"Raptors swoop in, looking to find a Nugget of good fortune as they near the end of a grueling, Western swing."
Pre-Game Thoughts: Denver is amongst the very few (if any) NBA teams who have two native Canadians on their roster (both Lyles and Murray are originally from near Toronto in fact) so there is some intrigue in that alone. Any time the Nuggets face off against the former GM Masai Ujiri's squad that also ads another layer of competitiveness to the show down.
As Scott Hastings always says; "The most difficult game of a road trip is the first game back home", though the Nuggets can't afford to use that as an excuse tonight, playing against a very good Toronto team, who is undoubtedly road weary, but still talent rich, with two legitimate all stars in Lowry and DeRozan. They also get solid contributions from the rest of their starting unit, and have a bench that could start for a number of (eastern conference) teams and I'm talking as a solid unit, not individuals.
OG is contributing far earlier than most expected, and the consensus around here is that he is who the Nuggets would have drafted had he fallen just one more spot. I'm of the opinion that Denver should have held their original pick and taken him at 13. Masai continues to hose the city who put him on the NBA map, via the city who gave him his first chance. I love you Masai, I'm just envious of what could have been.
Also, in a season where the NBA has projected the "dream" of a less uneven schedule, why then are they having Toronto finish a West coast swing, by stopping off in Denver, only to double back west, within the same time zone to face Utah Friday? I mean it's not a huge deal, but logistically it just doesn't make any sense. #gogreennotsilverandgold
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
Toronto Roster:
Lorenzo "Pennywise The Clown" Brown
Fred "Getaway Driver" VanVleet
OG "Not Just Lydon" Anunoby
Bruno "The Fashionista" Caboclo
Malcolm "In The Middle" Miller
Norman "Schwarzkopf/Colin" Powell
Pascal Siakam "E Poking Fun At People's Names"
Jonas "In The Bonus" Valanciunas
Lucas "REALLY Big Nog" Nogueira
Update: Juancho is out with "The Kissing Disease" for the Nuggets. As for TOR, Jonas Valanciunas & Norman Powell are both listed as probable, and will both likely start.
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Data: Open this link in a new tab for the definition of TPM™
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TPM™ Game 8 TOR
Jamal Murray: +23
Emmanuel Mudiay: +25
Monte Morris: N/A
Gary Harris: +9
Will Barton: +11
Malik Beasley: +4
Torrey Craig: N/A
Wilson Chandler: +22
Juancho Hernangomez: N/A
Richard Jefferson: -4
Paul Millsap: +24
Kenneth Faried: +7
Trey Lyles: -1
Darrell Arthur: N/A
Tyler Lydon: N/A
Nikola Jokic: +20
Mason Plumlee +13
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Total TPM™ starting Game 1 vs. Uta
Jamal Murray: 8 Games +106
Emmanuel Mudiay: 8 Games +109
Monte Morris: 0 Games +0
Gary Harris: 8 Games +109
Will Barton: 8 Games +78
Malik Beasley: 8 Games +9
Torrey Craig: 0 Games +0
Wilson Chandler: 8 Games +56
Juancho Hernangomez: 2 Games -9
Richard Jefferson: 2 Games -4
Paul Millsap: 8 Games +89
Kenneth Faried: 7 Games +23
Trey Lyles: 5 Games -2
Darrell Arthur: 1 Games +2
Tyler Lydon: 0 Games +0
Nikola Jokic: 8 Games +121
Mason Plumlee: 8 Games +36
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Avg. TPM™ Per Game
Jamal Murray: +13.25
Emmanuel Mudiay: +13.63
Monte Morris: N/A
Gary Harris: +13.63
Will Barton: +9.75
Malik Beasley: +1.13
Torrey Craig: N/A
Wilson Chandler: +7.00
Juancho Hernangomez: -4.50
Richard Jefferson: -2.00
Paul Millsap: +11.13
Kenneth Faried: +3.29
Trey Lyles: -0.40
Darrell Arthur: +2.00
Tyler Lydon: N/A
Nikola Jokic: +15.12
Mason Plumlee: +4.50
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TPM™ Per 36 Minutes Through Game 7:
*Credit to DomP on Per 36 Spreadsheet
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Analysis:
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Qtr1- Same starting unit for Denver. TOR is rolling out Lowry, DeRozan, Powell, Ibaka & Valanciunas. Denver is out to a 5-0 run, thwarted by a hard jam by Powell. Sap is 2-2 from three thus far. By the time we take a break it is Sap 8-TOR 2. The Nuggets "cut to/from" commercial music this season is very annoying. Sap is the first Nugget in double figures already at 9:37 (his 12 thousandth point in his career.) Denver is 7-7 from the floor and 3-3 from distance. Sap finally misses one at 7:20. Barton & Plumlee are the first off the bench at 6:27, as per usual. Murray is hurt after diving into the crowd in an attempt to save a lose ball (one he could have had if not for Steve Bartman in the front row) but Malone is failing to recognize it. He finally replaces him with Mudiay at 5:10. The Nuggets second unit is struggling against this tough defensive 2nd unit for TOR, but the same is also true in reverse. Siakam gets his 2nd foul at 2:30. Nine assists already for Denver, many of which, of the hockey variety. Good news; Murray was soaked in beer, and not actually hurt. A very impressive 1st QTR comes to an end with Denver paced in TPM by Mudiay at +8 (in just 5 minutes), Sap at +11 & Big Honey at +13, as The Nuggets lead 34-19.
