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Their adversaries

Nuggets vs Wolves I: "Centers of Attention Tour Continues"

When last these two teams squared off in the final regular season game of last season, the Nuggets (I'll take a lap) enjoyed double figure TPM contributions from two players, led by Jamal Murray: +20. Only Mason Plumlee: -1 scored in the red, as they eked out a victory at home that secured the No. 2 seed in the West, by a final score of 99-95.

In that game, Nikola Jokic scored 29 points and had a key strip and two clutch free throws in the closing seconds. "We didn't give up," Jokic told the crowd after the Nuggets pulled out the improbable win by scoring the game's final 15 points. Sound familiar Nuggets fans? "They kept coming," said Andrew Wiggins, who led Minnesota with 25 points. "We had the lead. I thought we had the game." Apparently, so did the Nuggets. "Maybe we just woke up at that time," Jokic said. "I don't know. Maybe we thought we were going to lose." And now for the sad part: Minnesota played without starters Karl Anthony-Towns (right knee), Jeff Teague (left foot) and Robert Covington (right knee) and key reserves Taj Gibson (left calf) and Derrick Rose (right elbow). (per ESPN game recaps.)

Yes, this sounds an awful lot like the last game vs Philly and it's an annoying and unhealthy pattern but we can't say it isn't fun.

As for this game, this year's Wolves are drastically improved not by an upheaval in personnel; rather by a minor change in scheme and the continued growth of Karl Anthony Towns, who aims to throw his hat into the MVP race in 2020. The schematic alteration I'm referring to, as illustrated by Chris Dempsey of Altitude Sports, is in the way in which the rejuvenated Andrew Wiggins is being utilized. In his rookie season, more than any previous to the current, Wiggins was used as the man with the ball in the P&R far more often than as a spot up shooter. Those utility percentages have reversed more and more each season since, as the team banked (literally, based on his potential-based contract) on his shot becoming more consistent naturally, with time. In reality, he's an Iso scorer and should have been managed as such all along and then his shot (IMHO) might have naturally improved by virtue of growing confidence alone.

As a "Three and D" PG in my playing days who's greatest strength was my shooting touch, I often say that 50% of shooting is confidence with raw talent and repetition occupying most of the remaining 50%. The most important of these is shooting talent but that doesn't mean that guys like Lebron & Wade don't get better with time and confidence, or that guys like Curry or Abdul-Rauf don't spend hours in the gym, calibrating their form.

For the statistical data and more in-depth context of the changes Minnesota has made with regard to Wiggins, please check Demps' twitter thread from Saturday.

As for KAT, his statistics have always been fantastic and this season is no different. In a world where Freaky Greeky was slightly less cheeky, KAT's 2019-'20 numbers to date would be unquestionably MVP worthy, with a line of 25.7/12.2/3.7/1.7/1.7. I haven't watched the Wolves play enough to know if he's improved his defensive acumen at all but based on the team's success it wouldn't be a stretch to imagine.

He ALWAYS gets up for match-ups with Big Honey and doesn't seem to like him much, for reasons that have as yet not been explained to me, despite my quarterly query of Wolves fans. Anyone... Beuller?

Jokic last year was the vastly superior defender and has only improved his DBBIQ and ability this season. As circumstantial evidence, Joel Embiid wanted absolutely none of him in the last game and only attacked in the switch and vs Mason Plumlee, or as stated by Denver Stiffs Site-manager Ryan Blackburn yesterday;

Last night, with Nikola Jokic defending him, Joel Embiid performed as follows: 0 points 0/7 FG 0 assists 3 turnovers And Jokic blocked a shot.

Embiid was 4/17 FG with 4 turnovers against Jokic in Philly last year.

I personally define "defending" a little differently and know for certain that Joel had a couple of outside J's that Joker should have been closer on but the sentiment is the same. Big Honey can not afford to sag off of KAT, who is deadly accurate from beyond the arc, in this manner.
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Here are some numbers you can use: (Team with advantage in bold)

• MIN gives up 118.8 by their opponents on average, to Denver's 100.6

• MIN averages 117.8 PPG offensively to Denver's 103.8

• This results in a net rating for MIN of -1.0 and +3.2 for Denver

• MIN is 2-1 from home while Denver is 3-1 away from the friendly confines of The Pepsi Can.

