Not a bad trio right there.
Two basketball nerds.
Still keepin' the seat warm for The Anchorman.
The Nuggets return home to face another very good division opponent in the T-Wolves, or: Denver is still attempting to tread water amidst a tempestuous December schedule.
Pre-Game Thoughts: What has happened to Gorgui "Porgui" Dieng? I suppose the easy answer is that with the addition of Gibson and Thib's tendency to rely on starters he's not getting the minutes to get in a rhythm, but I've always thought he was an excellent PF with a bright future. It's fascinating to me that he finds himself buried behind Gibson and getting only 17 minutes per game, even with the lack of Defense being played by the team as a whole. This bodes well for Denver as Dieng traditionally plays very well against the Nuggets.
The T-Wolves are amongst the very rare teams in which their top 5 scorers are all starters. On paper their bench is excellent with Crawford, Dieng, Jones & Bjelica not to mention very capable players in Muhammad and Brooks, so I wouldn't say they don't have a good bench, just that it's hard to make meaningful, statistical impact from the bench in a Thibs coached team. Evidence of this is how well Jones played in Teague's absence and that perennial 6th man of the year candidate Crawford is putting up less than double digit scoring in under 18 minutes per game.
Know what's a fun statistic? Wins and Losses. Minnesota stands atop the Northwestern division with a very good 18-13 record & currently reside in 4th place overall in the west, 1.5 games above PDX & the Nuggets, in what is shaping up to be tier two (of two) amongst playoff contenders which extends down to the #9 Jazz.
The key of course is KAT, one of the leagues best offensive stat stuffers. Like many young stars, he is elite offensively and has a long way to go on the defensive end. Let's hope he doesn't stuff the Nugget's stockings on this unseasonably warm day.
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And now what none of you come here for; how about some basketball nerdery?!?!
(After these messages... Er Nicknames)
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
Minnesota Roster:
| 45 | Cole "The Ostrich" Aldrich | C | 29 | 6-11 | 253 | Kansas | $7,300,000 |
| 8 | "Blink" Nemanja Bjelica (this one's a bit of a thinker) |
PF | 29 | 6-10 | 230 | $3,949,999 | |
| 30 | Aaron "Tall Chris Rock" Brooks | PG | 32 | 6-0 | 161 | Oregon | $1,471,382 |
| 3 | Anthony "The Noun" Brown | SF | 25 | 6-7 | 224 | Stanford | |
| 23 | Jimmy "Jeeves" Butler | SG | 28 | 6-8 | 236 | Marquette | $19,301,070 |
| 11 | Jamal "The Crawdad" Crawford | SG | 37 | 6-5 | 185 | Michigan | $4,328,000 |
| 5 | Gorgui "Porgui" Dieng | C | 27 | 6-11 | 251 | Louisville | $14,112,360 |
| 13 | Marcus Georges "Dog Will"-Hunt | SG | 23 | 6-5 | 226 | Georgia Tech | $1,312,611 |
| 67 | Taj "The Garage" Gibson | PF | 32 | 6-9 | 235 | USC | $14,000,000 |
| 1 | "Biased" Tyus Jones | PG | 21 | 6-2 | 184 | Duke | $1,471,382 |
| 15 | Shabazz "Matazz" Muhammad | SG | 25 | 6-6 | 221 | UCLA | $1,577,230 |
| 24 | Justin "For A Great Low Rate You Can Get Online..." Patton | C | 20 | 7-0 | 236 | Creighton | $2,247,480 |
| 0 | Jeff "Chinco" Teague | PG | 29 | 6-2 | 189 | Wake Forest | $19,000,000 |
| 32 | Karl-Anthony "Kat (not to be confused with K.O.T.)" Towns | C | 22 | 7-0 | 248 | Kentucky | $6,216,840 |
| 22 | Andrew "Wiley" Wiggins | SF | 22 | 6-8 | 202 | Kansas | $7,574,323 |
Coach: "Tremendous" Tom Thibodeau
Update: Millsap had successful left wrist surgery and is expected back some time around the all star break. Harris is questionable with a right elbow bruise. Mudiay is questionable after tweaking his ankle as is Jokic after triple dippin' on his vs OKC. Lydon & Morris have both been called up, expanding my confusion as to just how many players are currently on the active roster for the Nuggets. As for Minnesota, Butler is questionable with a sore back and Nemanja Bjelica is out with a foot injury.
