Fair is fair. Lin & Booker aside, those names on the jerseys are helpful.
"Let's go streaking. I certainly did my part last night. Gotta love Halloween weekend"
Gotta give props to Daniel C. Lewis for pointing out the TRUE key to tonight's game:
If Mozgov has another 93 points and 29 rebound performance, let’s just end all discussion of Nikola Jokic being the best current or former Nuggets center in the league.
And he heeta people too!
Pre-Game Thoughts: This Nets team is actually a LOT of fun! Jeremy Lin (who unfortunately we won't see tonight) had a low-key, excellent year in '16-'17 and Rondae Hollis Jefferson, is a handful. I absolutely LOVE his d-first game (to the surprise of nobody, I reckon), and there is not a team in the league that shouldn't covet his services. He has legit star potential. I truly believe he has the potential to be what Kawhi Leonard is on the defensive end. He'll never be the shooter that Leonard is, but even there he's showing signs of life.
It'll be fun to watch the rivalry between Mudiay, (coming off of IMHO the 2nd best game of his life; unconscious shooting vs very good defensive guards in Boston on a B2B being the clear #1) and Russell who both always seem to rise to the occasion when given the chance to face off. I'm of the opinion that Mudiay is in a very good place, and now is not the time to tinker with the rotations. Lets hope he can build off of last game and play with confidence, night in and night out, and that will give Murray the chance to FINALLY start to see some shots fall. His jumper is far too true for this to go on much longer, and when it starts to get wet, just imagine what opportunities that will create for this imaginative offensive unit?
There isn't much to worry about in terms of offense (though they are drastically improved this season) out of this Nets squad, since they play with pace, which should play right into Denver's (the superior defensive squad) hands, so we can expect them to eclipse eleventy brazillian points by half time, and we can even stress less about their very low ranked defense, But seriously, this is a no excuse, must have W staring at the Nuggets, ripe for the picking. Lets see if they snatch it.
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
Brooklyn Roster:
Jeremy "Don't Get Into A Tweet Beef With A Harvard Grad Over Hair Of All Things" Lin
Spencer "Stache" Dinwiddie
D'Angelo "How Does It Feel; AKA Like A Rolling Stone" Russell
Allen "Wants To Rule Land Of Earth" Crabbe "People"
Sean "Will" Kilpatrick "If I'm Not Generous In My Description Of His Pine Sittery"
Caris "Beuller... Beuller..." LeVert
Yakuba "Diawara AKA Toca La" Ouattara
DeMarre "Joe Barry" Carroll
Rondae "Halloween In" Hollis-Jefferson
"I Guess He Turned Out To Be The Correct" Quincy "From Baylor On Draft Night, After all" Acy
Jacob "The Coyote" Wiley
Trevor "Hooker By Crooker" Booker
Timofey "I Heeta People Too" Mozgov
Update: Juancho is out with "The Kissing Disease" for the Nuggets. As for BK, Lin is on the IR (Knee), Acy is out (Groin) and Carroll is doubtful ( ankle)
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Data: Open this link in a new tab for the definition of TPM™
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TPM™ Game 5 BK
Jamal Murray: +22
Emmanuel Mudiay: +8
Monte Morris: N/A
Gary Harris: +17
Will Barton: -8
Malik Beasley:-2
Torrey Craig: N/A
Wilson Chandler: +14
Juancho Hernangomez: N/A
Richard Jefferson: +0
Paul Millsap: +19
Kenneth Faried: N/A
Trey Lyles: -2
Darrell Arthur: N/A
Tyler Lydon: N/A
Nikola Jokic: +20
Mason Plumlee +0
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Total TPM™ starting Game 1 vs. Uta
Jamal Murray: 6 Games +63
Emmanuel Mudiay: 6 Games +71
Monte Morris: 0 Games +0
Gary Harris: 6 Games +77
Will Barton: 6 Games +57
Malik Beasley: 6 Games +11
Torrey Craig: 0 Games +0
Wilson Chandler: 6 Games +31
Juancho Hernangomez: 2 Games -9
Richard Jefferson: 1 Games +0
Paul Millsap: 6 Games +59
Kenneth Faried: 5 Games +18
Trey Lyles: 4 Games -1
Darrell Arthur: 0 Games +0
Tyler Lydon: 0 Games +0
Nikola Jokic: 6 Games +74
Mason Plumlee: 6 Games +25
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Avg. TPM™ Per Game