• In terms of conference record, MIN is 1-1 to Denver's 3-2 mark which is important only in as much as understanding the strength of schedule involved, as the Western Conference is as much if not more than ever, the stiffer competition

• Denver is in second place in the Western Conference standings, 1 game out of first place while MIN currently tied with Phoenix for seventh place in the Western Conference, 2 games out.

When it comes to the other meaningful statistical box-score production the comparison is as follows:

MIN: RPG 46.6 APG 23.9 SPG 10.6 BPG 6.0 FG% 43.7 3% 31.8 FT% 75.2

DEN: RPG 44.8 APG 23.8 SPG 8.1 BPG 5.3 FG% 43.5 3% 35.4 FT% 77.8

These numbers are in many ways meaningless this early in the season and as anyone who reads my piece knows, I don't believe any statistic or even a complex, predictive conglomeration of statistics are nearly as accurate in indicating actual results as are the unquantifiable variables of "Mo & flow™" (momentum and the ability to find the zone.)

There are of course many other intangible variables at play, including match-ups. Styles make fights as they say. For example, while Joker must pay far greater attention on the perimeter to KAT than he does most centers in the NBA, the Wolves on whole are not much of a threat from distance, so I think Denver can afford to double Kat who is a good but not elite passer out of the double team and force other players to hit outside jumpers. Then Denver MUST concentrate on being fast and focused on their secondary rotations as a means to avoid easy layups. In a perfect world, Harris will be defending on the same side as Kat, so that as the big man receives the ball, he can sneak in from the blindside and snatch it away; something he is very adept at. This would cause Minnesota to likely focus more on Wiggins in the P&R as primary offense which is still not an enviable situation but the lesser of two evils. The offensive drop-off between Minnesota's top two players and the field is a drastic one.

Prediction: Denver (lap) 107 - Minnesota 103

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For this young Nuggets group, Big Honey is a legit MVP candidate and an emerging superstar, while Murray is coming into his own as Robin to The Joker's Batman (I'm not certain how that works either.) Millsap/Harris provide secondary options when things get problematic on offense; simultaneously carrying the bulk of the defensive burden and Barton is the much needed secondary ball handler/play-maker for when things go awry and a natural scorer/creator. The Nuggets boast one of the deepest benches in the league if not the deepest, which should prove to be an enormous advantage in the era of "load management" (gag!)

Joker does NOT sit around watching Pokemon and eating Serbian goldfish for hours on end, contrary to what casual fans (and bitter Embiid crazies) would like you to believe. Don't judge this particular mystery novel by it's tattered cover. Nikola is a finely tuned athlete, capable of going toe to toe with the best of them for as long as is necessary, as the quadruple overtime playoff game vs Portland in which he played 65 minutes last season, is irrefutable evidence of. The man cares about one thing only and that is winning.

Ok two things... deriding officials being the other. Let's make that four actually. Dancing (poorly/datedly) and hurling children into the sky. I guess he also likes horses and fish stew. He cares a lot come to think of it, just not about 3D's or indeed any statistic other than W's.

It can not be overstated what an advantage it is to have two creators in P&R sets, as the Nuggets enjoy in Jokic/Murray, a seven footer who played PG as a youth and a 6'4 PG who played C as a youth, who are able to swap roles seamlessly. Murray is widely regarded as the best screen-setter on the team while it's well documented what a virtuoso Big Honey is in terms of distribution.

I'll go ahead and post my pre-season predictions here so we can see if they hold up to the test of time in any meaningful manner

#1 Denver
#2 Utah
#3 Portland
#4 LA Clippers
#5 LA Lakers
#6 Houston 
#7 San Antonio
#8 Golden State
#9 Who the fuck cares? Not whomever finishes ninth, that's for certain.

(leaving this up despite the expert tank-job being exhibited by the Warriors. Clearly Dallas is now a playoff team.)

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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, posted by permission of Denver Stiffs: If you are in the market for clothing, featuring the four major Denver sports franchises as well as CU, please open the following link: Unique, hard to find, one of a kind and custom gear of your favorite team 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!

Also, my DIY music production and videos can be heard/seen here if you don't value your ear-balls & eye-drums.

