Former Nugget Donovan Mitchell has had a sophomore slump of sorts, at least in terms of efficiency.

And as a result, Denver won that trade, right?

...Right?

The band is FINALLY back together! I expect Harris to start tonight and in doing so, the Nuggets opening night starting five will be in tact for the first time since game two of the season. The only players who are currently inactive due to injury are Trey Lyles and MPJ. Denver is healthier than they have been at any point in this season, just in time for a brutal second half schedule.

Nuggets vs Jazz III: Denver's decided division dominance displayed

When last these two teams squared off in game 46 of this season the Nuggets (lap) enjoyed double figure TPM contributions from three players led by Nikola Jokic: +33. Two Denver players were in the red for that match-up led by Jamal Murray: -9 as the Nuggets dropped one in SLC, 108-114.

In that game, Denver was still without the services of Barton as a starter and had only recently regained the services of Paul Millsap and Gary Harris in the starting unit. Jokic earned a one game suspension despite being one of several players to leave the bench as Plumlee and Favors (who were both ejected) got into it near the Denver bench. To their credit, an always boisterous home crowd in SLC had a tremendous influence on the way the game was officiated and in turn, on the momentum of the game.

Utah uglified the game through ceaseless clutching and grabbing and were rewarded for it, something that is unlikely to yield the same results on the road which to me makes zero sense but NBA officials more so than those for any other pro league are thin skinned and emotional, so they can be influenced by momentum and noise and head jerking and shouting, embarrassingly so.

As for this game, as with most in the Nuggets brutal remaining schedule, it has deep playoff implications and Denver can not afford to drop many of these type of encounters if they hope to maintain a first round bye. I currently project the Nuggets to win 54 games which would most likely put them anywhere from a 2-4 seed in the Western Conference but those 1-2 seeds are the real prize, as they guarantee home court advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs.

To earn a victory tonight, Denver has to contain Mitchell and Gobert who have played well above their season averages over the course of the last three games. Their P&R game (with a sprinkling of Rubio), much like that of their counterparts Murray & Jokic (With a dash of IT/Barton/Morris/Harris), is pretty unguardable and the Nuggets must be concise in their secondary rotations, while decisive in their hedges/trapping if they hope to force Donovan into some low percentage looks and Gobert away from dunking range.

Here are some numbers you can use:

Utah gives up 106.7 PPG by their opponents on average, to Denver's 106.9

The Jazz average 110.1 PPG offensively to the Nuggets 112.3

This results in a net rating for Utah of +3.4 and +5.4 for Denver

Utah is 14-16 on the road while Denver is an NBA best 27-4 in the friendly confines of The Pepsi Can.

In terms of conference record, the Jazz are 21-17 to the Nuggets 27-10 mark which is important only in as much as understanding the strength of schedule involved as the Western Conference has been as much as ever, the stiffer competition.

Denver can take the lead in the season series with the Jazz tonight as they are 1-1 with tonight's game as well as one in Utah remaining.

Within their shared division, the Nuggets are 8-1 while Utah is 5-7

Denver of course is 2nd in the Western Conference standings, just .5 games behind the Warriors while Utah currently resides in 6th place in the Western Conference, 8.5 games out.

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

(team with advantage in bold)
UTA: RPG 45.7 APG 25.2 SPG 8.2 BPG 5.6 FG% 46.2 FT% 73.8 3% 34.8

DEN: RPG 46.8 APG 27.7 SPG 7.8 BPG 4.5 FG% 47.1 FT% 75.3 3% 35.7

The numbers on whole favor the Nuggets but 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.

To that end, the Nuggets have won 14 of their last 20 & 7 of their last 10 games, while the Jazz have been victorious in 14 of their last 20 & 6 of their last 10.

For this young Nuggets group, (fourth youngest in the NBA; they were the youngest at the start of the season but tank-moves made by CHI/NY/PHO have rendered them younger, since) individual consistency is simply not a thing so it's more difficult to predict how a player will contribute based upon trends; particularly so as the starters begin filtering back from injury and roles are altered/redefined in the coming games. Jokic has been consistently good but in different ways seemingly every night.

