"The Return of the Anchorman; AKA Stay Classy Atlanta"
Pre-Game Thoughts: I'm predicting a rousing ovation from the hawks faithful, for Paul Millsap in his return to Hotlanta (ok, not so hot this time of year, but it beats the 40 degree weather here in Denver as of current). It is their (strangely late) home opener and he wasn't dubbed the Anchorman for no reason after all; he really did hold that team together, both in lean times such as last season's failed D12 experiment (where doesn't that fail?) in which hey, they still made the playoffs, or their record breaking team of 2014-15 in which they won a remarkable 60 games, en-route to a #1 seed and a trip to the Eastern conference finals.
This year's Hawk's squad is in full on rebuild mode, but they do have their PG of the future in place, in the very promising Dennis Schroder. They've surrounded him with a few nice young pieces. I really like Muscala (think a poor man's Tom Googliota.) Bazemore and Ilyasova are both fine players, but will most likely no longer be a part of the roster by the time it turns the corner. Collins is a promising young big man, and well, they have a lot of guys who's names lend themselves toward low-hanging-fruit nicknames, which I quite like. Full disclosure; I only know who three of the 5 guys in their team photo above are and ATL is coming off of 4 straight losses, so there you have it. The perfect team for Denver to under-perform against in a profoundly, embarrassing fashion. Denver hasn't won in Atlanta since March 16th 2011 after all, and they have their 2nd lowest win percentage here of all NBA cities, in 55 (we all miss you Deke) previous meetings.
Denver Roster:
Will "The People's Champion" Barton,
Juancho "Ironically, No Room For A Nickname" Hernangomez
Richard "The Dragon Slayer" Jefferson
Kenneth "The Manimal" Faried
Trey "Bien" Lyles
Darrell "Darth" Arthur
Tyler "Not just Anunobody" Lydon
Nikola "Big Honey" Jokic
Mason "Plumdog Millionaire" Plumlee
Michael "Mr Imagination" Malone
Atlanta Roster:
Marco "Polo" Belinelli
Tyler "I Wanna Try The Horsey" Dorsey
Kent "Plays More/Pays More" Bazemore
Taurean "The Artist Formerly Known As Tayshaun" Prince
Ersan "Micro-Pachulia" Ilyasova
Miles "The Other" Plumlee aka "Plumdog Thousandaire"
Update: Juancho is out with "The Kissing Disease" for the Nuggets. As for Atlanta, DeAndre’ Bembry is out with a broken wrist, Miles Plumlee is out with a strained right quad, Dennis Schröder is questionable with a sprained left ankle, Ersan Ilyasova is questionable with a left knee strain and Marco Belinelli is probable with a sore left Achilles tendon.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Data: Open this link in a new tab for the definition of TPM™
__________________________________________________________________________________________
TPM™ Game 5 ATL
Jamal Murray: +5
Emmanuel Mudiay: +29
Monte Morris: N/A
Gary Harris: +9
Will Barton: +15
Malik Beasley: -5
Torrey Craig: N/A
Wilson Chandler: -5
Juancho Hernangomez: N/A
Richard Jefferson: N/A
Paul Millsap: +13
Kenneth Faried: +1
Trey Lyles: N/A
Darrell Arthur: N/A
Tyler Lydon: N/A
Nikola Jokic: +21
Mason Plumlee +14
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Total TPM™ starting Game 1 vs. Uta
Jamal Murray: 5 Games +41
Emmanuel Mudiay:5 Games +63
Monte Morris: 0 Games +0
Gary Harris: 5 Games +60
Will Barton: 5 Games +65
Malik Beasley: 5 Games +13
Torrey Craig: 0 Games +0
Wilson Chandler:5 Games +17
Juancho Hernangomez: 2 Games -9
Richard Jefferson: 0 Games +0
Paul Millsap: 4 Games +40
Kenneth Faried: 5 Games +18
Trey Lyles: 3 Games +1
Darrell Arthur: 0 Games +0
Tyler Lydon: 0 Games +0
Nikola Jokic: 5 Games +54
Mason Plumlee: 5 Games +25
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Avg. TPM™ Per Game
Jamal Murray: +8.20
Emmanuel Mudiay: +12.60
Monte Morris: N/A
Gary Harris: +12.00
Will Barton: +13.00
Malik Beasley: +2.60
Torrey Craig: N/A
Wilson Chandler: +3.40
Juancho Hernangomez: -4.50
Richard Jefferson: N/A
Paul Millsap: +10.00
Kenneth Faried: +3.60
Trey Lyles: +0.33
Darrell Arthur: N/A
Tyler Lydon: N/A
Nikola Jokic: +10.80
Mason Plumlee: +5.00
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Analysis:
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Qtr1- Denver is sticking to the same starting lineup they've rolled out in all previous games. Straight out of the department of redundancy department, you've gotta' keep the band together if you are to expect them to gain cohesiveness. ATL rolls out a starting five consisting of Schroder, Bazemore, Prince, Ilyasova & Dedmon. Sap looks energized (ironic, given the name) and Denver is moving well with/without the ball early. I'm loving Sap's passing in the early going. The Nuggets are getting offensive boards, extending plays and moving the ball in a manner more similar to last season's team. Similarly, they are having issues closing out on shooters, just like last season. ATL can't miss, but some of the shots they are taking, are not high percentage shots, so I'm not too worried there. Sap gets a standing O from the sparse crowd, after a video tribute at 7:00. Plumlee and Barton are first off of the pine at 6:00. Barton picks up two quick fouls at 4:00. Plumdog is off to one of his better starts tonight. Pretty "water polo" alley-oop from Mudiay to Jokic, who are both a tad reluctant to shoot, which isn't ideal, because Barton is not at ALL shy about hoisting the rock with this lineup. Plumlee is doin' work son'! For the 3rd game in a row, following 3 in which they'd had it done to them, Denver (Murray) nails a buzzer beater, this one especially impressive due to the .04 seconds left on the clock (more on this later), and the Nuggets lead 28-23 after one.