2022-23 NBA Thread: “you’ll never let me down like the Heat did”, Miami fan says to giant pile of cocaine (5 Viewers)

[Kev4029]

Hachimura guarding Jokic with Davis on the double-team is stifling the big man.

The Lakers are betting that Gordon won't punish them. And he isn't.

 

[The Gator]

oh this is getting interesting

 

[dickey moe]

Yeah Nuggets, let's keep not covering Reaves.

 

[Desert_Power]

Yeah Nuggets, let's keep not covering Reaves.

He thought a split-second too long on that last one though.

 

[dickey moe]

Crazy that Jokic doesn't go to the line more often.

 

[dickey moe]

Play of the game.

 

[Courtjester]

Well that’s a good start!!

 

[ShamrockPride]

Lot of energy for Lakers to expend coming back from that.

Nuggets with adjustments to make.

34-21-14 is crazy.

 

[John123]

So Lebron gets stripped with about 18 seconds to go and instead of immediately fouling he let's the Nuggets run 8 seconds off the clock before one of his teammates fouls.

 

[identikit]

So Lebron gets stripped with about 18 seconds to go and instead of immediately fouling he let's the Nuggets run 8 seconds off the clock before one of his teammates fouls.

Not so smart

 

[Frostillicus]

So Lebron gets stripped with about 18 seconds to go and instead of immediately fouling he let's the Nuggets run 8 seconds off the clock before one of his teammates fouls.

and we're off!

 

[ShamrockPride]

Also I would like to assert that Schroeder is on the same flopper tier as Smart. Guy's downright awful to watch.

 

[Schmeabs]

Pretty excited the Blazers got a top 3 pick. While Wemby would have been incredible Scoot or Miller are very good options. I love Dame but trading him and rolling with Sharpe/Ant/Scoot or Miller along with asset/draft picks from trade is what I am hoping for.

 

[The Gator]

Lot of energy for Lakers to expend coming back from that.

Nuggets with adjustments to make.

34-21-14 is crazy.

This is what I do when I build my own NBA2K player. Video game numbers.

 

[Alex P Keaton]

Also I would like to assert that Schroeder is on the same flopper tier as Smart. Guy's downright awful to watch.

Fortunately this is new behavior this series. Nothing that happened previously

 

[Orange&Blue]

Hachimura guarding Jokic with Davis on the double-team is stifling the big man.

Malone isn't adjusting.

Put joker on the elbow with whoever AD is guarding on the opposite 3 pt corner. Or whoever AD is guarding set a high screen to force him to guard Jokic. They did none of this.

 

[General Malaise]

If Single A is harsh (and here I'd posit that Single A is where some of the best young baseball players get their starts) then would you allow Double AA?

What's the biggest contracts offered to A, AA, and AAA players?

I think that these players listed above are all $2+m/year contracts. There are MLS players paid more than that too, and not just European players at the end of their career.

I'm not even an MLS fan really, but the reality is that the league is not minor league baseball level by any measure.

Okay, but it's also not anywhere near the level of play in Premier League. The Portland Timbers wouldn't stand a chance against those teams. So if it isn't the best of the best, how is it anything other than minor league level? You keep bringing money into this - there are guys making $2+m/year in the NBA, MLB, NFL that you've never heard of. That's a paltry sum of money for major league sports.

The best young kids being developed in the minor leagues of baseball secured lucrative signing bonuses.

This doesn't really belong in an NBA thread, but I disagree that "all leagues not the EPL are minor leagues". The EPL went for many years in a row without a Champions League winner while la liga (Real, Barça, etc.) dominated. Does that mean that the EPL was a minor league during that stretch?

The best MLS teams are getting close to being on par with the worst EPL teams and could certainly hang with mid-level teams from a host of other European leagues. Sure, MLS is a feeder league in some ways, so there's some merit in the statement, but it's nothing like minor league baseball. There's no real equivalent in other sports where there's a clear #1 league in the world. In soccer, that's just not true. There are elite teams in many different leagues around the world.

you're right, this isn't the thread for it. I tossed out a throw away line about MLS being a minor league sport, happy to learn it's improving as a major sport. Maybe one day we will be on par with the world's best.

Until then, I'd note that more people watch Rachel Ray than MLS games on TV, but one step at a time.

 

[Craig_MiamiFL]

Backcourt of Scoot and Melo gonna be fun to watch. Charlotte with both under rookie deals and ability to deal Hayward (expiring) &/or Rozier gonna have the ability to make a big move this off-season IMO. Presuming they'll match on Bridges

 

[Brunell4MVP]

Nuggets won. But they did not adjust well to Rui being on joker in the second half. Despite the numbers joker didn’t pass well when attacking Rui and AD helping. As someone said above. They need to pull AD away from basket with whoever he is guarding. Joker is gonna have to go to the block or elbow way more often so AD doesn’t have time to get over and help.

I’m sure DEN will figure it out before next game. They have enough shooters to space the court and they’ve got like 200 coaches on their bench.

 

[Ghost Rider]

Jokic is just unreal. It's a shame he didn't win a 3rd MVP in a row thanks to the narrative created by Kendrick Perkins, which basically shamed the voters into not wanting to vote for a white guy again, but I am sure he will settle for winning the NBA championship here in a few weeks.

 

[msudaisy26]

Jokic is just unreal. It's a shame he didn't win a 3rd MVP in a row thanks to the narrative created by Kendrick Perkins, which basically shamed the voters into not wanting to vote for a white guy again, but I am sure he will settle for winning the NBA championship here in a few weeks.

Kendrick Perkins didn't start that. MVP voter fatigue has been a real thing since Bird won it 3 times in a row almost 40 years ago. Guys like Giannis, Jordan, and LeBron all have had cases to win it 3 years in a row and didn't. I might even be forgetting a player or two.