Having said that, 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) while 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; a natural scorer/creator and the Nuggets boast one of the deepest benches in the league, even without Lyles and MPJ.

When Jokic gets a 3D at home, over the course of his career, the Nuggets are undefeated and only once in his 28 career 3D's have the Nuggets lost. In short, these are not hollow, stat seeking ventures but Jokic playing within the offense. He's come up short of a 3D no less than a dozen times this season alone, by one or two P/R/A due to the Nuggets leading big and his sitting out fourth quarters. In such occasions he can be found laughing and cheering his teammates on from the pine.

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.

There are of course many other variables at play including match-ups; styles make fights. For example, this game is all about the P&R. Whichever duo of guards/centers gets the better of their opponent is likely to earn the victory. Denver has more of a freelance version of P&R where Jokic is afforded the ability to create on his own while Utah Favors (pun intended) getting either a dunk or a three out of their P&R set.

This is what has lead to a lot of Mitchell's inefficiency; when solid defensive rotations are present, he's often left with no choice but to hoist a contested long-range shot late in the clock. It can not be overstated what and advantage it is to have two creators in these sets 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.

I do expect the Nuggets' rotation to tighten up a bit, so it will likely be a nine man unit, which leaves Craig/Juancho and likely Lyles upon return, out.

Food for thought: Once Harris is starting, this is what Denver's rotation will consist of:

PG Murray/Morris/IT

SG Harris/IT/Beasley

SF Barton/Harris/Beasley

PF Millsap/Plumlee

C Jokic/Plumlee

A combination unique amongst the NBA, of being very small in positions 1-3 while exceptionally large at the 4-5. For this to work Plumlee has got to curtail his fouling, Jokic has GOT to stop taking "Jokic only" fouls to prove a point to officials and defensive communication has got to be at a premium. Got it? Or as the immortal Syd Barrett might say, "Have you got it yet?"

Prediction: Denver (lap ) 111 - Utah 107

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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 as 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

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

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

(After these messages... Er Nicknames)

Utah Jazz Roster

NO	Name	POS	Age	HT	WT	College	Salary
24	Grayson "Plumlee" Allen	SG	23	6' 5"	198 lbs	Duke	$2,074,320
13	Tony "Stop Dunking! Shawn Is No Relation, I Swear!" Bradley	C	20	6' 10"	248 lbs	North Carolina	$1,679,520
10	Alec "B-Line" Burks	SG	27	6' 6"	214 lbs	Colorado	$11,536,515
34	Tyler "Half-Man, Half-Cabbage" Cavanaugh	PF	24	6' 9"	238 lbs	George Washington	G-Money
99	Jae "Corn Chowder" Crowder	PF	28	6' 6"	235 lbs	Marquette	$7,305,825
11	Dante "Tough Luck" Exum	PG	23	6' 6"	190 lbs	Downunda	$9,600,000
15	Derrick "I'll Do You No" Favors	PF	27	6' 10"	265 lbs	Georgia Tech	$16,900,000
27	Rudy "The Stifle Tower" Gobert	C	26	7' 1"	245 lbs	Francais	$23,241,573
2	"Not Your Average" Joe Ingles	SF	31	6' 8"	226 lbs	Downunda	$13,045,455
45	Donovan "Lyles/Lydon" Mitchell	SG	22	6' 3"	215 lbs	Louisville	$3,111,480
30	"Nasty" Naz Mitrou-Long	SG	25	6' 4"	218 lbs	Iowa State	G-Money
25	Raul "Portuguese R Pronounced H. Neat-O!" Neto	PG	26	6' 1"	179 lbs	Brasilia	$2,150,000
31	"Gorgeous" Georges Niang	SF	25	6' 8"	230 lbs	Iowa State	$1,512,601
23	"Mile High" Royce O'Neale	SF	25	6' 6"	226 lbs	Baylor	$1,378,242
3	"Ravishing" Ricky Rubio	PG	28	6' 4"	190 lbs	Espana	$14,975,000
22	Thabo "I'll Stab You In Da Club With My Swiss Army Knife" Sefolosha	SF	34	6' 7"	220 lbs	Switzerlandia	$5,250,000
33	Ekpe "Not Me But" Udoh	C	31	6' 10"	245 lbs	Baylor	$3,360,000

