I don't think we should expect another cold chuckery from Mr Westbrook in this one.

And the Thunder will no doubt have revenge on their minds this time around.

Keepin' the seat warm for Barton, Harris and Millsap.

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

A brief statement with regard to this piece on whole:

As a means to avoid repeating myself I will include this descriptive diatribe in all TPM posts going forward.

Sure I like statistics; ever since I was a child collecting sports cards and later a pre-teen who ran pre-internet fantasy sports leagues on ink/paper/spreadsheet for the four major US pro-leagues, I've been fascinated by box-score stats but I'm by no means an expert.

I created TPM (which has been around longer than RPM incidentally and unlike them, I fully disclose my non-proprietary system and I contextualize the action rather than being a boring, mysterious, predictive metric) because it does add immediate and accessible context to what we see and what the numbers indicate, which I like.

While the data is meticulously tracked and demonstrably sound, I'm a creative type, not an engineer. Algorithm is the bane of my existence in fact. I'd far rather approach life with the intrigue of expected surprise than attempt to get to the bottom of why things are the way they are. There are many engineers in my family so I totally understand that joy can be derived from finding solutions to problems, I just can't relate. It's not fun for me. THIS is for the most part, not fun for me.

Now I'm a 41 year old man who was born the year after the team I love joined the NBA. I happen to have a lifetime of experience with this sport in several different capacities, including playing (highly underrated within the writing community) so I understand basketball theory in a way most (by no means all) pundits do not.

I was in this case interested in a data-driven approach, which if I'm honest has sapped nearly all fun out of taking in games for me. I get very few days/nights off during the season. One piece requires several hours of research and data entry and all tracking/analysis is done in real time and published mere moments after each game's completion, 82 times (more this season) per year.

As such, the analysis portion is about 90% (I've run the numbers) creative writing with sarcasm generally indicated through italics, non-sequitur humor and hyperbole, in an attempt to steal back some of the joy this endeavor has snatched away.

Hopefully there is a little something here for everyone but if you came just for data or are averse to colorful language, this is not the place for you. I have no way of knowing how many people even read this so I'll not be affected even remotely if you choose not to indulge. For those of you who do, I greatly thank you for the support.

Nuggets vs OKC: Well-rested but severely undermanned Nuggets look to put distance between themselves and the rest of the West. Or:

Jamal Murray Rx final run:

It really is astonishing that the league's second youngest team, missing three starters and four of their top six players for most of the season, not to mention prized rookie MPJ and defensive minded / uber-athletic rookie Jared Vanderbilt all year as well, are impossibly atop the Western Conference.

When last these two teams squared off in game 20 of this season, the Nuggets (lap) enjoyed double figure TPM contributions from three players led by Jamal Murray: +34. Only Juancho Hernangomez: -5 was in the red for that, as the Nuggets toughed out a gritty road victory in OKC sans Harris and Barton, 105-98. They can add Millsap to the infirmary list for the next month and a half at least and Murray is playing through numerous injuries but the NBA doesn't pause for injury. Also, Nick Young is far more valuable than Barton/Harris/Millsap, ya?

As for this game, Since they have played once this year I'm going to do things slightly different and re-run my prescription for Murray's issues, in light of the week off he's had to rest up from his numerous injuries and hopefully go over game film. If you want info about this OKC team please feel free to check out my previous piece on them from game 20, here.

Jamal Murray Scouting Report:

I've had some thoughts percolating with regard to Jamal Murray and his shooting/defensive issues. In my mind it boils down to three key aspects and the good news is all three are reparable with standard, theory-based-fundamental-implementation, game-film and reps. They are:

Shooting/missing off balance jumpers and floaters.

Failing to make solid entry passes into the post.

Failing to stay in front of opposing guards at the point of attack.

That is not to say that these are the only issues but they are three areas of concern that should he make a gainful dent in their negativity, a confidence player like Murray should see most if not all tertiary factors (defensive head-turning, unfocused dribbling amidst pressure, unfocused passing, getting caught between shooting and passing in the P&R, missing or failing to attempt open shots etc) fall by the wayside.

