Will the Nuggets' revenge tour continue, or will their playoff push once again run out of Rocket fuel? Lord Only Knows.
Pre-Game Thoughts: "Going back to Houston... To do the hot dog dance... Going back to Houston... To get me some pants."-Beck from the song "Lord Only Knows".
Like most of his lyrics, Beck only knows what they mean, but I do love him so.
Hey, if Jeff Morton gets to be "The King of Thornton", I'm at least allowed to be "The Court Jester of North Denver". #northside #odele #fuckhighlands
Moving right along... I believe it was the measurably mediocre, simultaneously self-aggrandizing/self-deprecating, Illiterate yet alliterate, Philistine prophet Patrick, opining previously:
Houston has only two designed plays when facing this Nuggets squad:
#1 Harden penetrates, Denver's big sags defensively, Harden sees this and continues to penetrate, either scoring at the rim, or else if the center comes to him late and is caught in no mans land, he lobs it to Capella or Nene for an uncontested dunk.
#2 Houston (usually Harden) attempts to draw a foul (often on a 3).
We simply can not afford to take any plays off, hustle wise on the defensive end against Houston, and expect to win. It's that simple. Offense is our strength, but our effort needs to be focused on defense.
And:
Finally, the substitutions by Malone must come early and often in this one, both to keep the defensive hustle fluid, and to keep the distribution of players who inevitably will draw fouls, even.
I don't feel there is much need to pontificate further given the time frame of these three contests. Let's do this! Odele!
Denver Roster:
Will "The People's Champion" Barton,
Juancho "No Room For A Nickname" Hernangomez,
Mike "The Human White Flag" Miller
Michael "Mr Imagination" Malone
Houston Roster:
Sam "There's Simply Got To Be Something Here, But It's Eluding Me" Dekker
Ryan "The 12th Barry Brother" Anderson
Chinanu "Say It Fast And You'll Inaccurately Feel Polynesian" Onuaku
Clint "The Voice Of Reason" Capela
Update: Houston will be without Ryan Anderson & Sam Dekker and Denver without Jameer, which both work in the Nuggets favor.
Re-update: Jameer is ready to go so Mr. Imagination is re-inserting him into the starting lineup! There goes the season, and I'm not being the slightest bit facetious in saying that. He is not Gallo. He is not Chandler. He is not a "good" vet or a piece of the puzzle going forward. He makes the very same errors the kids do, but with impunity, a complete lack of size/athleticism, and likely the worst defense in the league. Unbelievable!
Data: Open this link in a new tab for the definition of TPM™
TPM™ Game 78 HOU
Jameer Nelson @the 1: -18
Emmanuel Mudiay @the 1: -2
Jamal Murray @the 1 +7
Nikola Jokic @the 5: +12
Mason Plumlee @the 5: -11
Kenneth Faried @the 5:N/A
Darrell Arthur @the 5: N/A
Roy Hibbert @the 5: N/A
Total TPM™ starting Game 10 vs. Pdx
Jameer Nelson @the 1: 65 Games -245
Emmanuel Mudiay @the 1: 10 Games +75
Jamal Murray @the 1: 22 Games +228
Nikola Jokic @the 5: 60 Games +778
Mason Plumlee @the 5: 22 Games +118
Kenneth Faried @the 5: 29 Games -123
Darrell Arthur @the 5: 18 Games -25
Roy Hibbert @the 5: 4 Games +6
Avg. TPM™ Per Game (excludes games where given 1's/5's get zero minutes @the 1/5)
Jameer Nelson @the 1: -3.77
Emmanuel Mudiay @the 1: +7.50
Jamal Murray @the 1: +10.36
Nikola Jokic @the 5: +12.97
Mason Plumlee @the 5: +5.36
Kenneth Faried @the 5: -4.24
Darrell Arthur @the 5: -1.39
Roy Hibbert @the 5: +1.50
Analysis:
Qtr1- I am still in shock that Jameer is sniffing the court after the way the kids have played the last two games. Even if he performs well (he won't), Malone is risking losing the momentum that his young guards have accumulated, which is the very reason we are still talking about the playoffs right now. The Nuggets only prayer is for HOU to be disinterested and or rest their core players in the 2nd half. A bricked layup and a bricked 3 for Jameer to start. FML! Mudiay misses too many layups and 3's. At least he does so athletically and aggressively and while giving earnest effort on D, rather than in hero-ball/ill advised takes, only making hay when purposely left wide open, and supplying horrendously ineffectual defense. Rant over... For now. 2nd brick three for Jameer, both wide open, both barely drawing iron. Meanwhile Denver is constantly in a 4-5 mode defensively in a way they haven't been in the last 2 games due to Jameer being out, so I suppose rant continued. Harris picks up two phantom calls and is forced to check out at the 5:30 mark, down 3. Jameer finally contributes with a layup. He follows it up with a defensive foul. This my friends, may be his only contribution on this end of the court this evening. Maybe he can foul out, eliminating the bone-head, black/white, legalistic coach element of the game. I'm on one tonight, I know. Fucking Jameer!
Mudiay replaces Jameer at the 4 minute mark, down 7. Hallelujah! He immediately penetrates, something Jameer simply can not, leading to a wide open 3 for Gallo. Denver quickly cuts it to 2 after Murray also finds Gallo for 2. It's not "Rocket appliances" Malone, as frequently quoted in TPM character Ricky, from TPB once said. To be fair in assessment, Mudiay bricks a 3 then closes out weakly on a 3 defensively and the lead is back up to 8, but he's part of our future at least, not Orlando's history. Plumlee is struggling mightily with Capella, and with Jokic/Gallo out, HOU is distancing themselves. It is clear that re-inserting Jameer into the rotation has killed all momentum that Mudiay had, as often occurs with young players, something Malone wouldn't know since he's too busy leaning on his crutch. HOU up big after one 36-25.