Denver Nuggets Roster

NO	Name	POS	Age	HT	WT	College	Salary
5	Will "The People's Champion" Barton	SG	27	6' 6"	190 lbs	Memphis	$11,830,358
25	"Mutant" Malik Beasley	SG	22	6' 5"	195 lbs	Florida State	$1,773,840
3	Torrey "FUCKING" Craig	SF	27	6' 7"	215 lbs	USC Upstate	$2,000,000
2	Brandon "Hopefully Contributes To Many The" Goodwin	PG	23	6' 2"	180 lbs	Florida Gulf Coast	$630,032
14	"Just" Gary Harris	SG	24	6' 4"	210 lbs	Michigan State	$16,517,857
41	Juancho "The Mouthful" Hernangomez	PF	23	6' 9"	230 lbs	Espana	$2,166,360
15	Nikola "Big Honey" Jokic (AKA The Joker)	C	23	7' 0"	250 lbs	Gotham	$24,605,181
20	Tyler "Not just Anunobody" Lydon	PF	22	6' 10"	225 lbs	Syracuse	$1,874,640
7	Trey "The Swiss Army Spork" Lyles	PF	23	6' 10"	234 lbs	Kentucky	$3,364,249
4	Paul "The Anchorman" Millsap	PF	33	6' 8"	246 lbs	Louisiana Tech	$29,230,769
11	Monte "Ratio" Morris	PG	23	6' 3"	175 lbs	Iowa State	$1,349,383
27	Jamal "The Blue Arrow" Murray	PG	21	6' 4"	207 lbs	Kentucky	$3,499,800
24	Mason "Plumdog Millionaire" Plumlee	PF	28	6' 11"	235 lbs	Duke	$12,917,808
1	Michael "The Sleeper Cell" Porter Jr.	PF	20	6' 10"	210 lbs	Missouri	$2,894,160
0	Isaiah "Ice" Thomas	PG	29	5' 9"	185 lbs	Washington	$1,512,601
8	Jarred "The Amalgamated Version Of A Dude I Once Bought Weed From On Haight Ashbury" Vanderbilt	PF	19	6' 9"	214 lbs	Kentucky	$838,464
45	Thomas "Irvine" Welsh	C	22	7' 0"	255 lbs	UCLA	G-Money

Update: MPJ is still waiting to make his Denver Nuggets/pro debut as he rehabs from multiple back surgeries. Lyles is out with a Hammy. Wow! That was short! As for the Jazz, Exum is out as always, while Rubio is questionable with a left hammy. Someone named Bradley is out with a knee injury while Neto makes four players with hampered hammies.

Re-up: Yes I'm aware that trades have been made and the above roster for the opposing team is 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 :)

Re-Re-up: Rubio has been ruled out for this game. Also I was incorrect in my prediction and Harris is still not supplanting Beasley in the starting unit, much to my chagrin and taking nothing away from The Mutant who has been excellent.

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Data:

TPM™ Game 61 UTA (Starters in bold)

