At least take them to seven games.. make Gordon and Jokic work.Taking out the Nuggets would be ok with me. Long way to go.
I finds Jamal Crawford to be somewhat informative, compared to Reggie's emptiness.It's like TNT was wondering.. how can we make Reggie Miller more annoying.. oh I know.. let's put someone else in the booth to talk gibberish with him.
Jamal Murray looks like he's struggling.. and it's not like Denver sliced up the Lakers.. they were behind by a bunch in most of those games. You can't keep playing from behind and expect to always come back.I’ve been on the Wolves winning this series train for a bit, but I didn’t expect Denver to look this poor.
No flex zone, no flex zone.Nuggets are overrated. Top 3 team in the West sure, but not some juggernaut any of the other Top 5 teams should fear any more than the other.
I still love Jokic and Gordon but it's amazing how fast the rest of the team has become easy to root against. I still think they'll be heard from during this series, and Ant (and Naz Reid) won't shoot that well. It's going to be intense.Nuggets are overrated. Top 3 team in the West sure, but not some juggernaut any of the other Top 5 teams should fear any more than the other.
Like who? KCP? Braun? Murray?I still love Jokic and Gordon but it's amazing how fast the rest of the team has become easy to root against
Towns is still a complete dope. Picking up his 5th foul in just 28 minutes, fouling Murray on a 3 (turning into a 4 point play), that's vintage playoff KAT. If Reid hadn't caught fire it might have been a real problem.I finds Jamal Crawford to be somewhat informative, compared to Reggie's emptiness.
Is it possible that Minny is no longer a stupid team?
Could you say more? Both teams tonight have a ton of brilliant skills, focus, teamwork, good coaching... I feel like they're our peers in a lot of ways. I really enjoyed the hell out of our games against both these teams this year.It's weird being a Celtics fan then turning this game on. It's like they're not even playing the same sport.
*squints* I mean, maybe KCP has that ex-Laker stank on him, but yeah in general I agree.Like who? KCP? Braun? Murray?
They seem like a very easy team to root for
Murry. I still respect the team but have found it easy to root against them.Like who? KCP? Braun? Murray?
They seem like a very easy team to root for
It's just the way the Cs hunt the 3 and these teams ... don't. Celtics average 42.5 3PA per game (1st), Nuggets are 30th at 31.2. Minny is 23rd at 32.7. You just see guys passing up threes that the Cs would absolutely fire up, and way more dribble-drive and post-up. Cs are much more spaced out on the floor.Could you say more? Both teams tonight have a ton of brilliant skills, focus, teamwork, good coaching... I feel like they're our peers in a lot of ways. I really enjoyed the hell out of our games against both these teams this year.
I mean everything you're saying is true, I just find it hard to regard +25% 3-pointers as being "a different sport", so I was assuming he had a different angle on it.It's just the way the Cs hunt the 3 and these teams ... don't. Celtics average 42.5 3PA per game (1st), Nuggets are 30th at 31.2. Minny is 23rd at 32.7. You just see guys passing up threes that the Cs would absolutely fire up, and way more dribble-drive and post-up. Cs are much more spaced out on the floor.
Of course, lots of other ways they're similar - limited turnovers, relatively slow pace, good on the defensive boards, above average in assists, etc.
Tbf, Murray leg-kicked pretty blatantly on that 3. They probably could have gotten it overturned on review, and the officials called a leg-kick offensive foul later.Towns is still a complete dope. Picking up his 5th foul in just 28 minutes, fouling Murray on a 3 (turning into a 4 point play), that's vintage playoff KAT. If Reid hadn't caught fire it might have been a real problem.
He got some body too, and it's not like KAT gets any benefit of the doubt. It's remarkable, referees famously swallow their whistles in the playoffs. This has been a problem for him forever, and it's somehow only getting worse (the last three playoffs, per36 his fouls have gone from 4.1 to 4.2 to 5.5). He's 28, and this is his 4th playoff run. Maybe Ant actually is the reincarnation of MJ, in which case it won't matter.Tbf, Murray leg-kicked pretty blatantly on that 3. They probably could have gotten it overturned on review, and the officials called a leg-kick offensive foul later.
I think this is the Denver team that many of us thought would have a very difficult time making it through 3 WC series with each matchup (Lakers, Minn, Dall) one they could struggle with especially now with an injured Murray. I think OKC is their best shot if they get past Minn but I don’t think they get by Dallas. As we expected, this WC postseason is fun!The other thing about Minnesota and OKC for Denver is that they are young and less affected by the altitude than olds like LeBron and Davis. Both teams are bad matchups for Denver, especially with Murray not at 100%.
That Minny-Denver game was fun af. So, so intense. Excited for some more of these--Dallas/OKC should be great too!As we expected, this WC postseason is fun!
More broadly, however, this is why "be close all the time and count on Jokic-Murray to pull it out" isn't really a plan. Minnesota has the guys to make that plan tough, and sometimes the other team makes shots of their own too. The Celtics out-executed Denver in the first meeting, and were very unlucky to not score a lot more down the stretch.Even wit’s Denver struggling, they were right in the game until the last few minutes. Reed and Ant made plays, and Minnesota scored on seven of their eight final possessions. Three late misses by Jokic, and a TO by both him and Porter did in Denver. The Wolves basically out-Denvered Denver, with their late game high efficiency
They didn't really have a choice on Brown - he was MLE signing, on a one year deal, and they didn't have Bird Rights on him. So when his market got to what it did (2/$45 mil) they weren't able to compete. Definitely a big loss for them.From a simple perspective, DEN is not as good as last year (amazing that they would let Bruce Brown go after winning a title) and MIN is better. How much better will be interesting to see. Should be a great series.
I had forgotten about that; thanks for the reminder.They didn't really have a choice on Brown - he was MLE signing, on a one year deal, and they didn't have Bird Rights on him. So when his market got to what it did (2/$45 mil) they weren't able to compete. Definitely a big loss for them.
Even as the person who said above that it might seem obvious in hindsight if Minny wins easily, I'm starting to worry that people are drastically overreacting to a game in which Ant hit a TON of jumpers, and a lot of other stuff went right for the Wolves.I'm trying to think of the right way to put this: if Minnesota wins in 5, it's going to feel really obvious in hindsight. I'm not saying they will win, or should be favored, but rather that people are having too hard a time imagining what Minnesota dominance would look like, even though it's very possible.
Agree with this.Even as the person who said above that it might seem obvious in hindsight if Minny wins easily, I'm starting to worry that people are drastically overreacting to a game in which Ant hit a TON of jumpers, and a lot of other stuff went right for the Wolves.
I'm all for strong reactions when a team has fully solved something about another team, or presents an insoluble problem themselves, but this doesn't feel like that.
If Murray is healthy, there are a lot of ways Denver could get back in the driver's seat quickly. (If not, they're totally boned.)
The Nuggets are more like 9th defensively but yes, they have a better defense than the hot shooting made it look.Agree with this.
Minnesota shot 71% from the floor in the second half against the 2nd ranked defensive team. I don't expect that to keep up (obviously).