Not to stray from topic too much but his countryman Lyles is similar in this regard in that when their offensive game is flowing and they are simply in the zone rather than overthinking, their defensive instincts tend to be more immediate; their actions more sound, where they are just reacting, with the added bonus that fatigue is also mitigated by the chemistry involved by achieving said zone. It's a very real though entirely immeasurable phenomena.

While I'm no expert, I was an effective 3&D PG in my playing days and while streaky in my shooting at first, I was able to eventually hone in on the mechanics involved as a means to more readily find the zone, so this is certainly in my wheelhouse.

Let's start off with a short player profile for Jamal:

NBA Comparison: Ceiling- Steph Curry. Floor - Ben Gordon

Strengths: Focus. Intensity. Competitive spirit. Surprising athleticism in bursts. Solid strength with plenty of room to grow. Shooting form. Edge. Work ethic. Deadly scorer while in the zone. Solid off-ball play on offense including movement and setting solid screens. Steadily increasing PG level passing and offensive guidance. Very good defensive rebounder. Toughness (ability to play through pain.) Drive to be THE best, not just amongst the best. Archery. Meditation (only half kidding there.)

Weaknesses: Youth/inexperience. In-between size/speed for the two guard positions. Inexperience as a PG/floor general. Not a vocal leader. Inability to find the zone consistently. Has yet to show killer instinct as a pro. Point-of attack defense. Made fun of my LSU Chris Jackson jersey.

Now let's address the three above issues:

Shooting/missing off balance jumpers and floaters: The idea here is not to eliminate taking off-balance shots all together. Sure, You'd prefer to always be square and in your own individual natural flow when attempting a shot but shooters with excellent form such as Jamal need to be able to take and make off balance shots as if they are perfectly balanced. Especially in clutch situations, it's a requirement of the action.

Former Nugget Nick Van Exel was amongst the very best off-balance shooters I've ever seen as no matter where he shot from or how, he had the ability to make last-moment corrections on his shot to account for all of the moving parts involved. This is the key.

Shooting is nowhere near as simple as it looks but it needs to feel that way in order to be consistent. It's a lot like breaking an addiction (something I also know all too much about unfortunately) in that regard. In reality there are so many counter-balances of leverage occurring in every appendage, the core, with vision and with regard to how a player is defended so the final check and balance to the action comes down to fingertip control of the touch. In a fraction of a fraction of a second, a shooter has to be able to make adjustments in the wrist's propulsion and finally how the ball escapes the fingertips. Jamal is clearly not addressing this key component lately as his floaters and jumpers for the better part of the season, seldom "feel" like they are going in to me (nor it would seem, him) aside from when he's put a few in consecutively.

The way to hone in on this aspect of shooting so that you are not thinking about it in game action is to have practice reps centered on tightly defended and or physically illegal defense while paying close attention to how the ball leaves first the wrist-lever and finally the fingertips. With enough attention to this aspect in practice (something the Nuggets have been short on of late due to the arduous road trip and lack of healthy bodies) while being careful not to compromise all other aspects of sound shooting mechanics, this eventually becomes second nature and the results of this correction should appear in his production.

Failing to make solid entry passes into the post.

The solution here is two-fold so that you have an ingrained counter move to utilize should plan-A not be available. As with the previous, the idea is to work this out in practice repetition and film so that it is not something that you have to think about in-game and muscle memory is instead at the wheel. The key to both is to retain the dribble until a sudden, concise and explosive pass is made so that a passer has a competitive advantage over the defender. I'll call them options A) and B) though either one could be appropriate depending on what is necessary in any given play.

A) Make a sudden sideways movement in the direction away from both your defender and that of the man you are passing to in the post, followed by a sudden two handed, sharp entry (usually on the bounce) which should be unobstructed. The reason this pass must be two handed is illuminated in the next part.

B) Have a counter move which is just as accurate and explosive but utilized less frequently, simply as a means to keep both defenders from knowing exactly what to expect.

A third or fourth entry action is not necessary as even the most savvy point-of-attack defenders know to relax if more than one entry is in a passers repertoire or they risk being caught on their heels by overplaying the pass, leading to blow-by's.

