Certainly not a bad young core.

Not tryina' rub it in Bulls fans. There's plenty of hurt in this photo for me as well :/

The band is back together but is it too late?

Nuggets vs Bulls:

When last these two teams faced off, Denver enjoyed double digit TPM performances from three players, lead by Gary Harris' +24 & Barton's +31, had two players in the red, lead by Murray's -10 and Ally was rocking cascading disk earrings and an olive colored smock, as the Nuggets pulled out a nail biter, 111-110.

Denver has no excuse to lose this one, as was the case in ALL of their recent losses so of course they will. Impossibly they are still not out of the playoff hunt but it is becoming increasingly less likely with each passing, listless effort and or mismanaged game by the coaching staff.

Don't bother glancing at tankathon.com Nuggets fans; that's even more depressing than this team's recent showings. This and the rest of the games of this road trip and indeed the season are all must-win games. There is zero to be gained from losing and little to nothing to be said for constructive, "effort" losses or moral victories, despite what their coach may be telling you.

What coach Cookoo-Bananas HAS told you, which is unequivocally accurate, is that Jokic's defense (or lack there of) is undeniably holding this team back from taking the next step, perhaps rivaled in effectuality only by Malone's own groin-punchingly poor, in-game coaching decisions. That is not to say Jokic is the only piss-poor defender; far from it. Barton (followed semi-closely by the vast majority of the roster) is right on par with him but less should be expected of a tertiary cast member such as him.

Unfortunately, this is something that is not going to change overnight or even at any point in the post-season, should Denver find a way to sneak in. It will require a concerted effort/cooperation between Big Honey and the new head coach over the off-season, in order to begin the sea change of focus required to make this gifted offensive player into a superstar.

Prediction: 121-118 Bulls

Go Nuggets!

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

(After these messages... Er Nicknames)

Chicago Bulls Roster

Coach: Fred 'The Mayor" Hoiberg

Denver Nuggets Roster

Coach: Michael "Mr Imagination" Malone

Update: Lydon is out for the year after tearing up his knee in the G-League, Chandler is probable with the ever-present hip issues and "Gary Harris" is out with a mild sprain of the left knee for Denver. As for Chicago, LaVine is out with a knee injury, Dunn is out with a toe injury, Lauri is out with a question mark and apparently they are no longer concerned about resting their best players for fear of being reprimanded by the league.

Data: Open this link in a new tab for the definition of TPM™

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TPM™ Game 72 CHI

Jamal Murray: +12

Devin Harris: +22

Monte Morris: N/A

Gary Harris: N/A

Will Barton: +13

Malik Beasley: +4

Torrey Craig: +11

Wilson Chandler: +17

Juancho Hernangomez: N/A

Richard Jefferson: +5

Paul Millsap: +19

Kenneth Faried: N/A

Trey Lyles: +3

Darrell Arthur: +1

Tyler Lydon: N/A

Nikola Jokic: +29

Mason Plumlee: +11

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Total TPM™ starting Game 1 vs. Uta

Jamal Murray: 71 Games +808

(RIP) Emmanuel Mudiay: 42 Games +396

Devin Harris: 15 Games +88

Monte Morris: 3 Game +20

Gary Harris: 65 Games +948

Will Barton: 71 Games +822

Malik Beasley: 58 Games +92

Torrey Craig: 29 Games -18

Wilson Chandler: 65 Games +477

Juancho Hernangomez: 22 Games -20

Richard Jefferson: 19 Games +2

Paul Millsap: 28 Games +256

Kenneth Faried: 32 Games +25

Trey Lyles: 64 Games +440

Darrell Arthur: 18 Games +4

Tyler Lydon: 1 Games -3

Nikola Jokic: 65 Games +1059

Mason Plumlee: 64 Games +238

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Avg. TPM™ Per Game

Jamal Murray: +11.38

(RIP) Emmanuel Mudiay: +9.43

Devin Harris: +5.87

Monte Morris: +6.67

Gary Harris: +14.58

Will Barton: +11.58

Malik Beasley: +1.59

Torrey Craig: -0.62

Wilson Chandler: +7.34

Juancho Hernangomez: -0.91

Richard Jefferson: +0.11

Paul Millsap: +9.14

Kenneth Faried: +0.78

Trey Lyles: +6.88

Darrell Arthur: +0.22

Tyler Lydon: -3.00

Nikola Jokic: +16.29

Mason Plumlee: +3.72

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TPM™ Per-Minute Splits Through Game 71:

