Hapless Denver squad stumbles into a near must-win contest in Orlando.
Pre-Game Thoughts: In the previous meeting between these two teams, Denver was lead by very good performances from Jokic, Millsap, Murray and Barton. There will obviously be no repeat performance with Denver's top two (in most fan's eyes) players out with injuries so in my eyes, a W without accruing any injuries should be seen as a substantial victory at this point, with the way the Nuggets have been floundering on the road this season and to some degree at home lately, vs a talented if underachieving, well-rested Magic unit in their home gym.
I'm firmly residing in the camp that believes that we shouldn't have high expectations for the Nuggets whilst missing the top two (arguably with the defensive leap Harris has made) players but having said that, there needs to be more urgency exhibited by the young Nuggets to start developing consistency. I've seen it out of only three players on the active roster: Lyles, Harris and Beasley of late.
Orlando is a rare squad who is paced in scoring by each member of their starting five, lead by the vastly improved Gordon and the steady, solid all around talent of Fournier. Additionally they get game contributions from 4 bench players; Ross, Augustin, Speights and the rookie Isaac. After a surprisingly hot start, they have cooled off considerably and are winners of just 3 in their last ten, so this one may just be a matter of which team manages to suck less. ____________________________________________________________________________________________
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
Orlando Roster:
Terrence Ross "Clearance Rack"
Mario "I Wish He Played D So I Could Call Him Before You Know It" Hezonja
Wesley Iwundu "To Under-Perform VS The Nuggets"
Adreian "This SP? Shtick IS Becoming A Major" Payne "To Keep Track Of"
Marreese "Most Massive 2 Guard In The World" Speights
Bismack Biyombo "Bang Ga Dang Diggi Diggi"
Update: Millsap had successful left wrist surgery and is expected back some time around the all star break. Jokic is out for "a few games" with a sprained ankle/stress ridden mind. Chandler is probable with a sore back and Plumlee is probable with a strain of the abdominal muscles for the Nuggets. As for Orlando, Fournier has a sprained ankle as does Ross & Isaac is out with an injury of mysterious nature.
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Data: Open this link in a new tab for the definition of TPM™
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TPM™ Game 25 ORL
Jamal Murray: +2
Emmanuel Mudiay: +16
Monte Morris: N/A
Gary Harris: +2
Will Barton: -3
Malik Beasley: +19
Torrey Craig: N/A
Wilson Chandler:+11
Juancho Hernangomez: N/A
Richard Jefferson: N/A
Paul Millsap: N/A
Kenneth Faried: +9
Trey Lyles: +5
Darrell Arthur: N/A
Tyler Lydon: N/A
Nikola Jokic: N/A
Mason Plumlee -5
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Total TPM™ starting Game 1 vs. Uta
Jamal Murray: 25 Games +214
Emmanuel Mudiay: 25 Games +274
Monte Morris: 0 Games +0
Gary Harris: 23 Games +311
Will Barton: 25 Games +233
Malik Beasley: 22 Games +63
Torrey Craig: 1 Game +0
Wilson Chandler: 21 Games +125
Juancho Hernangomez: 13 Games -12
Richard Jefferson: 8 Games -2
Paul Millsap: 16 Games +173
Kenneth Faried: 22 Games +55
Trey Lyles: 20 Games +83
Darrell Arthur: 3 Games -8
Tyler Lydon: 1 Games -3
Nikola Jokic: 21 Games +314
Mason Plumlee: 25 Games +64
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Avg. TPM™ Per Game
Jamal Murray: +8.56
Emmanuel Mudiay: +10.96
Monte Morris: N/A
Gary Harris: +13.52
Will Barton: +9.32
Malik Beasley: +2.86
Torrey Craig: +0.00
Wilson Chandler: +5.95
Juancho Hernangomez: -0.92
Richard Jefferson: -0.25
Paul Millsap: +10.81
Kenneth Faried: +2.50
Trey Lyles: +4.15
Darrell Arthur: -2.67
Tyler Lydon: -3.00
Nikola Jokic: +14.95
Mason Plumlee: +2.56
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TPM™ Per-Minute Splits Through Game 23:
*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 go with Murray, Harris, Barton, Chandler and Plumlee. ORL counters with Payton, AAA, Simmons, Gordon & Vooch. Somebody glitter bombed Ally. Don't they know how bad that stuff is for the environment? God I love Payton's hairdo! Neither team is shooting particularly well to begin the game. Denver looks predictably bad on the glass with this unit. ORL leads 11-5 at 6:42. There is absolutely no movement without the ball for the Nuggets in the half court. Beasley is the first man off the bench, finally rewarded for his solid play over the course of the last 8-10 games. Oddly, Harris is the first man to check out as a result. ORL leads 19-12 at 3:05. Mudiay and Faried check in at 2:46 for Plumlee and Murray. This unit is playing superior defense, that is to say, any amount at all. Lyles is in at 1:25 for Chandler. All Nuggets starters have one foul but thankfully, no one is in foul trouble. Harris replaces Barton at :50 so that no starter can be counted as playing the whole quarter. I see no other benefit. I spoke too soon as Harris immediately gets his 2nd foul on a charge, and is replaced by Barton in another perplexing substitution. Denver is paced in TPM by Barton's meager +2, all other Nuggets are in the negative except Chandler with a very meh 0, and Denver trails 25-14 after one.