This secondary entry can be as simple as a seldom used direct entry (aka the only pass currently in Jamal's tool-kit, hence the issues) to catch the on-ball defender off guard or an occasional no-look entry which will have the same effect.

Only the VERY best perimeter defenders have an opponent's entry-pass tool-kit in their own defensive, mental-database and of them, as mentioned, when they encounter a passer with more than one entry they know to back off. Those defenders with less scouting-report savvy will already be caught off guard by the multiple entry options so they will either be on their heels defensively already or taking exploitable risks.

Defenders will occasionally luck into a deflection by overplaying the entry but the risks of doing so are far too exploitable to count on AND there is a counter to this which will eventually become second nature/muscle-memory as well.

The reason it is imperative to always use two hands on an entry pass (and indeed most passes as a rule, unless you are a Serbian wizard who fancies himself as the worlds tallest water polo player) is because then if a defender DOES gamble you can retract the pass which not only avoids the turnover but leads to a back door dunk or one for a cutting teammate if the rotational help defense is sound; a mismatch is inevitable by simple virtue of having two hands on the ball when passing.

Failing to stay in front of opposing guards at the point of attack.

Again this is two-pronged but not all of the solution is in the hands of Jamal. The larger part of it in fact is incumbent on his defensive teammates being vocal in directing the action he's unable to see; something that could prove difficult in implementation with defensive QB Paul Millsap out for the next month-plus. Let's start with what Jamal CAN control.

A) Defending the point of attack at this level is the most difficult area of defense to play for numerous reasons, without resorting to the always-detrimental head-turning. For one you are generally going against the fastest players who know exactly where they want to go so you are forced to react to their movement, inherently placing you as a defender behind them. Picture a corner back trying to stay in lock-step with a receiver for an analog.

The best way to mitigate this disadvantage is to know the scouting report on the opposing player so that you can angle your body in such a way that you are still between your man and the basket but diagonally-so, which forces a player to drive to their less dominant hand. Even if a player drives equally to both sides (they don't) this still serves to cut the options for a driver in half.

While players are for the most part ambidextrous at this level in terms of dribbling, every player has a preferred direction of attack and this can be absolutely cut off in this manner which places a defender only slightly behind but eliminates one entire half of the options available, in-turn cutting considerably into the inherent advantage of the attacking player.

Increasingly in today's NBA, players prefer to drive to their weak hand side so that the impending shot or pass will be transferred during the gather to their dominant hand (I was this way as a player as well, though that was largely due to the fact that we had a perpetual wood-pile blocking the right side of my driveway as a kid where I spent hours daily practicing.)

It's all a matter of studying the scouting report to know how to position the angle of your body diagonally, in a similar but more exaggerated stance to how free throws used to be taught, with one foot behind the other slightly. In this case the feet should be much more widely spread with the defender on the balls of his feet rather than flat-footed and angling at roughly 2/7 o'clock rather than 6/12, which gives the attacking player no option but to dribble in the other direction while the defender sacrifices only slightly the depth advantage with relation to the basket, by being more on the side than in front of the offensive player.

B) This will be a bigger challenge for the Nuggets with their lack of vocalization just in general but in particular on defense, even if they HAD the services of The Anchorman on D: A post player must position himself in such a way that he is between his man and the basket, with his eyes on the ball (for the record this should be AT ALL TIMES the default position for ALL defenders, utilizing peripheral vision so as to NEVER have to turn their head to either their man or the ball.)

In doing so, this post player can act as the eyes for the point-of-attack-defender who if he is playing soundly, will not be able to see the direction in which a screen is coming. This post player needs to loudly vocalize exactly where the screen or double screen is coming from (perhaps in a succinct, directional code assigned a letter and number if amount is applicable) as well as any counter moves should they arise. The POA™ defender CAN NOT turn to look as they are already focused on maintaining position A) which will take the entirety of their attention and even then, they will still fail the vast majority of the times. It is in stopping a small percentage more of these occasions, that games are won or lost and defenders are upgraded from average to above average or better (in reality that is, not by the deeply flawed, defensive advanced metrics.)

Please let me know if more theory topics are of interest and I'll see if I can't add them as they fit.

