Road has been great. Home needs improvement.
Also remember than Cleveland didn't have Mitchell for 2 games, and no Allen, and Miami didn't have Butler.
(2) Denver Nuggets vs (3) Minnesota Timberwolves - 2024 WC Second Round
- Thread starter InstaFace
- Start date
Also remember than Cleveland didn't have Mitchell for 2 games, and no Allen, and Miami didn't have Butler.
I find fault because I think they still can play better. I think there's a gear we haven't seen yet and I'd love to see the team at that level. And I think they'll need that level to win a championship.
Ant told the arena workers in Denver “I’ll see you for game seven”:
View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PfcFoQFwArY&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.the-mainboard.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title
View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PfcFoQFwArY&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.the-mainboard.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title
Sure, teams can always do better (and individual things like Tatum's 3P shooting have gotta improve), but it's not reasonable to expect them to be much better than what they've done so far, which is to have the best record in the playoffs and by far the best net rating in the playoffs, mostly without their major offensive x-factor in Porzingis. We're getting pretty close to that point now where the results matter far more than the process.
Really? Hadn't seen that mentioned by anyone. It's good you brought it up, otherwise people here might have forgotten.
lol boo hoo
Part of the reason Boston is more healthy is because they won so much they could take the last month off, and they win their series faster. And Zinger would be a 1A option on both those teams.
This is a very underrated point. The Cs prioritized health the entire 2nd half of the season, and got to play their bench more so that Kornet/PP were more ready when called upon.
Totally. Denver is a tuned machine, when all its parts are working they are tough -- capable of dominating for extended periods, with individual players going on runs for several minutes.
That is: when in sync, they get the most out of everyone on the floor.
BUT-- once it gets out of whack, they just aren't the same. Players have to take on tasks they aren't that good at.
And Murray, due to his greater injury risk and the key role he plays in keeping the offense going, is the weak link.
It is interesting that Denver fell apart (in the 1st quarter) right after Murray did something to his arm.
Yep. Denver at their best is I think the best team in the NBA, just a mini-mini-mini titch above the Celts. But! But they have no room for error or injury and have been incredibly fortunate since Murray's recovery from his ACL, not just with his health but also with the virtually spotless health of the rest of the club. Given their lack of depth, even missing a good/not great player like KCP would be tough for them to handle. The Celts, on the other hand...well, goes with out being said: can lose Zinger w/ nary a worry. Depth for days so way more margin for overcoming bad fortune.
It's hard not to love this guy. He comes across as a young goofball -- in fact I think he is a young goofball -- which one would normally equate to immature. But he seems to somehow be goofy/funny/real, and yet also has smarts and maturity. A very winning combo.
I'd add that Denver is a strangely constructed team compared to Boston. When Jokic and Murray are playing free, the other starters and rotation guys look fantastic. They're all super limited guys but function really well in their roles. When either Jokic or (usually) Murray is out or hampered with injury, it becomes much more obvious how little "more" you can really ask for from the others. The Celtics roll out waves of swiss army knife guys, and while the others are a dropoff to some extent, you can absorb less Jrue or even less Jaylen for a bit because Derek and Jayson do a lot of the same shit. This team is playing .800 ball with stupid point differential mostly without KP because it's easier to fill in what he brings with other guys taking on a but more. Porter, Gordon, KCP--those guys are who they are, but don't ask them to become shot creators.
All true.
I think Denver and Boston are dead even and that just speaks to how great of a player Jokic is. He’s the ultimate equalizer
We have seen it.
From the start of Feb to the end of March we won 20 of 22 with the two losses in Denver and the Dean Wade game when we were up 20 after 3. During that stretch we won games by 40, 50, 28, 52, 22, 26, 25 and 27….which doesn’t include the other 7 double digit victories.
Is there an athlete in the world who’s going to say, “Oh well, see you next season”?
Basically, DEN has constructed a system based on having the best BBall player in the world and a great supporting cast who knows what roles to play. When they are on, they are a machine. But they only have a limited number of ways to win and frankly if Murray or Jokic play poorly, they probably aren’t going to win.
BOS had a super versatile team that can in a number of ways. They have a larger margin of error than DEN IMO but they also use it. It would be a fascinating series.
Yup. I meant that we haven't seen that level yet in the playoffs. Which is pretty good that we're in the ECF and still haven't peaked.
We (including TONYC and JIMBODANDY etc etc) are in agreement.
The obvious question: which Murray shows up in G7?
Does the Denver medical staff have another dose of instaCure available?
If Denver makes it through, and then has to play another intense series against DAL/OKC, I wonder what the cumulative effect will be of whatever shit Murray has presumably been taking to stay on the floor.