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Data: Open this link in a new tab for the definition of TPM™
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TPM™ Game 31 MIN
Jamal Murray: +15
Emmanuel Mudiay: N/A
Monte Morris: N/A
Gary Harris: N/A
Will Barton: +0
Malik Beasley: +4
Torrey Craig: -5
Wilson Chandler: +5
Juancho Hernangomez: N/A
Richard Jefferson: N/A
Paul Millsap: N/A
Kenneth Faried: N/A
Trey Lyles: +14
Darrell Arthur: N/A
Tyler Lydon: N/A
Nikola Jokic: +25
Mason Plumlee: +14
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Total TPM™ starting Game 1 vs. Uta
Jamal Murray: 31 Games +292
Emmanuel Mudiay: 29 Games +286
Monte Morris: 1 Game +1
Gary Harris: 28 Games +403
Will Barton: 30 Games +301
Malik Beasley: 28 Games +64
Torrey Craig: 4 Games +5
Wilson Chandler: 27 Games +192
Juancho Hernangomez: 15 Games -14
Richard Jefferson: 8 Games -2
Paul Millsap: 16 Games +173
Kenneth Faried: 25 Games +46
Trey Lyles: 26 Games +168
Darrell Arthur: 4 Games -11
Tyler Lydon: 1 Games -3
Nikola Jokic: 24 Games +357
Mason Plumlee: 31 Games +81
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Avg. TPM™ Per Game
Jamal Murray: +9.42
Emmanuel Mudiay: +9.86
Monte Morris: +1.00
Gary Harris: +14.39
Will Barton: +10.03
Malik Beasley: +2.29
Torrey Craig: +1.25
Wilson Chandler: +7.11
Juancho Hernangomez: -0.93
Richard Jefferson: -0.25
Paul Millsap: +10.81
Kenneth Faried: +1.84
Trey Lyles: +6.46
Darrell Arthur: -2.75
Tyler Lydon: -3.00
Nikola Jokic: +14.88
Mason Plumlee: +2.61
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TPM™ Per-Minute Splits Through Game 30:
New feature: Team TPM statistics
*Credit DomP on the Spreadsheet. It's as if my (nerdy) baby (TPM™) learned to speak
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Analysis:
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Qtr1- The Nuggets start with Murray, Craig, Chandler, Jokic & Plumlee. MIN goes with Jeff Teague, Andrew Wiggins, Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson & Karl-Anthony Towns. Darth is getting the only court time he seems to get anymore, photo-bombing Marlowe & Hastings. Ally is dressed like my grandmother tonight. Interesting choice Big Al. Denver opens with threes by Murray (2) & Craig, all assisted and lead 9-2 at 9:54. Jokic is talking to Craig about how to play defense after Craig fouls Butler. I laugh. Big Honey is very careless with his passes thus far and has three TO's to show for it. The Nuggets back-court is playing offensively with confidence. Denver's team-D however, is porous. Another Jokic pass is picked off and the Wolves cut the lead to 4 at 5:30 as KAT nabs his 2nd foul. Lyles and Barton are first off the pine at 4:57. Chandler still can't find his three point shot. Dieng has his 2nd foul at 3:16 and the Wolves are officially in foul trouble in the front-court. The Nuggets lead by a touchdown, 21-14 at 1:44. Denver is 4-8 from distance. Marlowe is characterizing the Nuggets D as "stingy" but more accurately, the Wolves are just missing a lot from outside. Denver is paced in TPM by Murray +8 and lead 24-17 after one.