Prediction: Denver 105 - OKC 111

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)

Oklahoma City Thunder Roster

NO	Name	POS	Age	HT	WT	College	Salary
8	Alex "Albatross" Abrines	SG	25	6' 6"	200 lbs	Parts Unknown (RIP Tony Bourdain)	$5,455,236
12	Steven "I Eat Hobbits For 2nd Breakfast" Adams	C	25	7' 0"	265 lbs	Pittsburgh	$24,157,303
30	Deonte "LaVar" Burton	G	24	6' 5"	245 lbs	Iowa State	G-Money
34	"X-Rated" Tyler Davis	C	21	6' 10"	266 lbs	Texas A&M	G-Money
6	"I Dunno But Maybe" Hamidou Diallo	SG	20	6' 5"	198 lbs	Kentucky	$838,464
2	Raymond "Insert Fat Joke" Felton	PG	34	6' 1"	205 lbs	North Carolina	$1,512,601
23	Terrance "Thunder From Down Under " Ferguson	SG	20	6' 7"	190 lbs	Australia	$2,118,840
13	Paul "PG13" George	SF	28	6' 9"	220 lbs	Fresno State	$30,560,700
9	Jerami "(Sp?) #5" Grant	SF	24	6' 9"	220 lbs	Syracuse	$8,653,847
7	Timothe "Either A Wine OR A Strip-Joint" Luwawu-Cabarrot	SG	23	6' 6"	210 lbs	Francais (probably)	$1,544,951
11	Abdel "Ralph" Nader	SF	25	6' 6"	225 lbs	Iowa State	$1,378,242
3	Nerlens "Never-Nude" Noel	PF	24	6' 11"	220 lbs	Kentucky	$1,757,429
54	Patrick "Pat-Pat" Patterson	PF	29	6' 9"	230 lbs	Kentucky	$5,451,600
21	Andre "Too Soon" Roberson	SG	26	6' 7"	210 lbs	Colorado	$10,000,000
17	"NC-17" Dennis Schroder	PG	25	6' 1"	172 lbs	Deutchland	$15,500,000
0	Russell "Rocky Horror" Westbrook	PG	30	6' 3"	200 lbs	UCLA	$35,654,150

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 out indefinitely with numerous ailments of lower extremities. Millsap is out for the next 1.5 months with a broken big toe in his right foot. Murray is "banged up" everywhere but specifically with a bone bruise of the right shin as well as a right forearm injury. Barton had successful surgery on his abductor and hip. He is week to week (whatever that means.) As for OKC, NOTHING! I mean seriously, just look at this horseshit! The list is too long for Isaiah Thomas inclusion without expanding!

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Data:

TPM™ Game 28 OKC

Jamal Murray: +16

Isaiah Thomas: N/A

Monte Morris: +12

Nick Young: +5

Gary Harris: Injured

Malik Beasley: +4

Torrey Craig: +7

DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell: N/A

Will Barton: Injured

Juancho Hernangomez: +6

Michael Porter Jr.: Injured

Jared Vanderbilt: Injured

Paul Millsap: Injured

Trey Lyles: +5

Tyler Lydon: N/A

Nikola Jokic: +22

Mason Plumlee: +12

Thomas Welsh: +0

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Total TPM™

Jamal Murray: 28 games +459

Isaiah Thomas: 0 games +0

Monte Morris: 28 games +338

Nick Young: 1 games +5

Gary Harris: 21 games +315

Malik Beasley: 28 games +137

Torrey Craig: 23 games +5

DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell: 6 games +5

Will Barton: 2 games +33

Juancho Hernangomez: 27 games +60

Michael Porter Jr.: 0 games +0

Jared Vanderbilt: 0 games +0

Paul Millsap: 25 games +238

Trey Lyles: 28 games +174

Tyler Lydon: 8 games +9

Nikola Jokic: 28 games +553

Mason Plumlee: 28 games +200

Thomas Welsh: 6 games +2

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Avg. TPM™ Per Game

Jamal Murray: +16.39

Isaiah Thomas: N/A

Monte Morris: +12.07

Nick Young: +5.00

Gary Harris: +15.00

Malik Beasley: +4.89

Torrey Craig: +0.22

DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell: +0.83

Will Barton: +16.50

Juancho Hernangomez: +2.22

Michael Porter Jr.: N/A

Jared Vanderbilt: N/A

Paul Millsap: +9.52

Trey Lyles: 6.21

Tyler Lydon: +1.29

Nikola Jokic: +19.75

Mason Plumlee: +7.14

Thomas Welsh: +0.33

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TPM™ Per-Minute Splits Through Game 27:

