"Unicornucopia; AKA There can be only one."
Pre-Game Thoughts: Everyone on this Knicks roster is a shooting guard or a power forward. No exceptions. That's really all there is is to know,
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
New York Roster:
Frank "The Round Mound Of Rebound" Ntilikina
Jarrett Jack "Of Clubs... Many Clubs"
Ramon "Don't Call Me Jeff" Sessions
Tim "Easily Done The" Hardaway Jr.
Courtney "The Boy Named Sue" Lee
Doug "Harris/Nurkic" McDermott
Michael "Prancey Pants" Beasley
Kristaps "The Unicorn?" Porzingis
Willy "Wecause I Say So, That's Bhy!" Hernangomez
Enes "Would Love To Visit Turkey, But I" Kanter
Kyle "The Medicine Woman" O'Quinn
Update: Juancho is out with "The Kissing Disease" for the Nuggets. As for NY, Joakim Noah is out (Naughty) and Ron Baker is questionable (ankle)
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Data: Open this link in a new tab for the definition of TPM™
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TPM™ Game 7 NY
Jamal Murray: +20
Emmanuel Mudiay: +13
Monte Morris: N/A
Gary Harris: +23
Will Barton: +10
Malik Beasley: -8
Torrey Craig: N/A
Wilson Chandler: +3
Juancho Hernangomez: N/A
Richard Jefferson: N/A
Paul Millsap: +6
Kenneth Faried: -2
Trey Lyles: N/A
Darrell Arthur: +2
Tyler Lydon: N/A
Nikola Jokic: +27
Mason Plumlee- 2
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Total TPM™ starting Game 1 vs. Uta
Jamal Murray: 7 Games +83
Emmanuel Mudiay: 7 Games +84
Monte Morris: 0 Games +0
Gary Harris: 7 Games +100
Will Barton: 7 Games +67
Malik Beasley: 7 Games +3
Torrey Craig: 0 Games +0
Wilson Chandler: 7 Games +34
Juancho Hernangomez: 2 Games -9
Richard Jefferson: 1 Games +0
Paul Millsap: 7 Games +65
Kenneth Faried: 6 Games +16
Trey Lyles: 4 Games -1
Darrell Arthur: 1 Games +2
Tyler Lydon: 0 Games +0
Nikola Jokic: 7 Games +101
Mason Plumlee:7 Games +23
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Avg. TPM™ Per Game
Jamal Murray: +11.86
Emmanuel Mudiay: +12.00
Monte Morris: N/A
Gary Harris: +14.29
Will Barton: +9.57
Malik Beasley: +0.43
Torrey Craig: N/A
Wilson Chandler: +4.86
Juancho Hernangomez: -4.50
Richard Jefferson: +0.00
Paul Millsap: +9.29
Kenneth Faried: +2.67
Trey Lyles: -0.25
Darrell Arthur: N/A
Tyler Lydon: N/A
Nikola Jokic: +14.43
Mason Plumlee: +3.29
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Analysis:
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Qtr1- Same starting unit for Denver. NY is running with Jack, Hardaway Jr, Lee, Porzingis & Kanter. Newsflash! Millsap wins a jump ball! Too good to be true, they re-toss it, and NY wins. Denver is off to a lethargic start. This game is screaming for Faried. NY is on a 9-0 run to open, prior to Jokic nailing a three, from Murray. Porzingis IS NY's offense. To my eye, his defensive instincts are suspect, but he is absolutely torching the nets tonight. So far it's Denver 9 (on three 3's) Zinger 13 (on no less than a 1/4 mile's worth of combined distance on his shots.) Didn't your mother teach you not to run in heels Ally? Plumlee, Mudiay & Barton check in at 5:45. Zinger just shoots each and every time he touches it, and he's starting to finally miss... Fatigue? Darth checks in for the first time all season. Denver is now on a 9-0 run. Kanter gets his 2nd foul at 1:30 and takes a seat. Denver's bench unit is starting to make hay vs that of the Knicks. Malik is now in, for a rare all-bench unit for Denver. That's 4 games consecutively that Denver (Mudiay) drills a buzzer beater in a game, after 3 games of having it occur against them. So strange! Mudiay is playing with confidence, but NY leads, 35-25 after one.
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Qtr2- Mudiay is 3-3 from downtown, the last of which being way off balance and still nothing but net. That's called "being in the zone" Faried is in at 10:20. Beasley is struggling defensively for the Nuggets tonight. Mudiay is the first Nugget in double figures with 11. NY is starting to regain momentum, but Malone is slow to filter in fresh bodies that is to say he isn't. I'm not ever in favor of a one starter lineup, much less this no starter nonsense. Beasley already has his 3rd foul and he grabs pine at 8:24 "O'Quinn has set up a bivouac at the FT line." -Marlowe. O'Quinn is the new Zinger. Harris and Jokic FINALLY return. Barton leads Denver with just two assists. That's a problem. Ntilikina has his 3rd foul at 7:20. A marvelous five player hockey assist results in 3 for Harris. That's more like it! Denver is just struggling to hit bunnies, and as usual having issues defending the 3, and NY is up 16 with 4:00 to go. The Nuggets starting 5 are finally re-united after Barton ran the point for far too long IMHO, leaving Murray and Mudiay on the bench. Jokic is still perfect on the year from the charity stripe. And I Jinxed him. Jokic misses a FT. Millsap is really struggling to score down low. An ugly half comes to it's merciful conclusion. Denver is paced in TPM by Mudiay & Barton both at +8, as NY leads 65-43, after 2.
