The Good Guys
Their adversaries
Nuggets vs Wolves I: "How about a no-doubter?"
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 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?"
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.
And now what none of you come here for; how about some basketball nerdery?!?!
(After these messages... Er Nicknames)
Denver Nuggets Roster
| Name | POS | Age | HT | WT | College | Salary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
SF
|
29
|
6' 5"
|
181 lbs
|
Memphis
|
$13,723,214
|
|
 |
C
|
21
|
7' 2"
|
209 lbs
|
Oregon
|
$2,058,240
|
|
 |
PG
|
29
|
5' 11"
|
165 lbs
|
--
|
$3,200,000
|
|
 |
SF
|
23
|
6' 8"
|
236 lbs
|
--
|
$1,517,981
|
|
 |
PG
|
24
|
6' 6"
|
205 lbs
|
South Carolina
|
$1,762,796
|
|
 |
PF
|
30
|
6' 8"
|
227 lbs
|
Alabama
|
$7,199,760
|
|
 |
PG
|
19
|
6' 6"
|
176 lbs
|
--
|
$2,193,040
|
|
 |
SG
|
26
|
6' 4"
|
205 lbs
|
Michigan State
|
$19,610,714
|
|
 |
C
|
22
|
7' 0"
|
249 lbs
|
--
|
$1,620,564
|
|
 |
PG
|
21
|
5' 11"
|
180 lbs
|
Marquette
|
--
|
|
 |
C
|
25
|
7' 0"
|
284 lbs
|
--
|
$29,542,010
|
|
 |
PF
|
35
|
6' 7"
|
257 lbs
|
Louisiana Tech
|
$1,000,000
|
|
 |
PG
|
25
|
6' 2"
|
183 lbs
|
Iowa State
|
$1,588,231
|
|
 |
PG
|
23
|
6' 4"
|
215 lbs
|
Kentucky
|
$27,285,000
|
|
 |
PF
|
19
|
6' 11"
|
240 lbs
|
Arizona
|
$2,284,800
|
|
 |
PF
|
22
|
6' 10"
|
218 lbs
|
Missouri
|
$3,550,800
|
|
 |
SF
|
27
|
6' 8"
|
212 lbs
|
Georgetown
|
--
|
Coach: Michael "Post" Malone
Minnesota Timberwolves Roster
| Name | POS | Age | HT | WT | College | Salary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
SG
|
24
|
6' 4"
|
196 lbs
|
Florida State
|
$13,425,895
|
|
 |
SG
|
21
|
6' 6"
|
200 lbs
|
Texas Tech
|
$6,104,280
|
|
 |
F
|
31
|
6' 9"
|
222 lbs
|
North Carolina
|
$5,005,350
|
|
 |
SG
|
19
|
6' 5"
|
229 lbs
|
Georgia
|
$9,757,440
|
|
 |
PG
|
21
|
6' 3"
|
193 lbs
|
Kentucky
|
--
|
|
 |
PF
|
25
|
6' 9"
|
215 lbs
|
--
|
$6,493,000
|
|
 |
SF
|
26
|
6' 8"
|
212 lbs
|
Maryland
|
$3,761,085
|
|
 |
PF
|
20
|
6' 9"
|
192 lbs
|
Washington
|
$1,964,760
|
|
 |
PG
|
24
|
5' 11"
|
185 lbs
|
USC
|
--
|
|
 |
SG
|
21
|
6' 4"
|
197 lbs
|
Washington
|
$1,517,981
|
|
 |
G
|
22
|
6' 4"
|
220 lbs
|
Georgia Tech
|
$2,651,040
|
|
 |
C
|
21
|
6' 9"
|
250 lbs
|
LSU
|
$1,517,981
|
|
 |
PG
|
30
|
6' 3"
|
199 lbs
|
--
|
$17,000,000
|
|
 |
SG
|
24
|
6' 4"
|
193 lbs
|
Ohio State
|
$28,649,250
|
|
 |
C
|
25
|
7' 0"
|
250 lbs
|
Kentucky
|
$29,467,800
|
|
 |
PF
|
21
|
6' 8"
|
214 lbs
|
Kentucky
|
$1,663,361
|
Coach: Ryan "The Flyin' Hawaiian" Saunders
Update: Greg Whittington will miss another one with a left knee sprain and MPJ is out due to contact tracing protocol. He's had it once but still doesn't believe in COVID-19. For the Wolves, KAT is out with a left wrist dislocation, Okogie with a hammy & Nowell with a calf.
