Round two... fight!

We meet again, goon squad.

Keepin' the seat warm for Barton, who seems to be in a best case time-frame in terms of returning from an injury that required surgery. He should be back in the lineup by around December 15th.

For context with regard to the statistical aspects of this piece, please open this link: TPM™

Nuggets vs OKC: Streaking Nuggets look to exact some measure of revenge, this time at home vs the resurgent Lakers.

When last these two teams squared off in game 5 of this season, the Nuggets (lap) enjoyed double figure TPM contributions from six players led by Monte Morris: +35. Three players were in the red for that encounter led by Torrey Craig: -10, en route to a disappointing defeat for Denver in LALA Land, their first of the season, by a score of 114-121. In said encounter we had to hear about golf from some whack-batter named Michelson for what seemed like an eternity & I wore my green trimmed, black, rainbow skyline Kiki Vandeweghe jersey from the early 80's. Secondary to these ultra-vital factors, Denver got outstanding outings on the same night for perhaps the only time this year, from both Murray and Jokic. They combined for a line of 46-22-4.

Game five also marked the coming out party for Monte Morris who had his season high TPM score as well as a line of 20-3-7 with 3 steals on 6-9 shooting from the floor, 2-2 from the arc and 6-6 from the line but it was not enough to mitigate the damage done by the inimitable Lebron James and his 3D line of 28-11-11.

In what has unfortunately since become a running theme on the year, The Nuggets ran out of gas and caved under pressure down the stretch that evening in LA.

Seemingly as always, Denver is winning/losing in streaks as their season can be divided basically three ways: The tremendous 9-1 start, the distressing 1-7 midsection and their current, pseudo-ascendant three game winning streak. LA on the other hand started out predictably slow as the revamped lineup had their growing pains but they are winners in seven of their last 10 games and three of the last four.

Lebron James leads this group in points, rebounds, assists, steals and helicopter rides home from Staples Center. Taking up slack elsewhere as King James is not a starting five unto himself (though it certainly feels that way sometimes) are Kuzma, Ingram, Ball and surprisingly our old friend Pierre McGee who is having his best season in many years. They are awaiting the return of Rondo from injury and their lack of big man depth has been addressed to some degree with the addition of Tyson Chandler.

As for this game, If Denver can prevent Lance Stevenson from creating a home-crowd fervor by hurling in a desperation four pointer to close out the third period, a more-than-likely scenario given this games venue, I like Denver's chances to not only avenge their first loss of the season but to put together a complete game that the previous three seem to be building towards. Both teams are as well rested as they have been since the season began so there are no excuses, no matter the outcome.

Prediction: Denver (lap) 117 - LAL 101

Go Nuggets!

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If you are viewing the pre-game version of the TPM piece; and you enjoy Gonzo-basketball reporting, I invite you to please join me after the game where the same link will lead you to the post game version. In it, all of the disjointed/unsightly blanks below will be filled, complete with data/analysis and more snark than "Snarknado VI: Snakenado", which I'm told is about a pessimistic, albino, black mamba who emerges from micro-bursts to torment the people of Los Angeles with shady tweets.

There be monsters; shameless, personal plug alert! (by permission of Denver Stiffs): If you are in the market for clothing, featuring the four major Denver sports franchises as well s CU, please open this link in a new tab to see if there is anything you are interested in. You don't have to order from the link of course if you are in the Denver Metro area, as I'm more than happy to meet up with you (please refrain from bringing rotten tomatoes), drastically lowering the cost, as Poshmark takes a healthy cut as well as shipping & handling. Thanks in advance!

Unique, hard to find, one of a kind and custom gear of your favorite team

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And now what none of you come here for; how about some basketball nerdery?!?!

(After these messages... Er Nicknames)

Los Angeles Lakers Roster

Denver Nuggets Roster

Update: MPJ and I.T. are sleeping on Ice, awaiting intel as to when their services will be required. Rookie Jared Vanderbilt will have to wait to make his rookie debut until long after R.O.Y. candidate Thomas Welsh, as he recovers from an actual injury. Harris is questionable with numerous ailments of lower extremities. Millsap is expected to play through knee soreness after banging kneecaps with PG13. Finally, Barton had successful surgery on his abductor and hip. He will be evaluated for return in mid-December. As for LA, Hart is out with an ankle ailment while Rondo is still out with the hand injury but should be returning in a matter of days.

Re-up: Harris is still out so we'll see how Malone plays this with a less threatening back-court to defend. If he opts for Craig in this instance, everyone who advocated for Malone and Craig in the last one is simply dead wrong. No, Malone is just stubborn and it really is that simple.