Nikola Jokic: +23

Jamal Murray: +19

Gary Harris: +9

Monte Morris: +4

Paul Millsap: +12

Isaiah Thomas:-2

Will Barton: -3

Mason Plumlee: +19

Malik Beasley: +3

Jared Vanderbilt: N/A

Juancho: -10

Tyler Lydon: N/A

Torrey Craig: +0

Thomas Welsh: G-league

Brandon Goodwin: G-league

Trey Lyles: Injured

Michael Porter Jr.: Injured

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Total TPM™

Nikola Jokic: 60 games +1393

Jamal Murray: 55 games +930

Gary Harris: 36 games +482

Monte Morris: 61 games +729

Paul Millsap: 49 games +465

Isaiah Thomas: 5 games +44

Will Barton: 22 games +189

Mason Plumlee: 61 games +521

Malik Beasley: 61 games +476

Jared Vanderbilt: 6 games +12

Juancho: 57 games +6

Tyler Lydon: 24 games -2

Torrey Craig: 57 games -14

Thomas Welsh: 9 games +18

Brandon Goodwin: 16 games +28

Trey Lyles: 55 games +303

Michael Porter Jr.: 0 games +0

Nick Young: 3 games -2

DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell: 6 games +5

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Avg. TPM™ Per Game

Nikola Jokic: +23.22

Jamal Murray: +16.91

Gary Harris: +13.39

Monte Morris: +11.95

Paul Millsap: +9.49

Isaiah Thomas:+8.80

Will Barton: +8.59

Mason Plumlee: +8.54

Malik Beasley: +7.80

Jared Vanderbilt: +2.00

Juancho: +0.11

Tyler Lydon: -0.08

Torrey Craig: -0.25

Thomas Welsh: +2.00

Brandon Goodwin: +1.75

Trey Lyles: +5.70

Michael Porter Jr.: N/A

Nick Young: -0.67

DeVaughn Akoon-Purcell: +0.83

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TPM™ Per-Minute Splits Through Game 60:

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

Qtr1- The Nuggets go with their 14th iteration of their starting five, consisting of Murray, Beasley, Barton, Millsap & Jokic. The Jazz counter with Young, Mitchell, Jingles, Favors & Gobert. At the time of tip-off, the Nuggets have already claimed first place in the Western Conference, by virtue of the Warriors loss to Orlando earlier tonight. Harlan and Reggie Miller are on the call tonight for TNT. Here's hopin' that Reggie has finally learned how to pronounce the name Joke-itch. The Jazz are sporting their southern-Utah themed jerseys which I quite like. The Nuggets lead by one with 9:02 remaining, on an early J by Murray, something that's been absent in the early-going of recent games. Rudy uncharacteristically misses his first two dunk attempts. Denver is doing an extraordinary job on secondary rotational efforts defensively and they lead by three at 6:43. Mason is first off the pine for the good guys at 6:08, with a one point lead. Jae is attempting to defend Big Honey. This won't end well for Crowder.

It doesn't as The Joker finds Plumlee on a sweet dish for an uncontested dunk. Morris is in with 4:10 remaining, to perform in front of a large ISU contingency. Harris is also in at this time, leading by seven. Denver's starters have outplayed their Utah counterparts and their real advantage comes once the bench units are in tact so all is well in The Mile High City, as of current. Of the eight Denver Nuggets to set foot on the court, only the recently inserted Monte Morris has yet to score. Of note: Gobert/Mitchell have thus-far combined for exactly zero points. The lead is six with two minutes to go. Surprisingly, it is Utah who is getting the better of these for-the-most-part second unit exchanges, as they cut it to one with under a minute to go. Jokic & Barton have yet to get a break for Denver. IT is in after a commercial break to run the show for Denver. Favors as usual is killing the Nuggets on the offensive glass. A solid quarter nonetheless for both teams. Denver is paced in TPM by Mason Plumlee: +10 as they lead 22-19 after one.

Nikola Jokic: +5 Jamal Murray: +2 Gary Harris: +4 Monte Morris: +1 Isaiah Thomas: + Paul Millsap: -3 Will Barton: +0 Mason Plumlee: +10 Malik Beasley: +4 Jared Vanderbilt: N/A Juancho: N/A Tyler Lydon: N/A Torrey Craig: N/A

Qtr2- The play is being slopified on both ends as the second quarter commences in earnest. This results in a two point advantage for Utah at 10:15. Millsap can't buy a call and he's being clobbered each and every time he handles it in the post. Craig is in for Denver at 8:47 to play PF in an exceedingly small lineup, trailing by two. Donovan finally scores one from the charity stripe. IT looks very rusty again tonight. The Nuggets are 1-11 from the field to this point in the second period. They are 0-10 from beyond the arc on the night as well. They trail by five with just over six minutes remaining and haven't scored since the 10:14 mark. The starters are now in tact for Denver. They get a 24 second clock violation out of a time out; inexcusable! Focus is clearly an issue at the moment. Murray finally converts Denver's first three at 5:50. Two straight from downtown for Thabo and the lead is eight for Utah at 4:40. Make that three in a row and the lead is up to 11. Nobody for Utah is in any sort of foul trouble which speaks to the lack of aggressiveness for the Nuggets as Utah is historically ALWAYS foul-prone. Gobert finally scores with 3:45 to go and the lead is once again 11. It is Denver, not the unrested Jazz who look a step slow.