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Qtr2- Beasley & Faried are in to start the 2nd period. Malik is playing strong D on Lowry. Delicious dish from Mudiay to Faried, involving Jokic in the hockey assist. Marlowe must have been given a memo between games on the correct pronunciation of "Raptors." Valanciunas is proving to be a load down low. Faried is engaged on the offensive end. Toronto is getting the better scoring opportunities at the moment, and has cut the lead to 11. I've always hated the FT routine of Ibaka. Clearly it works for him though; just seems counter-intuitive to throw off your touch like that. Sick give & Go from Sap to Harris for two. Faried is getting an extended stint for once, and has been productive. Sap is now 3-3 from deep, after completing the 4 point play, on a beautiful, 4 player hockey assist. He finally misses from downtown at 3:30, but he's already tied a season high with 19 points. Jokic gets a little too cute on a 3 on 1 behind the back pass and Denver comes up with zero after a Mudiay steal. Nobody from either squad is in any serious foul trouble as we come to the break. For the first time all season, Denver has four players in double digits in TPM (Sap +10, Chandler +11, Jokic +12 & Mudiay +14) at the half and they lead 60-46.
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Halftime: Smoke break? Don't mind if I do!
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Qtr3- As has often been the case, the opposition comes out physical in the 3rd period, and the Nuggets are struggling with it, yet again. Denver is standing around and getting poor looks in iso as a result. Lowry is one hell of a defensive player, but does he ever get away with a lot of clutching and grabbing. The Nuggets are starting to do better rotationally on D, and the offense is pretty much all Murray at the moment. Murray & Harris are the 2nd and 3rd Nuggets in double figures. Jokic has a 2d (rebounds and assists) at 7:00. Jamal drains a three and Denver is up by 24 at 5:22 as Plumlee & Barton check in. Seriously Marlowe, no more "Willy B Buckets". I know you read this. Denver is on one of their patented 2nd-3rd QTR runs, this one 32-7. Plumlee, like most Nuggets, has played a very solid game. Denver has 100 points with less than a minute to go. Also for the 1st time this season, Denver has 6 players in double figures in TPM after three, lead by another first, three with 20+ TPM (Chandler +21, Murray +23 & Millsap +24) and the route is on. Denver leads 103-71 after three.
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Qtr 4- Mudiay gets a steal at 10:30 that appears to be a clear path foul. It is, and he sinks 1-2 of the freebies. I like that Denver is playing in the flow of the offense and not just force-feeding Jokic to get a 3d. He's only shy by 4 points at 9:00. Mudiay is the 4th Nugget to reach double figures in scoring. 3d watch is now down to 2 points shy. A new season high for Big Honey in rebounds at 16. It appears that Jokic is going to come out prior to getting the 3d, and he most likely cares less than any of us do about it. Barton is the 5th to reach double digits at 6:30. Malone calls off the dogs at 6:18, as Lyles comes in and immediately drains a three. This one is unofficially over as RJ checks in at 4:45. As you might expect, Denver is getting lackadaisical and the lead is cut to 25 with a little under three to play, but the game, for all intents and purposes is out of reach. Two Nuggets top 20 points (Millsap with 20 and Murray with 24) and 5 with over 20 in TPM (Jokic +20, Chandler +22, Murray +23, Millsap +24 and Mudiay +25) as Denver wins in blowout fashion, 129-111.
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Final Thoughts- This... Was a fun one! Toronto was clearly road-weary, but they are a very good team, so I'll take it!
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