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

Qtr1- The Nuggets trot out their 7th iteration of the injury-replacement starting five, consisting of Murray, Craig, Juancho, Plumlee & Jokic. The Thunder counter with Westbrook, Ferguson, PG13, Grant & Adams. The Roman Column of Juancho/Jokic/Plumlee is in tact to start the game for the second time in a row. Home-town hero Chauncey Billups on the call tonight! How exciting! Both teams are taking this one serious and Craig is once again off to a hot start vs this Thunder team, inexplicably. He even nailed a three, his first of the season. Jokic is getting abused defensively down low by Adams but the Nuggets lead by three at 8:23. Plumlee earns his second foul and is forced to sit at 5:10 with a six point lead, as Morris and Lyles check in.

I'm not sure what Craig had for dinner but he's 3-3 from downtown and 4-4 overall! Hell, Jokic is 2-2 from distance and the team, 6-6! They lead by nine at 3:04. Big Honey and Craig are first and second in double figures for the good guys. Beasley is in for Denver at 2:45 with Denver leading by 10. Adams continues to annihilate the Joker in the post, to the tune of 17 points which is the only reason OKC is still in this. The bench squad for Denver seems to be equal to the precedent set by the starters and depleted or not, the Nuggets have a season high 39 points in the first, their high for any quarter this season. Denver is paced in TPM by Juancho +10 as they lead 39-32 after one.

Qtr2- The nightly swat for Juancho opens the second quarter festivities. Nick Young earns a standing-O from the canned crowd as he makes his Nuggets debut at 11:01. Murray is the only player to miss a three for the Nuggets tonight. Young makes his first three on his second attempt, the crowd erupts and Donovan is forced to use a timeout with Denver leading by 12 at 8:48. A fully engaged Monte Morris makes three in double figures for the Nuggets. OKC has missed six straight from the charity stripe and are just 3-9 in a 10 point game at 8:14. I absolutely love these royal blue, Friday night uniforms that Denver is Sporting. IMHO, the best in team history, including both versions of the rainbow skyline. OKC is picking up the defensive pressure and they have cut it to six at 6:48.

Westbrook was shooting well prior to going into "shoot for the sole purpose of drawing a foul" mode, which results in some horrendously ugly looks when he's not rewarded by the officials. The lead is back up to 12 at 4:45. OKC is already in the penalty at 4:37 which in all honesty isn't the worst thing in the world for the Nuggets. PG13 splits them and the Thunder are now shooting 40% from the line. Plumlee is hit with his third with 3:38 remaining and things could get tight WRT the scoring margin as a result. Far too many risky post lobs for Denver tonight to players without an advantage over the man they are posting. As I feared, OKC is cutting into the lead with Plumlee out and it's down to six again with under a minute to go. Denver is paced in TPM by Juancho +9 as they lead 60-52 at the half.

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Qtr3- Contrary to their counterparts, Denver are a perfect 5-5 from the line but that figure has to go way up if they intend to beat a very good OKC squad with two legitimate super-stars. They have to pick up the intensity and go directly at Adams more frequently. He is getting away with a lot of physical play which obviously makes the previous idea difficult. The Nuggets are cold from the outset and the lead is down to five at 9:50. OKC isn't exactly world beaters in the scoring department with just three third quarter points themselves, as the flow is more similar to that which I predicted pre-game. Plumlee nabs his fourth foul as Denver has still yet to score at the nine minute mark of the third. He's replaced by Lyles at 8:50. OKC has all the momentum and if they could score they'd be in the process of burying the Nuggets and their 14 turnovers right now. Adams is FINALLY called for clutching and grabbing at 8:14. OKC is CLEARLY attempting to make this an ugly game and thus far in the third it's working. Denver FINALLY scores at 7:45. The lead is down to just three with 6:45 to play as the Nuggets have missed nine straight from beyond the arc! Denver now has six turnovers in the third period alone.

