% but it was a typical Embiid game. 24 points despite making just 7/13 FG. In Game 3 he had 19 points on 5/12 FG. Yet the Sixers won both games as his team came through.

Embiid is a great player but he would not best Jokic, Doncic or Giannis if playing on a team with no help.

[famicommander]

Jokic wins his second consecutive NBA MVP.

Consecutive MVP awards, NBA history:
Bill Russell 60-61, 61-62, 62-63
Wilt Chamberlain 65-66, 66-67, 67-68
Kareem Adbul-Jabbar 70-71, 71-72
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 75-76, 76-77
Moses Malone 81-82, 82-83
Larry Bird 83-84, 84-85, 85-86
Magic Johnson 88-89, 89-90
Michael Jordan 90-91, 91-92
Tim Duncan 01-02, 02-03
Steve Nash 04-05, 05-06
LeBron James 08-09, 09-10
Stephen Curry 14-15, 15-16
Giannis Antetokounmpo 18-19, 19-20
Nikola Jokic 20-21, 21-22

[Houshmazode]

It was pretty sickening listening to Malone gush over Barton after he made the corner 3 in Game 4. He had 6 pts..... One or both of them need to be gone.

[DenverBlood]

The good thing is that the talent is there. The last 3 games have shown that. With the leads we had we should really have won both today and also in Game 3.

But we really have some mental issues with closing out games. We also struggle to execute a complete game. Today we did well on D but were very hit and miss on O. 44% shooting isn't going to get it done.

That said, I don't think anyone will stop the Warriors. Not in the West anyway. Possibly the Celtics?

I still don’t think Malone is the right coach to ever win a title. Sometimes the inability to close out games is due to poor player execution but most of the time it’s poor strategy.

But I also expected to get swept because right now defenses literally have no one else to be that worried about closing out games except Jokic.

[GMTD]

A word on Jokic. He was having what seemed to be a seminal game before he ran into foul trouble. But we can't just rely on one guy.

The Warriors have Steph to accelarate away on O, but without Draymond Green they could lose a lot of these games.

[beastlyskronk]

The good thing is that the talent is there. The last 3 games have shown that. With the leads we had we should really have won both today and also in Game 3.

But we really have some mental issues with closing out games. We also struggle to execute a complete game. Today we did well on D but were very hit and miss on O. 44% shooting isn't going to get it done.

That said, I don't think anyone will stop the Warriors. Not in the West anyway. Possibly the Celtics?

I think the Warriors are taking it all, their next series will likely be a sweep and depending on the health of the Suns/Mavs/Jazz that might be a sweep as well. We battered them though and put a blueprint out, but now they get some time to recuperate, Poole definitely needs it, he took a beating all series.

The Celtics could give them some trouble with their length and shot making ability. But ultimately I just don’t see anyone being able to outshoot this team long enough to win 4 games. I think the Bucks take the east again though.

As far as us though, we just aren’t a good shooting team. I don’t think anyone is as good as their percentage suggests either, I think Jokic raises everyone by about 3-5 percent. And that’s not good because the 3 point percentage from our guy was bad this season. Barton, Bones, and Morris were the only guys over 35%. Barton and Bones are streaky and Monte is the highest at 39.5% but he really only takes great looks and often passes up on some looks most guys will take. Granted maybe some of our other guys should follow suit. Bryn Forbes was supposed to be the answer but he’s just too bad at everything else. Jeff shot 31% I think and Jamychal shot in 20s. Meanwhile Zeke (on a small sample size) shot 46% and is 43% on his short career.

This team needs more consistent shooters that can also play some defense. MPJ and Murray help on both ends, at least more than guys like Barton and the Greens. I might have to revisit my stance on Monte Morris not being a backup PG on a championship team, he stepped up the last 2 games. Just not sure how you play him and Bones, but hopefully Bones puts on some bulk so he won’t be such a defensive liability.

[GMTD]

The good thing is that the talent is there. The last 3 games have shown that. With the leads we had we should really have won both today and also in Game 3.

But we really have some mental issues with closing out games. We also struggle to execute a complete game. Today we did well on D but were very hit and miss on O. 44% shooting isn't going to get it done.

That said, I don't think anyone will stop the Warriors. Not in the West anyway. Possibly the Celtics?

[Bronco51]

Joker was playing 1 on 5 offensively those last two minutes. Denver just seems to be a team that will only go so far.

[beastlyskronk]

Never thought I’d say this but we’ve really missed Austin Rivers this quarter

[beastlyskronk]

I don’t want to say that’s it but it’s not looking good right now. Everyone but a hobbled Jokic is backing down right down

[GMTD]

18 points to 6 in the final quarter so far.

[beastlyskronk]

Going ice cold at the wrong time. Need to get back to attacking the paint, refs aren’t calling anything on them right now though