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

Analysis:

Qtr2- Lyles is in for the Nuggets to begin the 2nd and immediately relinquishes a three point play to Portis. Jokic is the 2nd Nugget to reach double digits. He scores six straight to the delight of many Serbian fans in Chicago tonight and Denver leads by 17 at 10:09. Old Mud is playing very well for the 2nd straight game. Denver still leads by 16 at 7:41 as Barton checks in for Murray. Lyles is getting lit up defensively while providing nothing on the other end. Portis has been impressive for the Bulls with their top three (arguably four) players all injured tonight. Chicago apparently has the 2nd largest population of Serbians in the world, outside of Serbia.

Payne earns his 3rd foul and must sit at 5:05. Denver turns it over on five consecutive plays and the lead is down to 13 at 3:20. Nwaba also has three fouls for the Bulls and Denver is in the bonus at 3:07, up 15. Chandler is doing excellent work on the offensive glass. Old Mud, Barton & Chandler make five Nuggets in double figures, in quick succession. The Denver lead is back up to 17 at 1:15. Murray is already the 6th Nugget to reach double digits. Denver is paced in TPM by Millsap & Murray +13, Barton +16, Old Mud +17 & Jokic +23 as they lead 77-46 at the half.

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Halftime: Smoke break? Stupid question, stupid section.

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Qtr3- The Bulls score the first five out of the gate. The scoring is slowing from the intense pace of the first half but the differential remains similar as Denver leads by 16 at 7:35. Big Honey has an outside shot at a 3d tonight with a line of 21-7-5 at 5:45. This has been Millsap's most productive game since his return, primarily on the offensive end. All of Denver's starters plus Old Mud & Plumlee have come to play today; a MUST for every game from here on out. Denver's lead has exploded to 37 at 3:08. All five starters have 16+ at the moment.

Hastings is demonstrating a lack of understanding for the phrase "puttin' on the Ritz." Denver's offense is firing on all cylinders in the third and they could score 150 in this game. Hell, even Lyles is draining threes now. No players for either squad are in any serious, individual foul trouble. Denver is paced in TPM by everyone, more specifically, Murray +12, Barton & Plumlee +13, Chandler +17, Millsap +19, Old Mud +20 & Jokic +29 and they lead big, 113-70 after three.

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Qtr4- Beasley joins an all bench unit to start the 4th. It'd be cool to see Malone deploy all the guys who have a chance at double figures in an attempt at setting a new intergalactic record for players in double digits. Maybe take out Old Mud for the duration and allow Malik to run the point. Lyles has now missed two straight threes and two straight layups and unfortunately, this unit of Old Mud, Beasley, Craig, Lyles & Plumlee simply has no cohesion. The lead is down to 36 at 7:22. Why no Faried? Darth? RJ? Couldn't be worse, could it? Speak of the Devil, we have a Darth siting. The lead is 40 at 5:42, and I'd love to see Faried come in for Old Mud at this point.

Lyles makes seven in double figures for Denver. R.J. comes in for Old Mud and for once, the coach and I are on similar pages. "Here come the Bulls. they've cut the lead to 30" declares Marlowe, tongue firmly in cheek as per usual, at 1:15. This one is officially ova! Denver is paced in TPM by Craig & Plumlee +11, Murray +12, Barton +13, Chandler +17, Millsap +19, Old Mud +22 & Jokic + 29 and I wish they could have spread some of this margin of victory out amongst the past 10 games or so. The final score winds up being an absurd 135-102

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Final Thoughts: This was the most Nugget-like game of the entire season; scoring at will against an actively tanking team, just to rekindle the interest of Nuggets fans long enough for the inevitable, looming heartbreak.

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The Nuggets Win!

Denver Nuggets