Big Honey has a 2D with a line of 18-11-6. Ten straight misfires from downtown for the Nuggets before Juancho secures one. The bench squad will be required to once again carry the team if Denver hopes to pull out the W tonight. The lead is four with 3:55 to go as the Nuggets enter into the penalty. Juancho just won his first argument of his career with an official and Denver is awarded possession on an out of bounds deflection as a result. The lead is six with 3:15 remaining. Murray makes four in double figures for Denver. Juancho quickly makes five in double figures for the good guys. The lead remains four as PG13 and Westbrook have yet to rest in the second half, nor are they likely to the rest of the way. The Nuggets are up to 12-12 from the line which has kept them in the game. Russ has taken a seat but George remains in as Denver predictably extends their lead to ten at 1:45. Adams earns his fourth foul with seconds remaining as OKC couldn't afford to rest him either. Welsh makes a cameo appearance to close out the third. Denver is paced in TPM by Jokic +16 as they lead 82-76 after three.

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Qtr4- The bench unit plus Plumlee are out there to begin the fourth for the Nuggets. PG13 has nine straight points for the Thunder, who cut it to four in the opening moments of the period. Beasley's shot is strangely ugly tonight. The defensive rotations and communication are like night and day when Plumlee is on/off the court, much as they were when Millsap was quarterbacking the D. Russ is in for the red-hot George, FINALLY as the Nuggets still lead by six at 9:17. Great sign of sportsmanship by Adams who cushions Plumlee's fall on a failed attempt at a blocked shot. Unfortunately that's Mason's fifth foul. He pretty much has to remain in for defensive purposes and he does. Young makes a momentum changing three that gets the crowd engaged once again and the Nuggets lead by by nine at 7:30. PG13 is back in after a VERY brief rest. OKC is already in the penalty with 6:13 to go as Plumlee fouls out! Jokic has GOT to increase the volume, literally and figuratively on D or this could go south fast for Denver.

OKC has zero fourth quarter fouls despite ahem... handsy, defense. No sooner do I type that than Schroeder is called for the tackiest of ticky-tack fouls in NBA history. The lead is five at 4:20 (smoke 'em if you got 'em.) Westbrook appears to be gun-shy tonight after his less-than-stellar shooting performance last time they played Denver, where he was 1-12 from beyond the arc. The lead is five after a ballsy J is converted by Monte with 2:20 to play. Jokic-Craig backdoor give & go leads to a seven point cushion at 2:00! My beloved dog begins to stir as she smells beef simmering upstairs. Murray sticks a dagger J and that's just about it. Some pushing and shoving commences as Westbrook starts throwing one of his trademark shit-fits but it's all for naught. Scoreboard Russ. I admire his competitive spirit but this was extra. He then gives a two handed clear-path foul to Murray and that is on Donovan for leaving the pouting star in there to risk suspension. Russ is wisely removed by the coach after which. Denver is paced in TPM by Morris/Plumlee +12, Murray +16 & Jokic +22 as they win 109-98 in the Mile High City.

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Final Thoughts: Very solid team victory for the Nuggets tonight. I can't believe I'm typing this either but at this moment in time, Nick Young was EXACTLY what this depleted Nuggets team needed to remain afloat atop the Western Conference and I can even see him being a low-minute contributor for some time until bodies rise from their respective hospital beds. Plumlee is going to have to find a way to maintain the aggression he had in 17 minutes per night without fouling so frequently, if he's to remain in the injury-replacement starting lineup, version #7. Denver improves to 5-0 within their division. Big Honey for about the 7th or eight time this season comes up one shy (assists in this case) of a 3D and he doesn't give a rats ass with the win secured.

And all ESPN wants to talk about is some ridiculous trade that fell through.

My guy Mudiay with 34-3-8 on 14-21 shooting and +13 in a road victory over Charlotte tonight. Suck it advanced metric know-nothing-nerd-herd!
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The Nuggets Win!

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