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Qtr2- Beasley is in to start the 2nd, and he's earned it. Faried has also checked into a lineup consisting of Mudiay, Beasley, Barton, Faried and Jokic. Murray's buzzer beater has been waived off, which to me is HIGHLY questionable given the uncertainty of the clock issues in ATL. When in doubt, go with fun, I say. Denver is starting to get stagnant offensively. Lots of standing and watching. Big Honey is first in double digits with 10 at 8:35. Marlowe, please stop trying to make Willy-B-Buckets into a thing, k? Mudiay looks excellent in the post against smaller pg's; wish we'd go to that more. It's not a finishing issue then as much as a turn around bank shot over a player with less strength. He's is turnt' up now, attacking the rim and drawing fouls. Just what the Dr ordered. He's the 2nd Nugget in double figures at 5:20. Harris is the 3rd, at 4:00. Denver has got to get a handle on these three point shooters for ATL, be it in the offensive sets or in transition. That is the only thing keeping the Hawks in it so far. The Hawks starters are outplaying Denver's at the moment, and they retake the lead 52-50 with 1:00 to go. A three by Harris gives Denver the lead back. Jokic has a 2d already with 10-10. The Nuggets are paced in TPM by Mudiay with +12 and Jokic +14, as they lead at halftime, 53-52.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Halftime: Smoke break? Don't mind if I do!
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Qtr3- Denver immediately allows a three to start the 3rd. Harris, Barton and Chandler have been the most guilty of this in the game thus far. The PG's are at least making the shots difficult for ATL. Ally managed to match her lipstick and blouse tonight, and looks ravishing as always, as she hands out cricket tacos to Marlowe & Hastings. Murray has simply GOT to start making his jumpers. Once he does, EVERYTHING will open up for Denver's offense. No players are in foul trouble as of yet for either squad, at 6:45. I'm gonna just say it: Chandler needs to start eating meat! There, I said it! I mean veganism is great, and very healthy/ethical, but when things aren't working... John Collins is a hacker. He'll be decent some day, but he's all arms and legs, flailing about at this point. Great hustle guy already though, and that'll keep him in the league regardless of how he develops. The score is knotted at 68 with 2:32 left in the 3rd. Marlowe's crickets are attacking his monitor. Denver is now forcing ATL into tough shots, they just happen to have guys like Marco, who can drill them. The combination of Plumlee and Mudiay, as I've said before, have palpable chemistry with one another, and are both playing DOMINANT defense right now. That's right, I said THAT too! The Nuggets lead 75-71 after three.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Qtr 4- Beasley & Faried are in to open the 4th, just like the 2nd. The only Nuggets who seem to be out of sorts tonight are ILL-Will & Faried, though it'd be hard to get in a rhythm in the limited minutes Faried has gotten. Before people get on my case about Mudiay's TPM tonight, please realize that he's been a part of MANY hockey assists and played VERY good D, in addition to getting many "assists" leading to free throws, something that Jokic excels in, in terms of TPM. Faried is now starting to wreak havoc on the offensive glass, so Malone decides to remove him. Denver stretches the lead to 8 with 5:38 to play. Denver is OWNING the paint at both ends right now. Barton's inclusion makes four players in double digits for Denver and Millsap makes five. Let's see if they can close out a game they have no business losing this time, up 6 with 4 to play. Sap is sagging on screens, which has helped our pg's immensely on defense. It's the little things. Denver is up 99-94 with under 2:00 to play. Plumlee and Jokic have combined for 11 assists thus far. Careless turnover by Barton and a coresponding layup for ATL cuts it to a 3 point lead with 1:00 to play. A clutch "jumper" by Big Honey, from Mudiay extends the lead to 5. Sap drills 1-2 FT's followed by the same from Harris to seal this one. Good to see the intestinal fortitude down the stretch. For the first time this season, two Nuggets finish above 20 in TPM, Jokic with +21 & Mudiay +29, as Denver wins 105-100
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Thoughts- Fantastic showing by Mudiay tonight, but as big of a fan of his as I am, Murray needs to remain in the starting lineup, in an attempt to find his shot. A hot shooting Murray simply adds more to the flow of Denver's offense than it would coming off the bench, not to mention that the head games played with both of these young guards already in their careers, are IMHO the primary reasons for their regression (especially Mudiay) in the first place. Let's not make the same mistake thrice. Keep Emanuel where he's at, Playing with confidence and lets get Jamal flowing and THEN we've REALLY got something.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