Got it? Or as the immortal Syd Barrett might say, "Have you got it yet?" Do yourself a favor and click that link which illustrates his tragic brilliance as succinctly as can be displayed without listening to his innovative music. It goes without saying, you should of course explore that too, particularly Pink Floyd's '67 Debut album "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" and his final solo album from '70, "Barrett."

I've also recently made a compilation of all of Pink Floyd's essential studio works, including solo projects of all five members, all in chronological order from '65-2017 which you can check out here.

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

(After these messages... Er Nicknames)

Denver Nuggets Roster

Minnesota Timberwolves Roster

Name	POS	Age	HT	WT	College	Salary
	Keita "Bass-Drop" Bates-Diop 31	SF	23	6' 8"	229 lbs	Ohio State	$1,416,852
	"Hair" Jordan Bell 7	PF	24	6' 8"	216 lbs	Oregon	$1,620,564
	Robert "Lord" Covington 33	PF	28	6' 8"	210 lbs	Tennessee State	$11,301,219
	"The Abominable" Jarrett Culver 23	SG	20	6' 6"	195 lbs	Texas Tech	$5,813,640
	Gorgui "Luol" Dieng 5	C	29	6' 10"	252 lbs	Louisville	$16,229,213
	Treveon "Teddy" Graham 12	SG	26	6' 5"	225 lbs	Virginia Commonwealth	$1,645,357
	Jake "The Term-Limit" Layman 10	SF	25	6' 8"	209 lbs	Maryland	$3,581,986
	Kelan "K-Mart #3" Martin 30	SF	24	6' 5"	234 lbs	Butler	--
	"Nair" Jordan McLaughlin 6	PG	23	6' 0"	170 lbs	USC	--
	Shabazz "Matazz" Napier 13	PG	28	6' 0"	175 lbs	Connecticut	$1,845,301
	Jaylen "Whoooo Aaaaare You. Who-who. Who-who" Nowell 4	SG	20	6' 4"	196 lbs	Washington	$1,400,000
	Josh "I lived in a place called Okogie "And I had a little girl in a holler tree" Okogie 20	SG	21	6' 4"	212 lbs	Georgia Tech	$2,530,680
	Naz "One Mic" Reid 11	C	20	6' 9"	264 lbs	LSU	$898,310
	Jeff "Chinco" Teague 0	PG	31	6' 3"	195 lbs	Wake Forest	$19,000,000
	Karl-Anthony Towns "KAT" 32	C	23	7' 0"	248 lbs	Kentucky	$27,285,000
	Noah "Hands-A-Plenty" Vonleh 1	PF	24	6' 9"	257 lbs	Indiana	$2,000,000
	Andrew "Wiley" Wiggins 22	F	24	6' 7"	194 lbs	Kansas	$27,504,630

Update: Cancar has been assigned to the G-league affiliate for the Hawks. Bol and Dozier are on G-League assignment with the Bulls affiliate. As for Minnesota, Napier, Bell and Teague are all game time decisions, with Hammy, shoulder and illness ailments, respectively.

Re-up: Yes I'm aware that trades/acquisitions may have been made and the above roster and or coach for the opposing team may be inaccurate. Hopefully you are aware that the fan-post format isn't equipped to make adjustments to the above template so it often results in entire pieces being destroyed and or hours of work being lost. Simply put, it's not worth the additional effort/risk to change once the Nuggets have faced an opponent once. No disrespect intended. Tune in next season and I assure you the first time Denver plays your team, the roster will be up to date :)

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Data:

TPM™ Game 8 PHI (Starters in bold)