Re-re-up: Now just stop with that match-up garbage. Craig may or may not play extremely well tonight but he is not a better option than Beasley or especially Lyles (sliding Juancho over to defend Ingram) vs the Lakers, given the rest of Denver's starting unit's functionality. Stubborn as an ox, Malone is a great coach in may ways but his greatest flaw is wanting to be correct / in control, rather than seeing the team function at it's best.

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Data:

TPM™ Game 21 LAL

Jamal Murray: +22

Isaiah Thomas: N/A

Monte Morris: +16

Gary Harris: N/A

Malik Beasley: +8

Torrey Craig: +4

DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell: +5

Will Barton: N/A

Juancho Hernangomez: +2

Michael Porter Jr.: N/A

Jared Vanderbilt: N/A

Paul Millsap: +20

Trey Lyles: +2

Tyler Lydon: +5

Nikola Jokic: +17

Mason Plumlee: +22

Thomas Welsh: +ALL OF THE TPM!!!!!!!!

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Total TPM™

Jamal Murray: 21 games +329

Isaiah Thomas: 0 games +0

Monte Morris: 21 games +262

Gary Harris: 19 games +291

Malik Beasley: 21 games +83

Torrey Craig: 16 games +5

DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell: 6 games +5

Will Barton: 2 games +33

Juancho Hernangomez: 20 games +31

Michael Porter Jr.: 0 games +0

Jared Vanderbilt: 0 games +0

Paul Millsap: 21 games +189

Trey Lyles: 21 games +175

Tyler Lydon: +7 games +9

Nikola Jokic: 21 games +393

Mason Plumlee: 21 games +157

Thomas Welsh: 4 games+2

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Avg. TPM™ Per Game

Jamal Murray: +15.67

Isaiah Thomas: N/A

Monte Morris: +12.48

Gary Harris: +15.32

Malik Beasley: +3.95

Torrey Craig: +0.31

DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell: +0.83

Will Barton: +16.50

Juancho Hernangomez: +1.55

Michael Porter Jr.: N/A

Jared Vanderbilt: N/A

Paul Millsap: +9.00

Trey Lyles: 8.33

Tyler Lydon: +1.29

Nikola Jokic: +18.71

Mason Plumlee: +7.48

Thomas Welsh: +0.55

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TPM™ Per-Minute Splits Through Game 11:

*Credit DomP on the Spreadsheet. It's as if my (nerdy) baby (TPM™) learned to speak

Analysis:

Qtr1- The Nuggets return to their third iteration of the injury-replacement starting five, consisting of Murray, Craig, Juancho, Millsap & Jokic. The Lakers counter with Ball, Ingram, James, Kuzma & McGee. Did I mention I do NOT like Craig in anything but a defense-for-offense, brief, substitution scenario? I do NOT like Craig in anything but a defense for offense, brief, substitution scenario. The preceding message was courtesy of the department of redundancy department. Moving right along. Altitude TV's bumper music remains a weakness.The Birdman is in the building and looking fly as usual. Denver is running far more than normal tonight; perhaps a result of having two days off. The score is knotted up at seven with 8:33 to go. Juancho is playing well offensively but continues to get lost on D, due to incessant head turning. The Nuggets lead by six as they head into the initial break of the first period at 6:48.

Juancho, with a ridiculous left handed stalking stuffer over Pierre! Beasley is first off the pine after Craig earns his second foul at 6:30. MacKinnon has two goals already for the AVS in a match-up vs the NHL's top goalie Rinne, on one of it's best teams in Nashville no less, as they play in the second period. The score is 2-2 in that one. One day this year they will play on separate nights from the Nuggets. A series of badly missed outside twos for Denver leads to fast break points for the Lakers and it's even-Steven at 17 with 4:38 to go. Lyles and Morris are in for the good guys at this point. Plumlee is in for Big Honey soon after. Juancho is once again the final starter to take a seat for Denver. The Nuggets lead by four with 1:28 remaining. Lebron FINALLY sits at this time. Lyles nabs his second foul with just over a minute to play. Man this Lakers squad really struggles to shoot, from the floor, the arc and especially at the line. Beasley looks confident and energetic tonight. Denver is paced in TPM by Millsap +8 as they lead 30-25 after one.

Qtr2- The first player to reach double figures for Denver is Murray on a three. He's really starting to heat up and Denver leads by nine on the strength of a 16-6 run. The two teams are trading buckets which Denver can't afford to do when Lebron is out. The Bench squad of the Nuggets has been careless in defensive transition. Plumlee has once again been the leader for the second unit and he's having another excellent ballgame. These two teams have been a combined 3-18 from beyond the arc as Denver leads by seven with 6:48 to play. Pavelski also has two goals for my fantasy hockey team tonight. I just thought you may need to know that. Lebron returns and immediately hits Ingram on an alley-oop. The Birdman's personal vendettas are apparently coming to a head and he's concerned about cursing on air.