Jamal Murray: +10.50
Emmanuel Mudiay: +11.83
Monte Morris: N/A
Gary Harris: +12.83
Will Barton: +9.50
Malik Beasley: +1.83
Torrey Craig: N/A
Wilson Chandler: +5.17
Juancho Hernangomez: -4.50
Richard Jefferson: +0.00
Paul Millsap: +9.83 (ed: I shorted him a game played in the last TPM, thus his AVG dropping tonight, despite perhaps playing his best game)
Kenneth Faried: +3.60
Trey Lyles: -0.25
Darrell Arthur: N/A
Tyler Lydon: N/A
Nikola Jokic: +12,33
Mason Plumlee: +4.17
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Analysis:
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Qtr1- Same starting unit for Denver. BK is going with Russell, Crabbe, LeVert, Hollis-Jefferson & Mozgov. The front court for the Nets is not ideal, but I'm telling you, RHJ can be an absolute game changer. I'm interested to see if they attempt a small-ball lineup, featuring him at center at some point tonight. He needs to add muscle, but his defensive instincts are elite. I don't at all get why Big Honey doesn't jump on the opening tip. He can at least steal a few by quick-tipping, if he can get away with it. I doubt Sap will win one all season, as I've mentioned before. Timo is beating Jokic up and down the court far too frequently for my liking Murray drains his first three, after first taking it to the rack for two. I LIKE! The high-speed pace (in terms of transition) is creating a lot of defense to offense opportunities for the Nuggets, but they are not capitalizing on most occasions. Plumlee and Barton are the first two in from the bench unit at 5:45, as has been the case most nights. Murray cashes his 2nd three out of two attempts. It's like music to my ears! Many of Denver's offensive sets are running through Sap, and it's working swimmingly. He has two very pretty assists thus far. Murray is playing decent D, but being scored upon anyway. Mudiay checks in for him at 3:30. Jared Allen nabs his 2nd foul at 3:20. The Nuggets are struggling mightily with closing out on 3 point attempts, so perhaps I underestimated the effect a transition heavy game might have on Denver defensively. I Don't love the olive blouse Ally has on, though I'll admit, it does make her eyes pop. Jokic picks up his 2nd foul at 2:10 on a silly "compounding mistake by fouling" maneuver, I'd hoped was history this season. Plumlee is off to another solid start. Overall, terrible transition D and closeouts on three point shooters cost Denver, and they trail 36-29 after one.
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Qtr2- Beasley checks in to start the 2nd, as has been the case over the course of the last three games. Dinwiddie is no longer sporting the bad teenage mustache we became accustomed to when he played for CU. He's now able to grow a goatee, and it looks great. Joe Tap-dancing Harris is lighting the Nuggets the fuck up right now. Allen has picked up his 3rd foul, early in the 2nd. Mudiay is shooting his jumper with confidence, and converting as a result. he's en fuego! Eight straight points for him, drawing Denver to within 6. He's also the first Nugget in double figures with 10. Chandler is MIA again for the 5th of 6 games. Not encouraging at all, but I preach patience with him. He's been around long enough to right the ship, and it isn't as though they've got another viable option at the 3, without sacrificing bench scoring. Mudiay misses an off balance heat check three. Amazingly, all aspects of Mudiay's game are shining, including his court vision (passing) and especially his D, with the jumper getting wet. Plumlee is starting to struggle defensively, against the smaller but stout BK players. Mudiay gets his 3rd foul at 3:45 and has to take a seat on the pine. Soon after, Russel is charged with a 3rd foul of his own, and must also sit. Interestingly BK is leaving Allen out there with 3. Barton is having a nightmare 1st half defensively, and not providing much on the other end. For the 4th game in a row, Denver (Barton) drills a buzzer beater. Lets see if the refs job them out of this one. The Nuggets are paced in the TPM department by Mudiay with +11 and Sap at +10, but trail 63-60 at the half.