This is going to be one of Marlowe's famous halftime orange slice games; problem being that he's not broadcasting this one with a national crew in town. It would be nice if Barton could get up for the challenge of defending the savvy Jingles the way he did for PG13. Will is really struggling to stay in front of Joe. Could this be the first time that Jokic earns a 3D at home but Denver loses? He sports a line of 4-6-4 at the moment and needs to attack Gobert as a means to stem the tide in momentum / cause foul trouble. 'Sap has two fouls and it would be wise to rest him with 2:45 to go. Not so. The Nuggets are uncustomarily absent on the offensive glass. Jokic goes at Rudy, resulting in the &-1 I ordered, cutting the Utah lead to 10. The next time down he runs into a clearly-moving Gobert and earns an offensive foul. He childishly follows that up with an "only Jokic" foul and Denver is in trouble. That one is just as much on Malone as it is Jokic (KYP.) Jingles is pwning Barton and in turn the Nuggets, as the lead is 15 when the half comes to a close. The Nuggets shoot an unsightly 34% from the floor with 10 turnovers and a putrid, almost James Harden-esque 1-13 from distance in the first half, as it mercifully draws to a close. Denver is paced in TPM by Mason Plumlee: +10 as they trail 37-52 at the half.

Nikola Jokic: +8 Jamal Murray: +5 Gary Harris: +3 Monte Morris: +4 Isaiah Thomas: +0 Paul Millsap: -6 Will Barton: -10 Mason Plumlee: +10 Malik Beasley: +4 Jared Vanderbilt: N/A Juancho: N/A Tyler Lydon: N/A Torrey Craig: +0

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Qtr3- I'd love to get a look at Vanderbilt at the 4 in this half as what he provides, defense and Hustle are precisely what the Nuggets are lacking at the moment. Additionally, a couple of three's or dunks could convert, causing clamoring from the canned crowd. No players for the Nuggets currently have more than seven points! Millsap is showing more intensity early and it would be nice if Jokic followed suit. Jamal is FINALLY the first player in double digits for Denver. Utah leads by 14 at the 10 minute mark. This game has the feel of one in which Denver rested on their laurels after some pre-game scoreboard watching, when instead they need to have the mindset of racking up the wins they are "supposed" to get prior to a brutal March/April schedule. The lead is 16 after a dunk by the suddenly effective Gobert. Put in Jared, coach! Pump fake Nikola... try it! He nabs his fourth foul at the 8:14 mark, trailing now by 17. Murray cuts it to 13 on a cherry-picked dunk with 6:39 to go. Korver five, Denver zero following the timeout. Annother three by a well covered Korver and the lead is 14 at 4:50.

Jokic gets a ticky-tack fifth foul and I have no idea why Malone left him in there to get it. Barton cuts it to 13 on an &-1. Juancho checks in for the first time at 3:55. Another &-1 for Will and the crowd finally has something to cheer about as the lead is down to ten for Utah with 3:30 remaining. Jamal misses two from the charity stripe at 3:05 and Utah enters the bonus on a foul by Juancho. The bench squad + Barton for Denver has acquitted themselves nicely this half offensively but are still failing to defend. To his credit, while failing miserably at the point of attack defensively, Barton has two spectacular blocks and two steals here in the third as he cuts the lead to seven from the line, with under a minute to play. Juancho is going to be praised in the post game for spearheading the charge, no doubt siting +-, when in reality he's done nothing but commit two fouls while Utah went cold as Barton has taken over. Mitchell sticks a three on Barton to once again increase the lead to double figures, as the period comes to a close. Denver is paced in TPM by Jamal Murray: +18 as they trail 70-81 after three.