 

[Kev4029]

Jokic is just unreal. It's a shame he didn't win a 3rd MVP in a row thanks to the narrative created by Kendrick Perkins, which basically shamed the voters into not wanting to vote for a white guy again, but I am sure he will settle for winning the NBA championship here in a few weeks.

Kendrick Perkins didn't start that. MVP voter fatigue has been a real thing since Bird won it 3 times in a row almost 40 years ago. Guys like Giannis, Jordan, and LeBron all have had cases to win it 3 years in a row and didn't. I might even be forgetting a player or two.

Perkins changed the narrative - it wasn't that "we" don't want to give it to a guy three times in a row, it was that the white voters are giving him a voting bump for being white. That was a completely unfair narrative but for whatever reason, that was the moment Jokic's MVP odds started to fall. At the time, Jokic was the betting favorite (if I remember correctly, he was -200 or so to win it) and was absolutely outplaying the rest of the league and deserved to be leading the MVP discussion.

After Perkins made those accusations, Jokic missed 5 of the next 19 games, the Nuggets went 9-10 and Jokic started playing a little more lackadaisically so Embiid earned the MVP and the Perkins comments will be a footnote in history.

 

[Alex P Keaton]

Jokic is just unreal. It's a shame he didn't win a 3rd MVP in a row thanks to the narrative created by Kendrick Perkins, which basically shamed the voters into not wanting to vote for a white guy again, but I am sure he will settle for winning the NBA championship here in a few weeks.

The real issue was that he never should have won the 1st MVP - so the narrative took hold because it was absurd to put him in the company of other 3-consecutive MVP winners.

Should Jokic have won this year? Absolutely. IMO it wasn’t a contest. But he also shouldn’t have 3 MVPs in the last 3 years.

 

[modogg]

Another Sixers flop. Easy Money

Mother's Day where Philly owned by their daddy again .

Death, Taxes, Sixers getting destroyed by Kelly Oubre

Congrats to the Celtics

so you bet on Games 1, 4 and 5 too right? Love when people brag about all this money they are making, yet have no receipts and never discuss when they may have possibly been wrong.

 

[Kev4029]

I think the Nuggets/Malone purposely didn't make any adjustments in the fourth because they thought they had the game in hand and didn't want to expose any of their strategy to the Lakers.

Defensively, I think Murray will spend a lot more time on Schroder to avoid the Lebron PnR, and when he does end up being screened by Lebron, they have him fight through it or go under it rather than auto-switch it. That action lead to so many of Lebron and Reaves good looks. Otherwise, I think the Nuggets need to assume that Davis won't be hitting jumpers like he is KD (which, conversely, the Lakers are going to assume that the Nuggets aren't going to hit every jumper as well).

Offensively, when the Lakers are playing Rui with AD and Lebron, there are probably a handful of things they will do better and they absolutely have to get Gordon out of the dunkers spot. If they continue to play Gordon, I think they try him more in the PnR, both as the ball handler and screener, set him up higher on the court to both move AD away from the basket and have him set some screens for Murray/KCP/MPJ, and give him a chance to make some corner threes (he's better above the break for whatever reason though). If none of that is working, I think they should try Bruce Brown as the 3 and move MPJ up to the 4. Lebron will try to attack MPJ/KCP/Brown in isolation, but I think they'll hold up better than the Lakers D will with 5 shooters on the court for Denver. If I had my druthers, I would also give Cancar some run with Braun and Green's minutes - he's a better shooter and decision maker offensively, and he can do at least a commendable job defensively switching onto any of the Lakers.

 

[Kev4029]

Jokic is just unreal. It's a shame he didn't win a 3rd MVP in a row thanks to the narrative created by Kendrick Perkins, which basically shamed the voters into not wanting to vote for a white guy again, but I am sure he will settle for winning the NBA championship here in a few weeks.

The real issue was that he never should have won the 1st MVP - so the narrative took hold because it was absurd to put him in the company of other 3-consecutive MVP winners.

Should Jokic have won this year? Absolutely. IMO it wasn’t a contest. But he also shouldn’t have 3 MVPs in the last 3 years.

Who would you have given it to three years ago?

 

[identikit]

Jokic is just unreal. It's a shame he didn't win a 3rd MVP in a row thanks to the narrative created by Kendrick Perkins, which basically shamed the voters into not wanting to vote for a white guy again, but I am sure he will settle for winning the NBA championship here in a few weeks.

Kendrick Perkins didn't start that. MVP voter fatigue has been a real thing since Bird won it 3 times in a row almost 40 years ago. Guys like Giannis, Jordan, and LeBron all have had cases to win it 3 years in a row and didn't. I might even be forgetting a player or two.

Yeah, but Perkins played the race card.

He's a tool

 

[SWC]

i am happy the lakers lost take that to the bank brohans

 

[Orange&Blue]

I think the Nuggets/Malone purposely didn't make any adjustments in the fourth because they thought they had the game in hand and didn't want to expose any of their strategy to the Lakers.

Defensively, I think Murray will spend a lot more time on Schroder to avoid the Lebron PnR, and when he does end up being screened by Lebron, they have him fight through it or go under it rather than auto-switch it. That action lead to so many of Lebron and Reaves good looks. Otherwise, I think the Nuggets need to assume that Davis won't be hitting jumpers like he is KD (which, conversely, the Lakers are going to assume that the Nuggets aren't going to hit every jumper as well).

Offensively, when the Lakers are playing Rui with AD and Lebron, there are probably a handful of things they will do better and they absolutely have to get Gordon out of the dunkers spot. If they continue to play Gordon, I think they try him more in the PnR, both as the ball handler and screener, set him up higher on the court to both move AD away from the basket and have him set some screens for Murray/KCP/MPJ, and give him a chance to make some corner threes (he's better above the break for whatever reason though). If none of that is working, I think they should try Bruce Brown as the 3 and move MPJ up to the 4. Lebron will try to attack MPJ/KCP/Brown in isolation, but I think they'll hold up better than the Lakers D will with 5 shooters on the court for Denver. If I had my druthers, I would also give Cancar some run with Braun and Green's minutes - he's a better shooter and decision maker offensively, and he can do at least a commendable job defensively switching onto any of the Lakers.