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Halftime: Smoke break? Two please... At Once!
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Qtr3- Denver comes out lethargic again, and NY does not. It's not the end of the world to split a 4 game road trip, and that's precisely how the Nuggets are playing, which is not the right attitude to have. They come out of a timeout with a whole new energy and cut it to 18. Sap is struggling mightily down low, with the length of NY. I have "Jesse's girl" stuck in my head from that blasted dance party I attended on Saturday. Ugggh! Harris is REALLY picking up the D and leading by example, wreaking havoc on Hardaway. Denver cuts it to 10 on a Millsap three, from Chandler. 13 straight unanswered by the Nuggets after a Harris three, from Big Honey. Now ALL Nuggets are engaged on D, and it's resulting in easy opportunities on the other end. THAT is Denver Nuggets basketball. It is now 64-71 NY, at 6:25. Denver is forcing turnovers left and right. Momentum, momentum, momentum! Denver is now on a 20-2 run as they cut it to 5, while Kanter picks up his 4th foul at 6:00. Murray hits 2 FT's after a steal of his own and the lead is 3. Harris and Jokic become Nuggets # 2 & #3 in double figures. A three by Jokic, and this game is knotted up! Denver is now on a 27-2 run, and they take a 2 point lead, for good measure. NY is seemingly turning the ball over each and every time down! They have 10 in the period, but it feels like 50. Sap is really making up for his lack of offense with his stout D on Zinger right now. Denver is slowly filtering in the bench unit at around 3:30. NY with their 12th turnover of the 3rd. Zinger looks to be utterly exhausted. NY is now stemming the tide in momentum by over-playing Zinger against the Nuggets bench. It's tied at 77 with 1:22 to play in the 3rd. Sap gets his 4th foul after some heavy politicking by Zinger with under a minute to go, and he checks out. NY holds for the last shot, a layup by O'Quinn. Douggie, foolishly fouls Mudiay however, and he sinks 2 from the stripe. VERY exciting 3rd in which Denver outscored NY 38-19 draws to a close, with NY still holding on, 84-81..
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Qtr 4- Denver's bench unit is at least holding their own this time, buying some time for the starters to rest, but at 9:00 the Knicks stretch the lead back up to 6. How has O'Quinn NOT fouled out yet? Murray is starting to get hot just at the right time, because Hardaway is en fuego, scoring 11 straight for NY. It's a 7 point game, and I'd vote for inserting the rest of the starters here at 7:30, because NY's best player was severely taxed in that 3rd period. At the very least we need to get Harris on Hardaway. McDermott picks up his 5th foul at 7:09. Denver inserts the starters with 6:45 to play, down 7. Barton and Murray are the 4th and 5th Nuggets in double figures. Harris draws an offensive foul on Zinger, his 5th; That's Huge! Jokic drills a three to cut it to 4 with 4:00 to play. O'Quinn nabs his 5th foul, which feels like a typo, putting Denver in the bonus, but by my count he's fouled out no less than thrice. Chandler sinks 'em both, cutting the lead to two. What a win this would be, and conversely, what a crushing loss? Unfortunately, that could be an eventuality as NY is getting the benefit of the whistle, big time down the stretch. Zinger gets a shooters bounce, yielding a new season high of 34, and NY is up 110-104 with 1:30 to play. Denver can't afford any empty possessions, and must get nothing but defensive stops at this point. Murray cuts it to 4 with a J. Denver steals the ball and then gives it right back, and that might just seal it, with :28 to play. Gotta foul now. Sap fouls out. Jokic and Murray both eclipse 20 points for the 2nd game in a row. Jokic is fouled and goes to the line, down 6 with :21 to go. He makes 1-2 and that's a wrap. Heehhahahhhe MVP chants in game 7 NY? Come now. This is the Mecca of basketball, right? That being said, there is a new career high of 36 for Zinger. Jokic banks in a 3 with the long Latvian draped all over him, cutting it to 4. Denver is forced to foul, and Zinger drains them both, to extend his career high to 38. No doubt Jokic putting 40 on him in the Garden last year was on his mind. Ok, now THAT'S a wrap. Tough to swallow this L, but at least they showed fight in the 3rd. Maybe now they won't underestimate young teams. There are no gimme's in the NBA. NY wins 116-110.
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Final Thoughts- These are the games you look back on when you are making a playoff push and regret.
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Denver Nuggets Nuggets vs Knicks coverage Posting and Toasting