Nikola Jokic: +17

Jamal Murray: +17

Gary Harris: +8

Paul Millsap: +12

Will Barton: +16

Monte Morris: +10

Malik Beasley: +0

Torrey Craig: +3

Jerami Grant: +13

Mason Plumlee: -4

Michael Porter Jr.: +0

Juancho Hernangomez: N/A

Jared Vanderbilt: N/A

Bol Bol: N/A

Vlatko Cancar: N/A

PJ Dozier: N/A

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Total TPM™

Nikola Jokic: 9 games +209

Jamal Murray : 9 games +194

Gary Harris: 9 games +117

Paul Millsap: 9 games +84

Will Barton: 7 games +105

Monte Morris: 9 games +74

Malik Beasley: 9 games +14

Torrey Craig: 9 games +11

Jerami Grant: 9 games +87

Mason Plumlee: 9 games +60

Michael Porter Jr.: 5 games +15

Juancho Hernangomez: 3 games +1

Jared Vanderbilt: 2 games +1

Bol Bol: N/A

Vlatko Cancar: 1 games -3

PJ Dozier: N/A

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Avg. TPM™ Per Game

Nikola Jokic: +23.22

Jamal Murray: +21.56

Gary Harris: +13.00

Paul Millsap: +9.33

Will Barton: +15.00

Monte Morris: +8.22

Malik Beasley: +1.56

Torrey Craig: +1.22

Jerami Grant: +9.67

Mason Plumlee: +6.67

Michael Porter Jr.: +3.00

Juancho Hernangomez: +0.33

Jared Vanderbilt: 0 games +0.33

Bol Bol: 0 games N/A

Vlatko Cancar: 0 games -3.00

PJ Dozier: 0 games N/A

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TPM™ Per-Minute Splits Through Game 7:

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

Analysis:

Qtr1- The Nuggets go with their opening night starting five, consisting of Murray, Harris, Barton, Millsap & Jokic. The Wolves counter with Culver, Wiggins, Graham, Covington & Towns. They aren't our nation's forefathers but they certainly certainly do sound like it. Rodney Tap-dancing Mott heads up the officiating crew. Ruh-roh! Everyone on twitter and in the broadcast, keep mentioning how dangerous Minnesota is from distance because they shoot a ton of threes. No one is mentioning that they shoot them poorly. What SHOULD be talked about is how fast they play and it's a helter-skelter start, as Minnesota leads by three at 9:15. Jokic records his first dunk on the season (no hyperbole) and the lead is one at 8:50. Reading right along, Marlowe mentions Minnesota's poor shooting % from distance. Minnesota makes early substitutions at 7:12 of a tie game. It's even-Steven at the time of the first break, 6:12.

I loath the new-school of thought that chucking and praying is good strategy. NO! Taking GOOD threes is good strategy. It's like the math is over simplified by people who profess to be math-nerds, to an equation that 3>2 rather than considering that 1+1+2>3, etc. In reality 1+1>2 in fact, because of "the game within the game", foul trouble. Moving right along, Denver has a four point lead on a paint-three from Barton to Murray, who is quickly the first to reach double digits for Denver at 5:15. Layman appears to be a much improved player this year. He also looks an awful lot like a young Brent Berry. Craig/Grant are first off the pine for the Nuggets at 3:56, up by four. The lead for Denver is up to six at 3:41. Okogie earns his second foul at this time. Plumlee and Morris are in for the Nuggets at 1:33, leading by four. The red-hot Murray is the only starter who remains in at this point. Beasley completes the second unit as he checks in with 45 seconds to go. Layman ties it up on an acrobatic layup and it's tied.

Denver is paced in TPM by Jamal Murray: +16 as they are all knotted up at 27, after one.

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Qtr2- The Nuggets insert MPJ to open the 2nd. Nearly two minutes pass without scoring from either team, prior to Okogie breaking the silence and the tie, with a three. The second unit is as disjointed as ever for Denver as Minnesota leads by six on the strength of a 16-6 run. Plumlee especially doesn't seem to have his head in the game. Harris replaces Beasley at 8:40. Mason seems re-calibrated and Denver cuts it to two on his assist for an MPJ dunk. Jokic/Murray check in and only MPJ/Grant remain in from the bench squad. The rest ot the starting five for Denver are inserted at 6:15, down three. KAT is one flip-floppy-feline.

'Sap is really struggling and the Wolves lead by nine at 4:28. Nobody is moving without the ball offensively, or boxing out defensively. I don't know if KAT has touched the ball yet without immediately hoisting. That IS hyperbole but not by much. Harris cuts it to five on a steal and drive for two. Denver seems to be tightening the screws defensively but are still refusing to move without the ball on offense. 'Sap can't buy a bucket but he's also getting the bejezus hacked out of him. The Wolves lead by seven with under a minute remaining. Big Honey finally drains a three from Murray, making two in double digits for Denver. Barton's cris-cross-applesauce conversion from forty at the buzzer, has my heart and my loins fluttering in unison.