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Halftime: Smoke break? Don't mind if I do!
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Qtr3- Denver's 2nd player to reach double digits is Harris via a great dish on a designed play, by Jokic, and he's followed in short order by Jokic with 11. Denver needs to look to get Murray more involved. Just as I typed that, he hits a dandy of a step back J. There is far better defensive intensity for Denver coming out of the half. Jokic has yet to miss a FT on the season, a perfect 12-12. Chandler looks to be far more like his old self in the 2nd half. Murray is the 4th Nugget to reach double figures with 11. Gorgeous 3/4 court assist from Jokic to Sap gives the Nuggets a 7 point lead, on the strength of a 14-4 start to the 3rd. The defense for Denver is looking to be the best they've played all season, in the early going of the 3rd. It's beautiful to watch! The Nuggets are now on a 20-4 run. "Rejected by Millslap" slyly reports Marlowe. Good stuff. All Nuggets aside from Beasley (-2) who have seen action are in the positive in terms of TPM thus far. Russell is guilty of his 4th foul at 4:20. Smoke 'em if you've got 'em. Ill-WIll Drill's 2 consecutive threes, and Denver is firing on all cylinders, for perhaps the first time in this young season. It turns out Chandler has a history of playing well against this team. Russell's answer to getting his ass chewed on the sideline for lackadaisical D, is to immediately hoist up a brick. Ouch! Plumlee goes ass over tea kettle on a foul, his third, but seems to be ok after landing awkwardly on his melon. Mudiay comes in and is guilty of two straight turnovers; a reminder that he's still 21. A less than stellar final 2 minutes has the lead tightening. Mudiay is now double clutching on his jumpers. It's unbelievable just how much confidence affects his fundamentals in overall play. Denver wins the 3rd QTR by an astounding 40-21 differential, and leads 100-84 after 3, but momentum is now squarely in BK's court. Don't nobody go nowhere.
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Qtr 4- Plumlee becomes the 6th Nugget in double digits with 10. The momentum is clearly carrying over as I'd feared, and the Nuggets lead is cut to 12 at 10:21. Beautiful give & go out of a timeout from Harris to Jokic results in an "and one". Mudiay, rightly takes a seat at 9:33, as Murray checks in. The Nets are the far more agressive team at the moment, and Plumlee picks up his 5th foul at 8:49, and he grabs some Pine. Garry Harris with a patented corner three, via Sap, stems the tide a bit. Murray is far more effective than Mudiay was in on-the-ball D, by a wide margin, in what is likely his best game of the season. When he and Chandler both have perhaps their best games respectively, it gives us a glimpse at what we should potentially see more often than not in the season's remaining games. Sap is the 7th (new season high for Denver) player in double figures at 7:47 (vroom!) Denver has evened the 4th QTR score at 13. Jokic has a 2d with 21-12. Both Murray and Jokic's jumpers look beautiful on this fine evening. Sap also has a 2d with 10-10, another first for the Nuggets (two players with 2d's). Denver has only 6 TO's on the night; Fantdamtastic! In what I believe is yet ANOTHER first for the season, Denver has two players with greater than 20 points (Jokic & Murray), but I'll have to check on that later. BK has waived the white flag with 4:00 yet to play while the Nuggets still have all five starters in. . Denver's give & go game via Big Honey, is on POINT tonight. Denver is reciprocating by inserting Mudiay, Lyles & Beasley, along with the debut of R.J. to close this one out. Mudiay's jumper has absolutely abandoned him in the 2nd half. That may be the sole frustration for Denver in this one. In an evening chalked full of firsts, denver has a season high five players with greater than +10 tpm, and the Nuggets win a highly satisfying road game by a final score of 124-111.
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Final Thoughts- Fantastic! This is Denver Nuggets Basketball.
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