Qtr2- The Nuggets are getting murdered on the glass with the Plumlee/Chandler/Juancho front court. They are getting good shots, and just can not hit. Capella has zero respect for Plumlee as a defender. Jameer/Jokic/Gallo check in at the 8:30 Mark, down 16. Chandler and then Capella both pick up their 2nd fouls respectively. Harris picks up his third foul on HOU play #2, about the 4th time tonight they've run it successfully. He remains in, however. Jameer gets his 2nd. YES! 6 straight points by Murray, HOU is finally cooling down, and the lead is cut to 10. Murray is playing excellent D right now as well. Troy Williams gets his 3rd foul for HOU. I hadn't even noticed he was out there. Jokic nabs his 2nd foul at the 3 minute mark and foul trouble is a very real issue tonight. 2 straight air-ball three's, one by Jokic, one by Chandler. Nene is treating Jokic the way Capella is treating Plumlee tonight. Murray, like most Nuggets can't hit from outside, so he's taking it to the rack. Novel idear. Harden gets his 2nd foul as we approach half time. Sparked on both ends by Murray, Denver is now playing more aggressively and they have cut it to 7 with less than one minute to go, and after a Harden 2, the Houston lead is is somehow only 9 at the half, 59-50
Halftime: I'm on time! Much needed smoke break.
Qtr3- Well that was Refreshing. While I was ranting and raving, Gallo and Chandler reached double figures scoring for Denver, while Harden, Ariza, Capella & Nene have for HOU. Troy Williams picks up his 4th foul at the 10 minute mark, which is bad for Denver. HOU is ice cold, and Denver has cut it to 5 after 2 1/2 minutes of play. That's more like it! Hastings drops a "since Hector was a pup." Jameer clanks out a wide open 3 then FINALLY clanks one in at the 6 minute mark. Denver is not playing great d, but they are giving a bit of effort, which seems to be a huge surprise to HOU. Jameer drills another wide open 3 and it's tied at 71! The two teams trade buckets for the next couple of minutes, three of which come from Harris. Faried & Harris become the 3rd and 4th Nuggets in double figures. Jokic is 0-4 from three, 0-3 in the 3rd alone, or else this could be a decent lead for Denver, but he's staying aggressive at least and taking them when open. Houston goes on a 7-0 run and are now up 6. Mudiay FINALLY replaces Jameer at the 1 minute mark, down 6. He immediately scores on what may have been the first fast break of the night. Harden now has a 2d (points and assists) and HOU leads after 3, 85-79.
Qtr 4- The season rides on these final 12 minutes. Thankfully they begin with Jameer riding pine. Mudiay with a steal and assist cuts it to 4. He sinks 2 at the line, cutting it to two and he seems to be breaking out of the predictable funk he was in earlier, after his unconscionable demotion. Nuggets are getting great looks and once again struggling to hit, as HOU stretches it to six with 9 to play. Capella now has a 2d. Mudiay has all six 4th QTR points for Denver, and they cut it to four with 8 to play. Gallo gets into the action on a slick bank shot, cutting it to 2. Denver is now in the bonus with 7:30 to play. Great close-out by Mudiay forces an air-ball by Gordon. Plumlee gets his 4th foul at the 6:30 mark, 3 of which have come in the last three minutes. He's replaced at this point by Jokic.
Jameer replaces Mudiay at the 5 minute mark (WHY!) and proceeds to clank another 3. Harden attempts HOU play #2 and for once it isn't called. He does it again, and of course gets it, on an attempt where there was even less contact. He sinks 2-3 stretching the lead to three. Jokic is the 5th Nugget in double figures, now has a 2d and is 1 assist shy of a 3d. Chandler picks up his 4th foul (a silly one) and Harden drills 2 from the charity stripe. Both teams are in the bonus with 3 minutes to play. Chandler gets his 5th on another very non-veteran foul, once again sending Harden to the line. He sinks 1-2, and the HOU lead is 4 with two to play. Beverly nabs his 5th foul. Jameer has done absolutely nothing on offense, and played deplorable D as always since re-entering. Jokic with a tip in and it's down to 2 with one to play. Harden drills a 3 on the next possession in Gallo's face, and the lead is now 5.
Another Malone Special late game inbound, which should have been a 5 second call, is instead a terrible turnover by the law firm of Jokic & Jameer. Pair that play with the turnover on an entry pass from Gallo, and two horrendous fouls by Chandler and I wonder; is too much made of being a veteran? On this particular team and with this particular coach, it certainly seems to be. Harris doesn't foul Harden, but he jumps up in the air so the Refs blow a whistle... On Gallo somehow?!?! Harden sinks 1-2 and the Nuggets season seems to be slipping away, down 6 with :45 to play. Gallo hits a freebie on an out of bounds foul by Ariza and it's a 5 point lead. Chandler fouls out, on you guessed it... James Harden who sinks 1-2, making it a 6 point lead with :30 to play. Gallo scores on a "Jokic assist" by Murray cutting it to 4. Jameer makes his first contribution of the period, fouling Gordon, who drills 2. Jameer then proceeds to throw the ball into the 5th row in a pass attempt, and that's a wrap. HOU wins it 110-104
Final Thoughts- RE-END THE JANIGHTMERE! If you require a coach on the floor, it merely highlights what a terrible in game decision maker you are Malone. You are officially on the clock! Well, my clock anyway. It's not about youth vs veterans, it's about playing your best players in the rotation, and Jameer ain't it. "Playoffs?!?!"
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