Nikola Jokic: +10 Jamal Murray: +18 Gary Harris: +5 Monte Morris: +4 Isaiah Thomas: +0 Paul Millsap: -7 Will Barton: +0 Mason Plumlee: +17 Malik Beasley: +3 Jared Vanderbilt: N/A Juancho: -6 Tyler Lydon: N/A Torrey Craig: +0

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Qtr4- The game is prime for the taking if Denver can dig in defensively. This is going to be tough with an already tentative Big Honey playing with five fouls. We'll see just how much of a star he is if the refs swallow their whistles a bit and allow him to play. IT makes his first appearance of the second half to open the fourth. Plumlee cuts it to eight with an &-1. Harris cuts it to six on a layup at 10:45. IT is called for a block on an obvious charge by Favors and the crowd is letting Derrick have it at the line. It's to no avail as he sticks them both. Juancho draws a charge which is ALSO called a block but on this one, his foot was in the circle so it was the right call. He has FOUR FOULS IN SIX MINUTES! Why is he still out there? 'Cause he got a steal on the next play Rasmussen, that's why! Barton/Plumlee make three in double digits for Denver who trial by seven with 9:19 to go. Will has a 2D with 17-11-3. Harris cuts it to five with two from the charity stripe with 8:41 remaining as Jingles checks back in for Mitchell. Yet another three for Korver and it's back up to eight points. 'Sap and Jokic have yet to play in the fourth as they trial by ten again at 7:38. Another long two by Korver on Barton and it's a 12 point lead at 7:32. The Jazz simply wanted this one more for the entirety while Denver didn't wake up until midway through the third which seems will ultimately be their undoing, barring someone getting inexplicably hot the way Korver has. Jokic enters and Juancho for some reason remains in rather than Millsap and he immediately relinquishes a three to Korver.

The lead is 15 on the strength of a 10-0 run for Utah, 8 of which coming by way of Korver. Barton relinquishes a three to Mitchell and it's not looking good with Denver now trailing by 18, midway through the fourth period. 'Sap mercifully enters for Juancho at this point. He immediately scores in the post. Big Honey has a 2D with 11-10-6. In doing so he's the fifth player to reach double digits for Denver. Korver FINALLY sits and the lead is 13 with just under five minutes to go. Denver is now in the bonus as Barton converts two at 4:41, cutting it to 11. Jokic can't buy a call and frankly, it's his own damned fault for complaining so profusely and so frequently. The lead is seven after a three by 'Sap! Barton cuts it to five with a floater with 2:10 to play, on the strength of a 16-3 run. Murray cuts it to four with a three! Mitchell with two straight layups is taking charge for Utah before 'Sap sticks another three cutting it to three with 1:10 to play! Another long J by Mitchell increases the lead to five with under a minute to go. Jokic earns two on a goal-tend by Gobert which will be reviewed. It's rightly overturned but wrongly it results in a jump ball when Harris would have garnered the board otherwise. Utah of course wins the tip and the W is not looking likely at this point for the Nuggets. Denver elects to go with the foul game exceedingly late in the shot clock, sending Jingles to the line. He converts 1-2 and the lead is six. Murray is fouled by Rudy, he AGAIN misses the front end and that's more than likely all she wrote with just 30 seconds to go. The lead is five with 23 to play after a Jokic floater. Murray fouls Rudy who makes two, the lead is 7 with 23 seconds to go and that's it. Denver is paced in TPM by Nikola Jokic: +23 as they drop a game they had no business losing, by a final score of 104-111.

Nikola Jokic: +23 Jamal Murray: +19 Gary Harris: +9 Monte Morris: +4 Isaiah Thomas: -2 Paul Millsap: +12 Will Barton: -3 Mason Plumlee: +19 Malik Beasley: +3 Jared Vanderbilt: N/A Juancho: -10 Tyler Lydon: N/A Torrey Craig: +0

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We Suck Again!

Final Thoughts: The Jazz deserve all the credit in the world for taking this game seriously as it should have been but Denver seriously lacked in the same department. Immaturity rearing it's ugly head for the leagues fourth youngest team. This 11 man rotation needs to be trimmed by two so that any of the guards can get into a rhythm they currently are not afforded. Sorry Torrey and Juancho. Saturday's piece will be data only as It's always the busiest day of the week for me.

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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 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.

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