Denver is paced in TPM by Jamal Murray: +19 as they trail 49-51 at the half.

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Qtr3- The Refs are very hesitant to call fouls on KAT. This is an obstacle Denver must overcome, in order to steal one on the road. Beasley is apparently ill and questionable to return. Complicating matters, Murray seems to have twisted his ankle and he's replaced early by Morris. Kat is an absolute chucker which has served him well up until this point in the season but he's cold from distance tonight. The spacing with this particular grouping is horrendous for the Nuggets. The officiating has been despicably one-sided tonight. If anyone grazes KAT, it's a foul due to his braid-floppery while he's exempt from being called for blatant hacks for some reason. Millsap finally scores on 3-3 from the line, where I believe he's only missed once on the season. Denver leads by one at 7:17. Harris makes three in double digits for Denver.

The Nuggets are attempting far too many skip passes to covered men, which don't lead to open shots or drives. They need to just run plays until they get some semblance of continuity. Nonetheless, they lead by eight at 5:05. Big Honey nabs his 4th foul and must sit at 4:25, leading by four. 'Sap slams one all the fuck over Layman. Your Term-Limit is up, Jake (sad trombone sound.) Minnesota cuts it to two on the strength of an 8-2 run. Thankfully, Murray checks back in at 3:25. Millsap makes four in double digits for Denver and he's scored all 12 of them in the third period, in a Millsapian effort, sayeth Marlowe. Well what do you know, Towns IS called for a foul, just his second on the night. Denver is now in the bonus as the tertiary characters for Minnesota are accumulating fouls. Still, no one on their squad has more than three. Minnesota is now 4-32 from beyond the arc and Denver leads by 11 after a three by MPJ, with 47 seconds to go.

Denver is paced in TPM by Jamal Murray: +19 as they lead 76-64 after three.

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Qtr4- Jamal is toughing it out as always but he doesn't look right at all. "Mason Plumlee" says Marlowe in his close-to-the-mic, distorted, husky, sexy voice, followed by deadpanning "Boy, you can not get in the way of a Plumlee free throw", as a lane violation is called on Craig. I just love his subtle, quick-witted and sometimes borderline-ornery sense of humor in telecasts. Morris replaces Murray, who is likely done for the night, as Denver leads by nine at 9:58. Five straight points for Grant and the lead is 12 for the good guys at 9:27. Denver leads by 13, most of which has occurred as Joker rests, at 7:45. KAT is called for charging in what was an OBVIOUS charge but Mott wanted to call it the other way. He's overruled, correctly so. Mott gets revenge by (correctly) calling an offensive foul on Barton. Morris has done an excellent job stepping in for Murray and the lead remains 13 after some frenzied action on the glass, from a desperate and admirably active Wolves unit, at 6:41. KAT is going into full-on Harden mode, seeking a call on every touch. Big Honey enters at 6:11 with a 14 point lead. Plumlee is called for a flagrant-one on an inadvertent had to the face of KAT, probably the right call. Surprisingly, Murray is back out there too. It's the starting five minus 'Sap plus Grant. Harris earns his fifth foul at 6:03, up now by 11, on a phantom call by he who shall remain nameless. KAT flops yet another offensive foul, called this time against worlds strongest man Jamal Murray on a screen which obliterated KAT, if his floppitude is any indication. The lead is down to nine at 4:32. Murray is called for B2B fouls and the Wolves are in the bonus from here on out, trailing by seven at 3:58. I desperately need a timeout in order to urinate but the teams will not conspire in my favor. They rarely do. My kidneys may abandon ship!The lead is eight with 3:45 to go. Minnesota is setting up shop at the charity stripe and the game is getting aesthetically displeasing.

