The good guys

Their adversaries

Nuggets vs Raptors I:

"__"

• Data only today, due to early start. All that anal will return in the next piece.
  

When last these two teams squared off in game __ of this season the Nuggets (I'll take a lap) enjoyed double figure TPM contributions from five players led by __. __ players for Denver were in the red for that match-up led by __ as the Nuggets __

In that game, __

(The previous section comes with contributive information and quotes from ESPN game recaps.)

As for this game, __

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Here are some numbers you can use: (Team with advantage in bold)

• __ gives up __ PPG by their opponents on average, to Denver's __

• __ averages __ PPG offensively to Denver's __

• This results in a net rating for __ of __ and __ for Denver

• __ is __ away from home while Denver is __ from the friendly confines of The Pepsi Can.

• In terms of conference record, __ is __ to Denver's __ 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 of course is 2nd in the Western Conference standings, __ games behind the Lakers, while __ currently resides in __ place in the __ern Conference, __ games out.

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

___ : RPG __ APG __ SPG __ BPG __ FG% __ FT% __ 3% __

DEN: RPG __ APG __ SPG __ BPG __ FG% __ FT% __ 3% __

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, __

Prediction: Denver (lap) __ - __ __

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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.

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

Coach: Michael "Post" Malone

	Name	POS	Age	HT	WT	College	Salary
	Will "The People's Champion" Barton 5	SF	29	6' 5"	181 lbs	Memphis	$12,776,786
	Keita "Bass-Drop" Bates-Diop 31	SF	24	6' 8"	229 lbs	Ohio State	$1,416,852
	Bol "Bilbo Baggins" Bol 10	C	20	7' 2"	220 lbs	Oregon	--
	Vlatko "Slovenian Cyborg" Cancar 31	SF	22	6' 8"	236 lbs	--	$898,310
	Torrey "FUCKING" Craig 3	SF	29	6' 7"	221 lbs	USC Upstate	$2,000,000
	PJ "Bol" Dozier 35	PG	23	6' 6"	205 lbs	South Carolina	--
	Jerami "The Co-Host" Grant 9	PF	25	6' 8"	210 lbs	Syracuse	$9,346,153
	"Just" Gary Harris 14	SG	25	6' 4"	210 lbs	Michigan State	$17,839,286
	Nikola "Big Honey" Jokic 15	C	24	7' 0"	284 lbs	--	$27,504,630
	Jordan "Hal" McRae 52	SG	28	6' 5"	179 lbs	Tennessee	$1,645,357
	Paul "The Anchorman" Millsap 4	PF	34	6' 7"	257 lbs	Louisiana Tech	$30,350,000
	Monte "Ratio" Morris 11	PG	24	6' 2"	183 lbs	Iowa State	$1,588,231
	Jamal "The Blue Arrow" Murray 27	PG	22	6' 4"	215 lbs	Kentucky	$4,444,746
	Mason "Plumdog Millionaire" Plumlee 7	PF	29	6' 11"	254 lbs	Duke	$14,041,096
	Michael "Half Man / Other Half, Also Man... Basically, All Man" Porter Jr. 1	PF	21	6' 10"	218 lbs	Missouri	$3,389,400
	Noah "Hands-A-Plenty" Vonleh 1	PF	24	6' 10"	257 lbs	Indiana	$2,000,000