If that is correct, that is an incredible gamble that almost cost them the game. I don't think that is the case.

Think I'd rather use Zeke instead of cancar, but i doubt either fet playing time.

 

[Kev4029]

I think the Nuggets/Malone purposely didn't make any adjustments in the fourth because they thought they had the game in hand and didn't want to expose any of their strategy to the Lakers.

Defensively, I think Murray will spend a lot more time on Schroder to avoid the Lebron PnR, and when he does end up being screened by Lebron, they have him fight through it or go under it rather than auto-switch it. That action lead to so many of Lebron and Reaves good looks. Otherwise, I think the Nuggets need to assume that Davis won't be hitting jumpers like he is KD (which, conversely, the Lakers are going to assume that the Nuggets aren't going to hit every jumper as well).

Offensively, when the Lakers are playing Rui with AD and Lebron, there are probably a handful of things they will do better and they absolutely have to get Gordon out of the dunkers spot. If they continue to play Gordon, I think they try him more in the PnR, both as the ball handler and screener, set him up higher on the court to both move AD away from the basket and have him set some screens for Murray/KCP/MPJ, and give him a chance to make some corner threes (he's better above the break for whatever reason though). If none of that is working, I think they should try Bruce Brown as the 3 and move MPJ up to the 4. Lebron will try to attack MPJ/KCP/Brown in isolation, but I think they'll hold up better than the Lakers D will with 5 shooters on the court for Denver. If I had my druthers, I would also give Cancar some run with Braun and Green's minutes - he's a better shooter and decision maker offensively, and he can do at least a commendable job defensively switching onto any of the Lakers.

If that is correct, that is an incredible gamble that almost cost them the game. I don't think that is the case.

Think I'd rather use Zeke instead of cancar, but i doubt either fet playing time.

I agree that they won't get playing time, but I think they should. Jeff Green drives me bonkers. The reason I like Cancar more than Zeke is because I trust Cancar to hit open jumpers, Zeke completely lost his shooting touch this year.

 

[Alex P Keaton]

Jokic is just unreal. It's a shame he didn't win a 3rd MVP in a row thanks to the narrative created by Kendrick Perkins, which basically shamed the voters into not wanting to vote for a white guy again, but I am sure he will settle for winning the NBA championship here in a few weeks.

The real issue was that he never should have won the 1st MVP - so the narrative took hold because it was absurd to put him in the company of other 3-consecutive MVP winners.

Should Jokic have won this year? Absolutely. IMO it wasn’t a contest. But he also shouldn’t have 3 MVPs in the last 3 years.

Who would you have given it to three years ago?

Jokic is just unreal. It's a shame he didn't win a 3rd MVP in a row thanks to the narrative created by Kendrick Perkins, which basically shamed the voters into not wanting to vote for a white guy again, but I am sure he will settle for winning the NBA championship here in a few weeks.

The real issue was that he never should have won the 1st MVP - so the narrative took hold because it was absurd to put him in the company of other 3-consecutive MVP winners.

Should Jokic have won this year? Absolutely. IMO it wasn’t a contest. But he also shouldn’t have 3 MVPs in the last 3 years.

Who would you have given it to three years ago?

Giannis was the best player that year. Curry had an amazing year. To me both those players were better.

 

[Desert_Power]

After Perkins made those accusations, Jokic missed 5 of the next 19 games, the Nuggets went 9-10 and Jokic started playing a little more lackadaisically so Embiid earned the MVP and the Perkins comments will be a footnote in history.

A footnote in history is more than Perkins deserves. A mediocre at best player and an utterly abysmal "analyst".

 

[SWC]

embid wasnt better than joker and he wasnt better than anteater there i said it take that to the bank brohans

 

[msudaisy26]

Jokic is just unreal. It's a shame he didn't win a 3rd MVP in a row thanks to the narrative created by Kendrick Perkins, which basically shamed the voters into not wanting to vote for a white guy again, but I am sure he will settle for winning the NBA championship here in a few weeks.

Kendrick Perkins didn't start that. MVP voter fatigue has been a real thing since Bird won it 3 times in a row almost 40 years ago. Guys like Giannis, Jordan, and LeBron all have had cases to win it 3 years in a row and didn't. I might even be forgetting a player or two.

Perkins changed the narrative - it wasn't that "we" don't want to give it to a guy three times in a row, it was that the white voters are giving him a voting bump for being white. That was a completely unfair narrative but for whatever reason, that was the moment Jokic's MVP odds started to fall. At the time, Jokic was the betting favorite (if I remember correctly, he was -200 or so to win it) and was absolutely outplaying the rest of the league and deserved to be leading the MVP discussion.

After Perkins made those accusations, Jokic missed 5 of the next 19 games, the Nuggets went 9-10 and Jokic started playing a little more lackadaisically so Embiid earned the MVP and the Perkins comments will be a footnote in history.

I think you are giving Perkins too much credit and the timing is more of a coincidence IMO. Jokic started missing games, Jokic and the Nuggets coasted to the finish line. Minus 200 is a favorite, but not some massive hill to climb the last quarter of the year.

 

[mr. furley]

missed most of the 2nd half. did the Lakers go big in the 2nd?

first half felt like they were overwhelmed by Denver's size mismatches, and Jokic.

 

[Jayrod]

I think you are giving Perkins too much credit and the timing is more of a coincidence IMO. Jokic started missing games, Jokic and the Nuggets coasted to the finish line. Minus 200 is a favorite, but not some massive hill to climb the last quarter of the year.

Yeah, I think Jokic sitting games and the Nuggets coasting to a 9-10 record at the end cost him the MVP as much as anything else.