Denver is one for their last six shot attempts, with six turnovers, three of which were on offensive "fouls." The lead is now five with 2:47 to go and I STILL have to pee! This has been an 11-0 run for the Wolves. Harris fouls out and Wiggins cuts it to three from the line. Morris replaces Gary at 2:29. Denver has gone ice-cold and with under 2:00 to go the crowd stands and erupts, until KAT chucks up a hair ball from three, sending them to their seats. For some reason he thought it would be good to do again and again, upchuck. You can't teach a young KAT new tricks. Murray is absolutely assaulted and no foul is called but the ball bounces off of Murray, out of bounds. Unbelievable! It's being reviewed where if a foul is not called on Okogie then the fix is blatantly in. With 54 seconds remaining, Minnesota is awarded the ball, trailing by three and apparently you are not allowed to assess a foul to someone which was not called?!?! That's not how Scott and Chris explained it as there is clearly contact which dialoged the ball. KAT of course drills one from three on his third attempt and it's a tie game. I just felt that developing as I poo-pooed his earlier attempts. Murray misses with 30 seconds on the clock and the Wolves have the ball with a chance to take the lead. Wiggins takes an ill advised 28 foot three of all things. The offensive strategy of this Wolves team has been dreadful tonight but having said that, neither squad deserves to win. The ref's and the bookies they are beholden to, have been MVP's, maybe give them the W. Minnesota has a foul to give with nine seconds to go as Denver inbounds at half-court. Murray hoists an ill-advised, well contested shot at the buzzer and we're going to OT. Pee break, FINALLY, I'm off to read The Yellow River." There's also a Wizard of Oz joke or two here, but again... pee.

Denver is paced in TPM by Jamal Murray: +16 and they are tied at 90 as regulation comes to a close.

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Overtime: The comatose Nuggets start the OT on D. Wiggins scores on a drive and Minnesota has now scored 18 unanswered. Denver throws it away yet again and this is hard to watch. Craig is out there for Monte in the absence of Harris. Jokic FINALLY scores for the first time in over eight minutes for Denver and it's even at 92. Barton follows it up with a three in transition after an effective back-court screen by Jokic. Barton makes five in double digits for Denver. Will sticks another three after a layup by Wiggins and the lead is four for Denver. Okogie cuts it to two on a dunk with 1:20 remaining. I don't believe Murray has scored since his injury, early in the third period.

Barton with a MANS rebound defensively, is absolutely mugged but it took the refs four hacks by three players to eventually call it. Murray throws it away still again and Covington ties the game with 26 seconds remaining. Replay shows it to have been an uncalled kicked ball by Minnesota that led to the turnover. AAAAAND my power just went out. Luckily it quickly returned. I'll deal with the clocks and my seven aquarium filters AFTER the overtime period. Uggh! Big Honey gives Denver the lead on a quintessentially Jokic, crazy-ass, game winning, baseline, turn-around, fade-away J over KAT, prompting a timeout by Minnesota with 2.4 seconds to play. Denver makes their typical offense/defense subs. 'Sap and Barton have 2D's, perhaps lost in the shuffle. Okogie misses from three and Denver escapes with a victory!

Denver is paced in TPM by Nikola Jokic/Jamal Murray: +17 as they steal one on the road, 100-98

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Final Thoughts:

• I haven't complained about officiating once this season but it was borderline repulsive tonight.
  
• That isn't the sole reason Denver allowed Minnesota back into it but it's an enormous ingredient of the momentum swing. If you find a clip of the kicked ball by Kat, please watch it. It doesn't get more obvious than that.
  
• To that end, Minnesota shot 16 more free throws, despite having nearly HALF of their FG attempts occurring beyond the arc and NEVER GETTING FOULED ONCE ON A THREE POINT ATTEMPT! This basically means that nearly any time they didn't shoot a three they were fouled. Unacceptable!
  
• To their credit, Minnesota is far more attentive in terms of boxing out and going after boards.
  
• That was fun. Let's never do it again!
• Big Honey just had game winning shots of the improbable variety, in back to back games, vs Embiid and Towns. Let there be no doubt ladies and gents! That is the best center in the game. That is the best closer in the game, Period! This is what he does!
  
• Gutsy effort tonight by perhaps the toughest Nugget, Jamal Murray but it would be wise to give Jamal the next game off to get his ankle right.
  
• Pace skews the numbers but in a per-play basis such as late in the clock or in ATO plays, Minnesota actually plays pretty good perimeter defense. The final shot by Murray in the fourth quarter is a good illustration of this. Numbers OFTEN lie.
  
• Towns shot 3 of 14 from beyond the arc. Jokic doesn't even average 14 FG attempts per game.
  

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The Nuggets Win!

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For context pertaining 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 42 year old man who was born during the season in which 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 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.

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