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.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Data:
TPM™ Game 7 MIN
Nikola Jokic: +29
Jamal Murray: +11
Michael Porter Jr: N/A
Will Barton: +8
Gary Harris: +13
Paul Millsap: +2
Monte Morris: +1
Isaiah Hartenstein: N/A
JaMychal Green: +12
PJ Dozier :-10
Bol Bol: N/A
Facundo Campazzo: +13
Vlatko Cancar: N/A
Greg Whittington: N/A
Markus Howard: N/A
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Total TPM™
Nikola Jokic: 7 games +292
Jamal Murray: 6 games +116
Michael Porter Jr: 4 games +41
Will Barton: 7 games +39
Gary Harris: 7 games +33
Paul Millsap: 7 games +31
Monte Morris: 7 games +55
Isaiah Hartenstein: 5 games -4
JaMychal Green: 3 games +41
PJ Dozier: 7 games +7
Bol Bol: 3 games -13
Facundo Campazzo: 7 games +34
Zeke Nnaji: 3 games -5
RJ Hampton: 4 games -3
Vlatko Cancar: 2 games +0
Greg Whittington: N/A
Markus Howard: 3 games +0
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Avg. TPM™ Per Game
Nikola Jokic: +41.71
Jamal Murray: +19.33
Michael Porter Jr: +10.25
Will Barton: +5.57
Gary Harris: +4.71
Paul Millsap: +4.43
Monte Morris: +7.86
Isaiah Hartenstein: -0.80
JaMychal Green: +13.67
PJ Dozier: +1.00
Bol Bol: -4.33
Facundo Campazzo: +4.86
Zeke Nnaji: -2.50
RJ Hampton: -0.03
Vlatko Cancar: +0.00
Greg Whittington: N/A
Markus Howard: +0.00
__________________________________________________________________________________________
TPM™ Per-Minute Splits Through Game 6:
*Credit DomP on the Spreadsheet. It's as if my (nerdy) baby (TPM™) learned to speak
Analysis:
Qtr1- The Nuggets go with their second starting five, consisting of Murray, Harris, Barton, Millsap & Jokic. The Wolves counter with Russell, Beasley, Culver, Davis & Juancho. Harris gets the scoring undersay with two from the charity stripe at 11:42. Denver is going with their usual strategy of starting out by going to their worst offensive players, for the first several posessions. Juancho is 2-2 from beyond the arc, but Denver leads 12-8 at 8:46. Denver is playing tenacious D and a steal/dunk by Barton forces the Wolves to call a timeout, trailing by nine sat 7:29. Only Nikola has failed to score thus-far, but as always, he's doing other jokic-things and most importantly, hasn't gotten any careless or ticky-tac fouls. Why hasn't anyone designed an in-mask lavoliere mic yet? Jokic picks up an "only-Jokic" compound-error foul after passing up an easy 8 footer. On the next posession he scores on the exact shot he just passed up. Denver leads by 15 at 4:20 (smoke 'em if you got 'em!) Beautiful 3/4 court bounce pass from Jokic to Green results in a dunk.
The bench unit begins to filter in at 3:12, leading by 16. Jokic has to check out after earning his second foul at 2:52 and it baffles me that nobody on the coaching staff has done anything about his post-turnover intentional fouls. It's literally the only hole in his game and he clearly doesn't see it that way. Lets see if the momentum changes now that the Nuggets have five bench guys in for the first time. Correction, for the first time this season, Malone (wisely) inserts Murray instead, for Jokic, rather than going with five bench guys in the first substitution. Monte is running point, Facu at the 2, Murray at the three, Dozier at the 4 and Green at the 5 and this under-sized unit is really struggling to do anything on offense. A consolidation trade is badly in need, to sort out the bench. It almost seems like upper management was attempting to break Malone of his crutch guys by making it impossible to overplay them... unLESS way out of position. Molone has thus-far chosen this route. The lead is quickly down to 10 with under a minute to go.
Denver is paced in TPM by Nikola Jokic: +10 as they lead 34-22 after one.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Qtr2- The Nuggets are as always, strugling to rebound with their Liliput unit out there. Dozier is struggling defensively in the early going, uncharacteristically so. The lead for Denver is 12 at 9:37. Green has been excelent for Denver yet again. Reid has three fouls and has to take a seat for the Wolves. Starters begin to filter back in for the good guys at 8:48, leading by 14. This has been a pedestrian performance by Big Honey tonight. He has 5/6/3 with 6:35 to go. Green is first in double digits for Denver. The Nuggets still suck at free throws. Get Tad Boyle on the case! Denver is getting careless with the ball on offense and getting outhustled, resulting in a barrage of threes by Juancho/Russell, and the lead being trimmed to seven at 4:04. Millsap makes two in double digits for Denver. The starting five is now in tact as Barton replaces Morris. Jokic gets a T for doing a pullup after dunking on Juancho.