Millsap makes two in double figures as Denver leads by six at 3:31. The Birdman is a riot! We've missed you Bird! (I think he's rather intoxicated shhhh!)The Nuggets are playing extremely aggressively but still not managing to draw fouls and this trend is getting tiresome. At some point the league's second youngest team needs to earn respect from the officials for what occurs on the court rather than being penalized for their youth. Another four point play for Juancho, a near-mirror-image from the one he nailed last game. Same exact spot, same pump fake. He makes three in double figures for the Nuggets who lead by seven at 1:30. This has been another fantastic half for 'Sap. The Nuggets are paced in TPM by Murray +11, Plumlee +12 & Millsap +18 as they lead 58-50 in a fun one, at the half.

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Qtr3- Perhaps lost in the Birdmannerisms, it must be noted that Kuzma earned his second foul and Chandler his third for the Lakers, late in the first half. The AVS lead 3-2 midway through the final period. Jokic gets things under way with a three on a designed play. What do you know, the flood gates open and he hits another, as Denver leads by 14 at 11:00. The score is Jokic 10, LA 2 here in the third as the Nuggets quickly expand the lead to 16 at 9:06. Lebron and the Lakers have the body language of a team that no longer expects to win and the Pepsi Can is silent for some reason. Bring back Birdman! Kuzma nabs his fourth foul attempting to cover Millsap in the post at 8:22 (one of many reasons that post play is still relevant despite popular opinion.)

Oh ya and Jokic makes four in double figures. Denver is attempting to keep Lebron's listless Lakers in the game by shooting nothing but outside shots. The lead is still 14 at 6:53. Millsap already has a 2d at 4:30 with a 20-11-2 line, as the Nuggets lead by 18 with 3:55 remaining. Torey Craig uncorks one that should have remained bottled. Juancho earns his fourth foul and takes a seat next to The Joker on the bench. Beasley and Juancho are wearing a hole in my pad on this night. Denver is paced in TPM by Plumlee +16, Murray/Jokic +17 & Millsap +20 as they lead 89-71 after three.

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Qtr4- Beasley makes five in double figures for the Nuggets. This game has the look of another Jokic 3D going by the wayside due to the scoreboard and I'm absolutely fine with that. This would be at least the fifth such occasion this season. Lebron is in for one last ditch push from LA which you can only respect of course. The lead is now 22 with under 10 minutes to play. The only starter in there for the Nuggets is Murray while 3/5th of the Lakers starters, including Lebron remain in. He completes an uninterrupted triple crab dribble, earning a trip to the line as opposed to three successive traveling violations. Kuzma is taking this opportunity to reach his hollow-statistic quota. The lead is 26 with 7:29 remaining and I suspect that the Lakers starters will take a seat following the break.

That is in fact the case and Malone should return the gesture in kind by removing public enemy #1 Murray, or risk the wrath of Luke Walton. Plumlee has become elite at the underrated action of batting offensive rebounds that he can't quite get to, out to teammates. Only Steven Adams comes to mind as superior in that particular regard. He earns a 2D and in doing so becomes the sixth Nugget to reach double figures. DAP checks in with 2:59 to play and my work is likely done here. Beasley has a new career high with 20 points but struggled defensively quite a bit tonight. Denver is paced in TPM by Morris +14, Jokic +17, Millsap +20, Plumlee/Murray +22 as they earn an always satisfying 117-85 victory over LA. The 32 points represent the largest margin of victory vs this particular club, ever!

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Final Thoughts: Fun fact: While over 60% of people moving to the Denver metro area have done so from other parts of Colorado, three of the top six places our transplants come from are located in southern California. #1 LA, #5 San Diego (South LA) & #6 Orange county (suburban LA) with #2 Chicago, #3 Dallas and #4 Phoenix compiling the rest of the list. If this data and the Pepsi Center crowd in recent years are any indication, LA is a wonderful place to be... from.

Interestingly, the only other big city in the VERY general region, San Francisco, comes in way down at #26 in the rankings, WELL behind #14 Franklin County, Ohio. I have no idea why, I just found that interesting. It must also be noted that these numbers are from the 2016 census and as we all know it's only become more of a "thing" since then.

Anywho, lets go streaking! I predicted a laugher but I had no idear it'd be this hilarious.

Does this three-seasons-running near-playoff-qualifying Denver team, currently .5 games out of first place, circle the Lakers games on the schedule? It seems to be decidedly the other way around

What a night for Denver sports as the AVS also prove they are for real with a 3-2 road victory in Nashville, vs the odds-on favorite to win the cup.

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The Nuggets Win!

Denver Nuggets Lakers vs Nuggets coverage Silver Screen and Roll