Still, Embiid played well all season and especially at the end of the season. Defensively he was a top 10 player (BPG, DWS, DRtg & DBPM) and he won the scoring title including #8 in RPG. Jokic advanced stats are still off the charts, but Joel was deserving and I am of the opinion is the most unstoppable player 1 on 1 in the league this year. Giannis you can wall up and make him beat you from outside and an athletic big can slow down Jokic's scoring 1 on 1, but there is no one on the planet that can control Embiid from 15 feet in.

 

[jvdesigns2002]

I think the Nuggets/Malone purposely didn't make any adjustments in the fourth because they thought they had the game in hand and didn't want to expose any of their strategy to the Lakers.

Defensively, I think Murray will spend a lot more time on Schroder to avoid the Lebron PnR, and when he does end up being screened by Lebron, they have him fight through it or go under it rather than auto-switch it. That action lead to so many of Lebron and Reaves good looks. Otherwise, I think the Nuggets need to assume that Davis won't be hitting jumpers like he is KD (which, conversely, the Lakers are going to assume that the Nuggets aren't going to hit every jumper as well).

Offensively, when the Lakers are playing Rui with AD and Lebron, there are probably a handful of things they will do better and they absolutely have to get Gordon out of the dunkers spot. If they continue to play Gordon, I think they try him more in the PnR, both as the ball handler and screener, set him up higher on the court to both move AD away from the basket and have him set some screens for Murray/KCP/MPJ, and give him a chance to make some corner threes (he's better above the break for whatever reason though). If none of that is working, I think they should try Bruce Brown as the 3 and move MPJ up to the 4. Lebron will try to attack MPJ/KCP/Brown in isolation, but I think they'll hold up better than the Lakers D will with 5 shooters on the court for Denver. If I had my druthers, I would also give Cancar some run with Braun and Green's minutes - he's a better shooter and decision maker offensively, and he can do at least a commendable job defensively switching onto any of the Lakers.

I get that you are a huge Nuggets fan—-but “not making any adjustments in the 4th because they thought they had the game in hand” is a pretty wild take imo. The Lakers started charging late in the second quarter and it took a very fortunate and lucky Jokic three pointer at the halftime buzzer to take some of that momentum away. The Lakers continued charging in the third quarter and it was only like a 13 point game going into the 4th—which is far from “having the game in hand”. I think the Nuggets probably win the series—but I saw more from the Lakers than I saw from the Nuggets last night. The Nuggets were having a game where they were playing at a very high level and were hitting some crazy shots—-and even with that—they barely won that game. Anthony Davis was having his way—and to me it felt like Lebron was playing like a mini version of Jokic. He’d post up on smaller defenders and attack the basket if a double didn’t come—and he’d set up his teammates if a double did come. I feel like the Nuggets played pretty close to their peak last night—and the Lakers still had room to play better. The Lakers got very little from De’angelo, Lonnie Walker, and Schroeder offensively.

My interpretation of last nights game was clearly different than yours. I feel like the Nuggets would have blown out the vast majority of teams in the league by 20-25+ points the way the played last night. They escaped with a win and two very lucky and fortunate shots by Jokic and Murray were basically the difference. I still think the Nuggets win the series—but nothing they showed me indicates that they have any answers for Lebron or Davis. I think if Lebron or Davis have bad games in this series—it won’t be from any sort of “schemes“—it will be because of them just not hitting shots or making bad decisions. With all of that said—if the other games in the series end up being as close and as exciting as last night—we’re all in for a treat. That was a fun game to watch.

 

[Jayrod]

I think the Nuggets/Malone purposely didn't make any adjustments in the fourth because they thought they had the game in hand and didn't want to expose any of their strategy to the Lakers.

Defensively, I think Murray will spend a lot more time on Schroder to avoid the Lebron PnR, and when he does end up being screened by Lebron, they have him fight through it or go under it rather than auto-switch it. That action lead to so many of Lebron and Reaves good looks. Otherwise, I think the Nuggets need to assume that Davis won't be hitting jumpers like he is KD (which, conversely, the Lakers are going to assume that the Nuggets aren't going to hit every jumper as well).

Offensively, when the Lakers are playing Rui with AD and Lebron, there are probably a handful of things they will do better and they absolutely have to get Gordon out of the dunkers spot. If they continue to play Gordon, I think they try him more in the PnR, both as the ball handler and screener, set him up higher on the court to both move AD away from the basket and have him set some screens for Murray/KCP/MPJ, and give him a chance to make some corner threes (he's better above the break for whatever reason though). If none of that is working, I think they should try Bruce Brown as the 3 and move MPJ up to the 4. Lebron will try to attack MPJ/KCP/Brown in isolation, but I think they'll hold up better than the Lakers D will with 5 shooters on the court for Denver. If I had my druthers, I would also give Cancar some run with Braun and Green's minutes - he's a better shooter and decision maker offensively, and he can do at least a commendable job defensively switching onto any of the Lakers.

I get that you are a huge Nuggets fan—-but “not making any adjustments in the 4th because they thought they had the game in hand” is a pretty wild take imo. The Lakers started charging late in the second quarter and it took a very fortunate and lucky Jokic three pointer at the halftime buzzer to take some of that momentum away. The Lakers continued charging in the third quarter and it was only like a 13 point game going into the 4th—which is far from “having the game in hand”. I think the Nuggets probably win the series—but I saw more from the Lakers than I saw from the Nuggets last night. The Nuggets were having a game where they were playing at a very high level and were hitting some crazy shots—-and even with that—they barely won that game. Anthony Davis was having his way—and to me it felt like Lebron was playing like a mini version of Jokic. He’d post up on smaller defenders and attack the basket if a double didn’t come—and he’d set up his teammates if a double did come. I feel like the Nuggets played pretty close to their peak last night—and the Lakers still had room to play better. The Lakers got very little from De’angelo, Lonnie Walker, and Schroeder offensively.