The correct call, though it doesn't happen to other stars in the league. The man rarely dunks. Let him flex a bit. He makes three in double digits for Denver. The lead is down to three and the refs vs Jokic has begun, as he's earned his third on a flop by Vanderbilt. The Wolves are on a 20-6 run and they've cut it to one at 1:57. Millsap also gets his third and he takes a seat at this point. Minnesota takes the lead form the free throw line at 1:52. Barton iso ball is never the answer; he disagrees. There is no ball movement to speak of on the offensive end for Denver and the lead for Minnesota is four at 1:01. Vanderbilt gets his third foul and that's good for Denver as he's performing well against his former team. Murray was absolutely on fire in the opening minutes and have been entirely inviible ever since.
Denver is paced in TPM by Facundo Campazzo: +11 as they trail 62-65 at the half.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Qtr3- The Blue Arrow makes four in double digits for Denver. Millsap is not defending Juancho well at all. He get's his fourth foul early and he's replaced by Green. Barton is NOT jokic. Enough with the no-look psses in tight quarters. Will isn't faring any better vs Juancho defensively. Denver's body-language is dreadful as the Wolves lead by eight heading into the first break, at 9:11. Barton is offering zero resistance defensively; just stuck on the perimiter like a fire-hydrant, waiting to be passed. He hits a three and becomes the fifth player in double digits for Denver, who trail by five at 7:27. Jokic has a 2D with 17/10/5. Denver continues to suck at free throw shooting. Paging Jamal Murray!
Feel free to join the party you vacated, three minutes into the game. Minnesota still leads by four at 5:29. Vanderbilt is hacking and flopping all over the place and the refs are buying it hook, line and sinker. The Wolves lead by five at 3:53. The officials REALLY don't want to call fouls on Wolves' players. Green cut's it to two with a fruitful trip to the charity stripe. Denver ties it up with a fast break layup at 2:37 by Dozier. The Liliput unit is back out there for Denver. All iso - all the time for both teams tonight. Jokic is back in after a brief blow. The lead is three for Minnesota with under a minute remaining. Malone challenges a preposterous foul call against Dozier, and for the first time ever, Malone wins one!
Denver is paced in TPM by Nikola Jokic: +17 as they trail 93-96 after three.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Qtr4- Jamal has scored exactly two points since the first three minutes of the game. He's going to need no less than ten in this period if Denver hopes to not eat a dick tonight. First four points go to the Wolves and their lead is seven. Big Honey is asserting himself offensively and he cuts it to three with two straght buckets down low, prior to Monte tying it up with a three at 10:08. This is the best the bench has been this season but that size descrepancy is still untenable. I'm beside myself that this one is going down to the wire. Denver takes the lead on a put-back by Jokic at 8:25. Read nabs his 5th foul for Minnesota at this point. Compazzo makes six in double digits for Denver. Rubio also earns his fifth foul at 7:40. Denver leads by six on the strength of a 13-0 run. Barton has yet to make a layup on the year. Doesn't appear as though Joker will get another 3D tonight as he's four assists shy.
Nobody, and I mean nobody is moving withouyt the ball for Denver tonight, offensively. They lead nonetheless, by eight, at 5:00. Facu has become gun-shy from beyond the arc. Jokic is putting up big numbers, very quietly, as is his wont, but this was likely his worst game of the season. Both teams are now in the bonus with 3:33 to go, Denver leading by five. It's official; Russell is a certefied chucker. Jokic picks up his fifth foul at 2:12. Murray FINALLY scores for the first time since three minutes into the first period. Harris makes seven in double digits for Denver. Chris Marlowe likes when they put the green light on, as it brings him back to his childhood days... whatever that means. Denver is going to win this turd, as they have a nine point lead with under a minute to go.
Denver is paced in TPM by Nikola Jokic: +29 as they win 123-116.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Final Thoughts:
- Movement without the ball should be a point of emphasis for Malone but we all know he'll still concentrate on D.
- 12 missed freethrows for Denver.
- Super-stinker for Jamal after coming out hot to open the game.
- Let's play a four quarter game and blow someone out next time.
- Two T's for Joker and he remained in the game to stuff his stat-sheet. Quite the feat, that!
- Horrendous officiating tonight, even for NBA officials.
- Jarami who? Green is every bit as good and a much better culture-fit. Not as athletic but more savvy and just a tougher player.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
The Nuggets Win!
_________________________________________________________________________________________
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.
Denver Nuggets Timberwolves vs Nuggets coverage Canis Hoopus