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Qtr2-Two minutes into the second and I've nothing to report. That's how it's been for this team lately I'm afraid. Barton + the bench are finally hitting jumpers and have cut it to 7 at 9:00. Somebody has to tell Malone that Barton has rested for less than 30 seconds thus far, and he's prone to tiring out in long stints. The Nuggets cut it to 5 on a behind the back pass by Mudiay leading to an and-one for Faried. The lead is down to two on the strength of a 17-6 run, at 6:25. Barton is the first Nugget in double figures. Beasley is keeping Denver afloat on both ends. Barton is STILL out there at 4:33! Lyles is struggling in this one. Mudiay ties it up with a three at 1:28. Faried has been very productive in his minutes & is the 2nd Nugget in double digits. Mudiay is the 3rd Nugget in double figures as he gives Denver the lead on a drive. Barton plays the entire 2nd and all but :19 in the game. The Nuggets are paced by Beasley's +11 TPM and lead 49-48 at the half.
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Halftime: Smoke break? Okie Dokie.
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Qtr3- Harris finally gets off the snide with his first bucket. The starting unit is once again struggling on both ends. Chandler is also into the scoring column at 9:55. Murray and Barton are providing zero defense on the perimeter. Fortunately Vooch just keeps shooting and missing so Denver is staying in it. Harris is starting to get a rhythm and is the 4th Nugget in double digits as Denver leads 65-62 at 7:00. Harris and Gordon collide and slam heads hard! They both get up but you just know that one smarts. We are finally seeing some defensive effort out of the starting unit. Willy B Buckets makes zero sense Marlowe, please stop saying it! He's got a perfectly good nickname already. Murray checks out with a twisted ankle. No beuno. Mudiay is in for him. Denver is struggling defensively in transition and in defensive rotations at the moment but still lead by 8 at 2:54. There is still no serious foul trouble to speak of for either team. The Nuggets are paced in TPM by Beasley's +13 and lead 79-70 after three.
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Qtr4- Lyles just doesn't have the touch tonight, for the first time in a while. Marlowe is now saying Will B Barton. Does anyone know if Will's middle name starts with B, or has someone taken Marlowe's marbles away? Denver leads by 11 at 10:15 as Super Mario checks in for the first time for ORL. Every Nugget who has played has scored tonight. Mudiay hits a three and then a layup and Denver is up by 15 at 8:16. It seems that Gordon is unfortunately out for the remainder with a concussion. ORL is just 5-20 from downtown. Beasley and Mudiay compliment each other's play on both ends so well. We need to see more of that, particularly with Barton in the starting unit and with Murray possibly out for a bit with the ankle injury. Denver is playing well but the bench unit + Barton seems to be running out of steam. That being said, they lead by 13 with 3:57 to go. Barton in particular looks exhausted, for good reason. The starters + Faried & Mudiay are out there likely to close this one out, unless Malone chooses to embarrass Juancho by inserting him at the end. Beasley and Chandler are the 5th and 6th Nuggets in double digits. Faried has a 2d at 3:13. Denver is paced in TPM by Chandler +11, Mudiay +16 and Beasley +19 and they win big. 103-89.
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Final Thoughts: The Nuggets win! Been wanting to say that for a while now. Beasley was the MVP tonight so it's time to skewer him in the post game thread I'm sure. This was the first solid, team victory in quite some time. So much for that "W without accruing injuries" goal I'd hoped for. Also get well fast Aaron Gordon.
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