My interpretation of last nights game was clearly different than yours. I feel like the Nuggets would have blown out the vast majority of teams in the league by 20-25+ points the way the played last night. They escaped with a win and two very lucky and fortunate shots by Jokic and Murray were basically the difference. I still think the Nuggets win the series—but nothing they showed me indicates that they have any answers for Lebron or Davis. I think if Lebron or Davis have bad games in this series—it won’t be from any sort of “schemes“—it will be because of them just not hitting shots or making bad decisions. With all of that said—if the other games in the series end up being as close and as exciting as last night—we’re all in for a treat. That was a fun game to watch.

While all that is true, Lebron and Davis played very well with a lot of energy last night. With them playing every other day this series, they have both shown some wear and tear and haven't put forth great effort and performances every game in these playoffs. They are in legit danger of throwing up a stinker in game 2. I feel like while Jokic won't shoot 3 for 3 from deep every game, he will still be highly efficient and the team is still loaded with shooters.

Both teams shot the ball extremely well last night and both are in danger of a drop off in game 2 and beyond. I feel like Denver's depth and consistency favors them in the long run and Malone will make some good adjustments.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

As with the NFL MVP award, it is nonsensical to do the voting before the playoffs - and its even more true for the NBA in which the regular season matters far less than the NFL.

 

[jvdesigns2002]

I think the Nuggets/Malone purposely didn't make any adjustments in the fourth because they thought they had the game in hand and didn't want to expose any of their strategy to the Lakers.

Defensively, I think Murray will spend a lot more time on Schroder to avoid the Lebron PnR, and when he does end up being screened by Lebron, they have him fight through it or go under it rather than auto-switch it. That action lead to so many of Lebron and Reaves good looks. Otherwise, I think the Nuggets need to assume that Davis won't be hitting jumpers like he is KD (which, conversely, the Lakers are going to assume that the Nuggets aren't going to hit every jumper as well).

Offensively, when the Lakers are playing Rui with AD and Lebron, there are probably a handful of things they will do better and they absolutely have to get Gordon out of the dunkers spot. If they continue to play Gordon, I think they try him more in the PnR, both as the ball handler and screener, set him up higher on the court to both move AD away from the basket and have him set some screens for Murray/KCP/MPJ, and give him a chance to make some corner threes (he's better above the break for whatever reason though). If none of that is working, I think they should try Bruce Brown as the 3 and move MPJ up to the 4. Lebron will try to attack MPJ/KCP/Brown in isolation, but I think they'll hold up better than the Lakers D will with 5 shooters on the court for Denver. If I had my druthers, I would also give Cancar some run with Braun and Green's minutes - he's a better shooter and decision maker offensively, and he can do at least a commendable job defensively switching onto any of the Lakers.

I get that you are a huge Nuggets fan—-but “not making any adjustments in the 4th because they thought they had the game in hand” is a pretty wild take imo. The Lakers started charging late in the second quarter and it took a very fortunate and lucky Jokic three pointer at the halftime buzzer to take some of that momentum away. The Lakers continued charging in the third quarter and it was only like a 13 point game going into the 4th—which is far from “having the game in hand”. I think the Nuggets probably win the series—but I saw more from the Lakers than I saw from the Nuggets last night. The Nuggets were having a game where they were playing at a very high level and were hitting some crazy shots—-and even with that—they barely won that game. Anthony Davis was having his way—and to me it felt like Lebron was playing like a mini version of Jokic. He’d post up on smaller defenders and attack the basket if a double didn’t come—and he’d set up his teammates if a double did come. I feel like the Nuggets played pretty close to their peak last night—and the Lakers still had room to play better. The Lakers got very little from De’angelo, Lonnie Walker, and Schroeder offensively.

My interpretation of last nights game was clearly different than yours. I feel like the Nuggets would have blown out the vast majority of teams in the league by 20-25+ points the way the played last night. They escaped with a win and two very lucky and fortunate shots by Jokic and Murray were basically the difference. I still think the Nuggets win the series—but nothing they showed me indicates that they have any answers for Lebron or Davis. I think if Lebron or Davis have bad games in this series—it won’t be from any sort of “schemes“—it will be because of them just not hitting shots or making bad decisions. With all of that said—if the other games in the series end up being as close and as exciting as last night—we’re all in for a treat. That was a fun game to watch.

While all that is true, Lebron and Davis played very well with a lot of energy last night. With them playing every other day this series, they have both shown some wear and tear and haven't put forth great effort and performances every game in these playoffs. They are in legit danger of throwing up a stinker in game 2. I feel like while Jokic won't shoot 3 for 3 from deep every game, he will still be highly efficient and the team is still loaded with shooters.

Both teams shot the ball extremely well last night and both are in danger of a drop off in game 2 and beyond. I feel like Denver's depth and consistency favors them in the long run and Malone will make some good adjustments.

I don’t doubt that—but I do think that there is some overly optimistic and exaggerated Nuggets love—and over exaggerated disrespect for the Lakers in here. The Nuggets basically beat a very injured Timberwolves team in 5.5 games. I’m calling it 5.5–because frankly—the T-wolves easily gave one of those games away through their youth and bad decision making. The Nuggets then went on to beat a very shallow, injury ridden, Suns team in 6 games. The Suns had very little playing time or chemistry with one another and still managed to take a couple away from them. Since the trade deadline—the Lakers have been one of the toughest teams in the league. They also have a lot of depth—and they too have matchup nightmares in Lebron and Davis that the Nuggets have. As good as the Nuggets are—the Lakers are not that far behind. If you take the current Nuggets team, and the current Lakers team—and they both played out an entire season fully healthy—I assure you that you wouldn’t have a #1 seed and a #7 seed. Again—I agree that the Nuggets probably win the series and are capable of making adjustments—but the Lakers handling that barrage last night and still almost coming out with a win is pretty damn impressive—and shows how dangerous that they can be.

 

[bushdocda]

I watch mostly Sixers games, what was the sport that Denver and LA played last night? Looked awesome.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

That is crazy. First guy with 15 and 15 at the half in 24 years and Garnett did it in the regular season. Not the conference finals.