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Qtr2- Plumlee has GOT to learn to be a defensive threat on close-outs. I have no idea what he thinks jogging towards someone with his hand down can accomplish. Dieng has his third foul at 9:18 and is forced to sit. Lyles is the first Nugget in double figures at this time and the lead is ten. Turnovers are keeping Denver from pulling away. Jokic is passing up bunnies to the frustration of all Stiffs. It occurs to me that Craig may never be good in TPM due to his defensive assignments. Jokic FINALLY takes and makes his first official shot at 6:50 over the hapless KAT who's playing with 2 fouls. All of his previous attempts resulted in FT's for him and fouls for Minesota bigs. He simply must attack them. Denver's D with a starters + Barton - Plumlee unit right now is horrendous and the Wolves have cut it to 1 at 5:54 on the strength of a 13-4 run. Jokic has his FIFTH TO at 4:20 (smoke 'em if you got 'em.). MIN takes their first lead at 3:21 and Malone needs to make a lineup adjustment. He does not. Does anyone not named Barton want to shoot? KAT does NOT like Jokic. Lyles and Murray stick threes and The Nuggets retake the lead. Murray is the 2nd Nugget in double digits. Denver is paced in TPM by & Lyles & Murray +14 as they lead 52-46 at the half.
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Halftime: Smoke break? Seeing as how my niece has been patiently waiting for me, yes!
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Qtr3- Fair is fair, what Plumlee lacks in terms of close out D he often makes up for with the fact that he's the only big who knows how to hedge after a screen. Jokic now has 6 TO's. He's the 3rd Nugget in double figures and they are up by 6 after he sinks two straight 3's, at 9:03. Jokic now has SEVEN TO's and he compounds this one by poking Taj in the eye. Marlowe is making a lot of volleyball references tonight which pisses one Stiff off, can't remember whom. Plea perhaps? Murray gets a 4 point play and draws KAT's 4th foul at 7:20. Plumlee is having a hell of a third period on both ends of the court. Apparently Taco bell now folds quesadillas in half (something most customers already likely do) and sells it as a "stacker." Denver is getting in sync now and the lead is 9 at 6:11. Plumlee is the 4th Nugget in double digits. Jokic and Plumlee are dominating at the moment offensively. The Nuggets lead by 14 at 4:30. Jokic now has EIGHT TO's as he's approaching a 4d. Craig is the 5th Nugget in double figures. MIN is in the bonus at 3:29. Barton is still shooting and missing threes. This has been a horrible period for Murray on the defensive end or this 7 point lead might be something more like 20. MIN cuts it to 4 on the strength of a 14-2 run! Jokic now has NINE TO'S! Minnesota has seven! Denver is paced in TPM by Murray +11, Lyles +16, Plumlee +19 & Jokic +20 and lead it, 84-80 after three. That period was insane!
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Qtr4- Put a fork in it Nuggets! MIN retakes the lead on a KAT three at 10:50. When can we have a calm, blowout of a 4th so I don't have to write important info virtually play by play? Denver retakes the lead on a shot-clock-buzzer-beating three by Murray. Hastings might have lied earlier as KAT is only credited with 2 fouls at this point (which seems incorrect to me). SOMEONE PLEASE INFORM MURRAY ABOUT WHAT IS AND IS NOT CONSIDERED HELP D. Hint: sticking one hand in on KAT and then backing up, ain't it! It's all knotted up at 7:47 after a KAT fly-by. UCWIDT? Murray is fouled on a three and sticks 2-3, then screams aw shit as he misses the third. MIN is up one at 5:45. Plumlee checks out with a 2D at 5:33. Too many Murray iso possessions at the moment. The Wolves are up 5 and on a 12-4 run at 4:26. Jokic has TEN TO'S! The lead is 4 after the teams trade three's at 3:33. It's down to 2 after a Barton layup. Denver has absolutely no business losing this one! Dieng now has 5 fouls at 2:40. Minnesota is taking bad shots and keeping it interesting. Craig fouls Butler on a long jumper, who hits 2 and the lead is four at 1:29. Murray cuts it to two with a layup at 1:20, but Butler repays the favor. Butler drills a three on Craig at :42 which may seal it as Minnesota leads by 6. Denver is paced in TPM by Lyles & Plumlee +14, Murray +15 & Jokic +25 but lose it, 104-112 and the 8 game home winning streak is over.
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Final Thoughts: Craig looks like a good role player, but I think it's safe to say we should stop payment on his HOF Placard for the time being.
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We suck again!
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