Toronto Raptors Roster

Name	POS	Age	HT	WT	College	Salary
	OG "Original Gamble" Anunoby 3	SF	22	6' 7"	232 lbs	Indiana	$2,281,800
	Chris "The Waterboy" Boucher 25	PF	27	6' 9"	200 lbs	Oregon	$1,588,231
	Oshae "Lil Cube" Brissett 12	SF	21	6' 7"	210 lbs	Syracuse	--
	Terence "Terrell" Davis 0	SG	22	6' 4"	201 lbs	Ole Miss	$898,310
	Marc "Lint Ball" Gasol 33	C	35	6' 11"	255 lbs	--	$25,595,700
	"Long" Dewan Hernandez 20	C	23	6' 10"	235 lbs	Miami (FL)	$898,310
	Rondae "Christmas In" Hollis-Jefferson 4	SF	25	6' 6"	217 lbs	Arizona	$2,500,000
	Serge "Chewy" Ibaka 9	C	30	7' 0"	235 lbs	--	$23,271,604
	"Morgan" Stanley Johnson 5	SF	23	6' 6"	242 lbs	Arizona	$3,623,000
	Kyle "Tank" Lowry 7	PG	33	6' 0"	196 lbs	Villanova	$34,996,296
	Patrick "The Claw" McCaw 22	SF	24	6' 7"	181 lbs	UNLV	$4,000,000
	Malcolm "In The Middle" Miller 13	SG	26	6' 7"	210 lbs	Holy Cross	$1,588,231
	Norman "Colin" Powell 24	SG	26	6' 3"	215 lbs	UCLA	$10,116,576
	Pascal Siakam "Begin" 43	PF	25	6' 9"	230 lbs	New Mexico State	$2,351,839
	"Flat" Matt Thomas 21	SG	25	6' 4"	190 lbs	Iowa State	$898,310
	Fred "Skeet Skeet Skeet" VanVleet 23	SG	26	6' 1"	197 lbs	Wichita State	$9,346,153
	Paul "Steve" Watson 1	SF	25	6' 6"	210 lbs	Fresno State	--

Update: __. As for __

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 59 TOR (Starters in bold)

Nikola Jokic: +37

Jamal Murray : +27

Will Barton: +12

Monte Morris: +16

Paul Millsap: N/A

Gary Harris: +23

Jerami Grant: +20

Michael Porter Jr.: +17

Mason Plumlee: +12

Torrey Craig: +13

PJ Dozier: +0

Noah Vonleh: N/A

Keita Bates-Diop: N/A

Vlatko Cancar: +0

Bol Bol: N/A

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Total TPM™

Nikola Jokic: 59 games +1585

Jamal Murray : 50 games +917

Will Barton: 52 games +562

Monte Morris: 59 games +636

Paul Millsap: 39 games +320

Gary Harris: 51 games +412

Jerami Grant: 59 games +468

Michael Porter Jr.: 44 games +202

Mason Plumlee: 47 games +271

Torrey Craig: 45 games +10

PJ Dozier: 19 games +86

Noah Vonleh: 3 games +7

Keita Bates-Diop: 2 games +6

Vlatko Cancar: 13 games +3

Bol Bol: N/A

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Avg. TPM™ Per Game

Nikola Jokic: +26.86

Jamal Murray: +18.34

Will Barton: +10.81

Monte Morris: +10.78

Paul Millsap: +8.21

Gary Harris: +8.08

Jerami Grant: +7.93

Michael Porter Jr.: +4.59

Mason Plumlee: +5.77

Torrey Craig: +0.24

PJ Dozier: +4.53

Noah Vonleh: +2.33

Keita Bates-Diop: +3.00

Vlatko Cancar: +0.23

Bol Bol: N/A

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TPM™ Per-Minute Splits Through Game 55:

*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 __ counter with __

Denver is paced in TPM by __ as they __ after one.

Nikola Jokic: +0 Jamal Murray: +0 Will Barton: +0 Monte Morris: +0 Gary Harris: +0 Paul Millsap: +0 Jerami Grant: +0 PJ Dozier: +0 Mason Plumlee: +0 Michael Porter Jr: +0 Vlatko Cancar: +0 Torrey Craig: +0 Noah Vonleh: +0

Qtr2- The

Denver is paced in TPM by __ as they __ at the half.

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Qtr3- The __

Denver is paced in TPM by __ as they __after three.

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Qtr4- The

Denver is paced in TPM by __ as they __

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Final Thoughts:

• Denver wins 133-118
  

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THE NUGGETS WIN!

WE SUCK AGAIN!

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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 43 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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