I'm surprised its so rare. 15 points in a half probably happens multiple times a night in the NBA. 15 boards in a half is much more rare, but doesn't seem so out of reach that its been 24 years since someone had 15/15 in a half. I would've guessed that one of Jokic, Giannis, Embiid probably did it at least once this past season if asked.

 

[Kev4029]

I think the Nuggets/Malone purposely didn't make any adjustments in the fourth because they thought they had the game in hand and didn't want to expose any of their strategy to the Lakers.

Defensively, I think Murray will spend a lot more time on Schroder to avoid the Lebron PnR, and when he does end up being screened by Lebron, they have him fight through it or go under it rather than auto-switch it. That action lead to so many of Lebron and Reaves good looks. Otherwise, I think the Nuggets need to assume that Davis won't be hitting jumpers like he is KD (which, conversely, the Lakers are going to assume that the Nuggets aren't going to hit every jumper as well).

Offensively, when the Lakers are playing Rui with AD and Lebron, there are probably a handful of things they will do better and they absolutely have to get Gordon out of the dunkers spot. If they continue to play Gordon, I think they try him more in the PnR, both as the ball handler and screener, set him up higher on the court to both move AD away from the basket and have him set some screens for Murray/KCP/MPJ, and give him a chance to make some corner threes (he's better above the break for whatever reason though). If none of that is working, I think they should try Bruce Brown as the 3 and move MPJ up to the 4. Lebron will try to attack MPJ/KCP/Brown in isolation, but I think they'll hold up better than the Lakers D will with 5 shooters on the court for Denver. If I had my druthers, I would also give Cancar some run with Braun and Green's minutes - he's a better shooter and decision maker offensively, and he can do at least a commendable job defensively switching onto any of the Lakers.

I get that you are a huge Nuggets fan—-but “not making any adjustments in the 4th because they thought they had the game in hand” is a pretty wild take imo. The Lakers started charging late in the second quarter and it took a very fortunate and lucky Jokic three pointer at the halftime buzzer to take some of that momentum away. The Lakers continued charging in the third quarter and it was only like a 13 point game going into the 4th—which is far from “having the game in hand”. I think the Nuggets probably win the series—but I saw more from the Lakers than I saw from the Nuggets last night. The Nuggets were having a game where they were playing at a very high level and were hitting some crazy shots—-and even with that—they barely won that game. Anthony Davis was having his way—and to me it felt like Lebron was playing like a mini version of Jokic. He’d post up on smaller defenders and attack the basket if a double didn’t come—and he’d set up his teammates if a double did come. I feel like the Nuggets played pretty close to their peak last night—and the Lakers still had room to play better. The Lakers got very little from De’angelo, Lonnie Walker, and Schroeder offensively.

My interpretation of last nights game was clearly different than yours. I feel like the Nuggets would have blown out the vast majority of teams in the league by 20-25+ points the way the played last night. They escaped with a win and two very lucky and fortunate shots by Jokic and Murray were basically the difference. I still think the Nuggets win the series—but nothing they showed me indicates that they have any answers for Lebron or Davis. I think if Lebron or Davis have bad games in this series—it won’t be from any sort of “schemes“—it will be because of them just not hitting shots or making bad decisions. With all of that said—if the other games in the series end up being as close and as exciting as last night—we’re all in for a treat. That was a fun game to watch.

I'm not saying they shouldn't have made some adjustments, nor did they have the game in hand, but they certainly didn't do much in the terms of adjustments both with the Lebron pick and rolls and the Rui/Jokic matchup. A couple possessions they put Murray on Schroder instead of Reeves when he got his 5th foul, but otherwise they kept things the same on both ends of the court. I think Malone was more comfortable with the situation in the fourth than I was.

The charge by the Lakers was not at the end of the second quarter, it was the end of the third quarter where Jokic hit the step back at the buzzer. I think the Nuggets closed out the half with their biggest lead of the game up to that point. In the third, the Lakers scored 11 points in the last two minutes to pull it close. The Nuggets were up 20 with just over two minutes left in the 3rd and ended the quarter up 14.

The shooting goes both ways - the Lakers hit 46% of their threes and Davis was something like 5-8 from the midrange (plus that corner three). Davis is a notoriously bad jump shooter and the Lakers hit 34.6% of their threes this year. The Nuggets were the best three point percentage team in the NBA.

The Nuggets do a great job of adjustments between games and Jokic generally figures teams out as a series goes along. Combining that with the energy that @Jayrod mentioned above, I think the Nuggets may have survived the Lakers best punch. We'll see tomorrow night if the Nuggets are prepared for the different looks that the Lakers will throw their direction, see if Lebron and AD have the energy to keep going at last night's level, and to see whose shooting is more sustainable.

 

[Kev4029]

Jokic is just unreal. It's a shame he didn't win a 3rd MVP in a row thanks to the narrative created by Kendrick Perkins, which basically shamed the voters into not wanting to vote for a white guy again, but I am sure he will settle for winning the NBA championship here in a few weeks.

Kendrick Perkins didn't start that. MVP voter fatigue has been a real thing since Bird won it 3 times in a row almost 40 years ago. Guys like Giannis, Jordan, and LeBron all have had cases to win it 3 years in a row and didn't. I might even be forgetting a player or two.

Perkins changed the narrative - it wasn't that "we" don't want to give it to a guy three times in a row, it was that the white voters are giving him a voting bump for being white. That was a completely unfair narrative but for whatever reason, that was the moment Jokic's MVP odds started to fall. At the time, Jokic was the betting favorite (if I remember correctly, he was -200 or so to win it) and was absolutely outplaying the rest of the league and deserved to be leading the MVP discussion.

After Perkins made those accusations, Jokic missed 5 of the next 19 games, the Nuggets went 9-10 and Jokic started playing a little more lackadaisically so Embiid earned the MVP and the Perkins comments will be a footnote in history.

I think you are giving Perkins too much credit and the timing is more of a coincidence IMO. Jokic started missing games, Jokic and the Nuggets coasted to the finish line. Minus 200 is a favorite, but not some massive hill to climb the last quarter of the year.

It was certainly much more that Jokic and the Nuggets coasted, and like I said, I think Embiid deserved it, but there was absolutely a massive narrative shift within the media at that moment.

 

[AAABatteries]

It’s not often a guy has a 40/10 night in the conference finals and nobody is talking about it and was actually totally overshadowed.

 

[AAABatteries]

I was impressed the Lakers managed to stick around after going down 20. If they had more outside shooting I could see them winning the series but as it is I see no way they can keep up offensively with what Denver can do.

 

[Desert_Power]

People like Mark Jackson who claim it was a "mistake" to leave Jokic out of the top 5 should have their MVP votes taken away permanently IMO.

 

[Kev4029]

I think the Nuggets/Malone purposely didn't make any adjustments in the fourth because they thought they had the game in hand and didn't want to expose any of their strategy to the Lakers.

Defensively, I think Murray will spend a lot more time on Schroder to avoid the Lebron PnR, and when he does end up being screened by Lebron, they have him fight through it or go under it rather than auto-switch it. That action lead to so many of Lebron and Reaves good looks. Otherwise, I think the Nuggets need to assume that Davis won't be hitting jumpers like he is KD (which, conversely, the Lakers are going to assume that the Nuggets aren't going to hit every jumper as well).

Offensively, when the Lakers are playing Rui with AD and Lebron, there are probably a handful of things they will do better and they absolutely have to get Gordon out of the dunkers spot. If they continue to play Gordon, I think they try him more in the PnR, both as the ball handler and screener, set him up higher on the court to both move AD away from the basket and have him set some screens for Murray/KCP/MPJ, and give him a chance to make some corner threes (he's better above the break for whatever reason though). If none of that is working, I think they should try Bruce Brown as the 3 and move MPJ up to the 4. Lebron will try to attack MPJ/KCP/Brown in isolation, but I think they'll hold up better than the Lakers D will with 5 shooters on the court for Denver. If I had my druthers, I would also give Cancar some run with Braun and Green's minutes - he's a better shooter and decision maker offensively, and he can do at least a commendable job defensively switching onto any of the Lakers.

I get that you are a huge Nuggets fan—-but “not making any adjustments in the 4th because they thought they had the game in hand” is a pretty wild take imo. The Lakers started charging late in the second quarter and it took a very fortunate and lucky Jokic three pointer at the halftime buzzer to take some of that momentum away. The Lakers continued charging in the third quarter and it was only like a 13 point game going into the 4th—which is far from “having the game in hand”. I think the Nuggets probably win the series—but I saw more from the Lakers than I saw from the Nuggets last night. The Nuggets were having a game where they were playing at a very high level and were hitting some crazy shots—-and even with that—they barely won that game. Anthony Davis was having his way—and to me it felt like Lebron was playing like a mini version of Jokic. He’d post up on smaller defenders and attack the basket if a double didn’t come—and he’d set up his teammates if a double did come. I feel like the Nuggets played pretty close to their peak last night—and the Lakers still had room to play better. The Lakers got very little from De’angelo, Lonnie Walker, and Schroeder offensively.

My interpretation of last nights game was clearly different than yours. I feel like the Nuggets would have blown out the vast majority of teams in the league by 20-25+ points the way the played last night. They escaped with a win and two very lucky and fortunate shots by Jokic and Murray were basically the difference. I still think the Nuggets win the series—but nothing they showed me indicates that they have any answers for Lebron or Davis. I think if Lebron or Davis have bad games in this series—it won’t be from any sort of “schemes“—it will be because of them just not hitting shots or making bad decisions. With all of that said—if the other games in the series end up being as close and as exciting as last night—we’re all in for a treat. That was a fun game to watch.

While all that is true, Lebron and Davis played very well with a lot of energy last night. With them playing every other day this series, they have both shown some wear and tear and haven't put forth great effort and performances every game in these playoffs. They are in legit danger of throwing up a stinker in game 2. I feel like while Jokic won't shoot 3 for 3 from deep every game, he will still be highly efficient and the team is still loaded with shooters.

Both teams shot the ball extremely well last night and both are in danger of a drop off in game 2 and beyond. I feel like Denver's depth and consistency favors them in the long run and Malone will make some good adjustments.

I don’t doubt that—but I do think that there is some overly optimistic and exaggerated Nuggets love—and over exaggerated disrespect for the Lakers in here. The Nuggets basically beat a very injured Timberwolves team in 5.5 games. I’m calling it 5.5–because frankly—the T-wolves easily gave one of those games away through their youth and bad decision making. The Nuggets then went on to beat a very shallow, injury ridden, Suns team in 6 games. The Suns had very little playing time or chemistry with one another and still managed to take a couple away from them. Since the trade deadline—the Lakers have been one of the toughest teams in the league. They also have a lot of depth—and they too have matchup nightmares in Lebron and Davis that the Nuggets have. As good as the Nuggets are—the Lakers are not that far behind. If you take the current Nuggets team, and the current Lakers team—and they both played out an entire season fully healthy—I assure you that you wouldn’t have a #1 seed and a #7 seed. Again—I agree that the Nuggets probably win the series and are capable of making adjustments—but the Lakers handling that barrage last night and still almost coming out with a win is pretty damn impressive—and shows how dangerous that they can be.

It's easy to have this whole opinion in retrospect, but I don't think this is as true as you are saying. That same ****ty Timberwolves team took the Lakers to OT in the first play-in game. The Nuggets beat them by an average of 13 points in the four wins and lost the fifth game in OT. Against the Suns, you may remember that Suns were the odds on favorite to win the west and were favorites (-130) to win the series. The Nuggets beat them by 18, 10, 16, and 25, while losing two close games by 7 and 5 where Booker couldn't miss. The 4-2 made it seem much closer than it was.

 

[AAABatteries]

I think the Nuggets/Malone purposely didn't make any adjustments in the fourth because they thought they had the game in hand and didn't want to expose any of their strategy to the Lakers.

Defensively, I think Murray will spend a lot more time on Schroder to avoid the Lebron PnR, and when he does end up being screened by Lebron, they have him fight through it or go under it rather than auto-switch it. That action lead to so many of Lebron and Reaves good looks. Otherwise, I think the Nuggets need to assume that Davis won't be hitting jumpers like he is KD (which, conversely, the Lakers are going to assume that the Nuggets aren't going to hit every jumper as well).

Offensively, when the Lakers are playing Rui with AD and Lebron, there are probably a handful of things they will do better and they absolutely have to get Gordon out of the dunkers spot. If they continue to play Gordon, I think they try him more in the PnR, both as the ball handler and screener, set him up higher on the court to both move AD away from the basket and have him set some screens for Murray/KCP/MPJ, and give him a chance to make some corner threes (he's better above the break for whatever reason though). If none of that is working, I think they should try Bruce Brown as the 3 and move MPJ up to the 4. Lebron will try to attack MPJ/KCP/Brown in isolation, but I think they'll hold up better than the Lakers D will with 5 shooters on the court for Denver. If I had my druthers, I would also give Cancar some run with Braun and Green's minutes - he's a better shooter and decision maker offensively, and he can do at least a commendable job defensively switching onto any of the Lakers.

I get that you are a huge Nuggets fan—-but “not making any adjustments in the 4th because they thought they had the game in hand” is a pretty wild take imo. The Lakers started charging late in the second quarter and it took a very fortunate and lucky Jokic three pointer at the halftime buzzer to take some of that momentum away. The Lakers continued charging in the third quarter and it was only like a 13 point game going into the 4th—which is far from “having the game in hand”. I think the Nuggets probably win the series—but I saw more from the Lakers than I saw from the Nuggets last night. The Nuggets were having a game where they were playing at a very high level and were hitting some crazy shots—-and even with that—they barely won that game. Anthony Davis was having his way—and to me it felt like Lebron was playing like a mini version of Jokic. He’d post up on smaller defenders and attack the basket if a double didn’t come—and he’d set up his teammates if a double did come. I feel like the Nuggets played pretty close to their peak last night—and the Lakers still had room to play better. The Lakers got very little from De’angelo, Lonnie Walker, and Schroeder offensively.

My interpretation of last nights game was clearly different than yours. I feel like the Nuggets would have blown out the vast majority of teams in the league by 20-25+ points the way the played last night. They escaped with a win and two very lucky and fortunate shots by Jokic and Murray were basically the difference. I still think the Nuggets win the series—but nothing they showed me indicates that they have any answers for Lebron or Davis. I think if Lebron or Davis have bad games in this series—it won’t be from any sort of “schemes“—it will be because of them just not hitting shots or making bad decisions. With all of that said—if the other games in the series end up being as close and as exciting as last night—we’re all in for a treat. That was a fun game to watch.

While all that is true, Lebron and Davis played very well with a lot of energy last night. With them playing every other day this series, they have both shown some wear and tear and haven't put forth great effort and performances every game in these playoffs. They are in legit danger of throwing up a stinker in game 2. I feel like while Jokic won't shoot 3 for 3 from deep every game, he will still be highly efficient and the team is still loaded with shooters.

Both teams shot the ball extremely well last night and both are in danger of a drop off in game 2 and beyond. I feel like Denver's depth and consistency favors them in the long run and Malone will make some good adjustments.

I don’t doubt that—but I do think that there is some overly optimistic and exaggerated Nuggets love—and over exaggerated disrespect for the Lakers in here. The Nuggets basically beat a very injured Timberwolves team in 5.5 games. I’m calling it 5.5–because frankly—the T-wolves easily gave one of those games away through their youth and bad decision making. The Nuggets then went on to beat a very shallow, injury ridden, Suns team in 6 games. The Suns had very little playing time or chemistry with one another and still managed to take a couple away from them. Since the trade deadline—the Lakers have been one of the toughest teams in the league. They also have a lot of depth—and they too have matchup nightmares in Lebron and Davis that the Nuggets have. As good as the Nuggets are—the Lakers are not that far behind. If you take the current Nuggets team, and the current Lakers team—and they both played out an entire season fully healthy—I assure you that you wouldn’t have a #1 seed and a #7 seed. Again—I agree that the Nuggets probably win the series and are capable of making adjustments—but the Lakers handling that barrage last night and still almost coming out with a win is pretty damn impressive—and shows how dangerous that they can be.

The Lakers are two HoF players and a bunch of guys. I don’t get the idea that they are super deep. I mean, Austin Reaves is a decent player but as your 3rd best player? Schroeder is a nutcase and Russell is what he’s always been.

 

[Jayrod]

It's easy to have this whole opinion in retrospect, but I don't think this is as true as you are saying. That same ****ty Timberwolves team took the Lakers to OT in the first play-in game. The Nuggets beat them by an average of 13 points in the four wins and lost the fifth game in OT. Against the Suns, you may remember that Suns were the odds on favorite to win the west and were favorites (-130) to win the series. The Nuggets beat them by 18, 10, 16, and 25, while losing two close games by 7 and 5 where Booker couldn't miss. The 4-2 made it seem much closer than it was.

I think the Nuggets are much better defensively than they showed last night. Porter and Jokic are markedly better than earlier in their careers and guys like Gordon and Bruce Brown are plus defenders. Add in their rebounding prowess (which was quietly a major factor last night) and I think they will slow down LA moving forward. In the mid-game interview with Malone, all he wanted to talk about was their defense.

As a result, I don't expect the Lakers to break 120 points every game. They played very, very well offensively just to make that a game.