This one is on Malone.
Millsap is too small. Barton is too small at SF. Ditto Garris.
We had the lead while porter and grant were in. Once Millsap came in, and grant and porter out - I knew we were cooked.
If we can get to the second round, this problem will manifest with the lakers. I at least appreciate that MPJ played more tonight. But grant needs to start and mpj needs as much mins as f***ing possible.
MPJ was -3 tonight. Grant +1. Millsap -3
I understand frustration and personal preferences but can we stop blaming people based on personal preferences?
If I still need to explain to everyone that this team goes as far as Jokic can carry them, then I'm really not sure what are you guys watching. Without Jokic, this is sub .500 team, even if you have MPJ playing at highest lvl he can. There are 5-6 guys in this league that makes everyone around them better. LeBron, CP3, Giannis, Harden, Luka, Jokic. Maybe 2-3 more. Kawhi, AD, Embiid are awesome, but they are cherry on top, not someone who will elevate everyone. That is what I'm hoping MPJ will become.
You may disagree, ofc, but if you think OKC is 39-24 because Billy Donovan is amazing and knows how to use Gallo, SGA and Schroder, you are fooling yourself.
So when Jokic is not at his best, we need everyone else to be on their best to succeed. Simple as that. We weren't last night, thus we lost. Now, you might argue that team is wrongly constructed(like
odvala is doing) and that we need to have different philosophy and that could be valid argument(one which I disagree with, but then its a point of who is right and who is wrong), but finding 3-4 things you don't like and then constantly bashing around those things, is simply not an argument but pipe for letting out frustration.
And we already heard all the arguments.
1. Malone sucks.
2. MPJ needs to play more.
3. Garris sucks.
4. Plumlee sucks.
So let me address these, and then stop writing about basketball, cause you just cant argue with people here, no one listens(I think
Coach Sticky already said something in this regard, when asked why he isnt writing more about basketball cause he knows what he is talking about, he said something like how its pointless to argue about basketball here, cause no one wants to listen... smart guy this third world German)
1. No matter that Malone took over bottom dwellers with no future 4 years ago, turn them to playoff team in 3 years while being second youngest team in league, you all know better then him. It goes from simple disagreement that some people are showing, to full out hate that odvala is showing. He hates the coach of basketball team... holly crap.
Will Malone ever be able to win a title with this team? I don't know. I hope he will. So far, he is still on the right track. He is developing players and delivering results. Cant ask for much more. And if you put any coach in his place 4 years ago, he wouldn't do any better. He might do same, but not better.
2. With this I actually agree. But not because MPJ gave us best chance to win(he doesnt... his net rtg is +0.4) but because his talent is undeniable and he needs to learn. What I do find interesting is that most people here are saying this... and the chants about him playing/not playing are sky rockets when we lose... Try to be honest then. "I think if I am coach of Nuggets, MPJ would be all star this year and we would be better then '96 Bulls. I have no merit to claim this, but that is how I feel and my mom told me I am the best at everything, and we all know my mom was never wrong thus even though I have no idea how to play or coach basketball, I still know better then anyone in Nuggets organization". You see, its not that hard.
3. Yeah... Garris sucks, he cant shoot, and is too small to defend. If only we had real coach/gm and send Garris away and leave Beasley, man... Newsflash, Garris was 7/8 last night, 3/3 for 3, is still same height as Beasley and is still far better defender... and we still lost. So its not about his shooting, but again, more about frustration about loss. And Garris was perfect scapegoat. I'm going to say what I already said. Garris is going to be +35% 3pt shooter in playoffs.
4. Same as Garris... its just after Garris started shooting good again, you need new victim... Was same 2 years ago... And yes, he does so many things wrong, its true... But we are talking about guy who is playing 15minutes per game and is +1.3 in net rating(better then MPJ). Can he really be that big of a problem? ofc not, but since Malone singled him out as someone who is trying, lets hate him a little! Also, he comes into game instead of Jokic, so its kind of normal production drops a little? No? And no, he is not the reason why MPJ is not going to be 1st team all NBA.
Let me just finish with something I wrote at the beginning of last season. I wanted Nuggets to go to playoffs last year(check), I wanted then to go to second round this year(already checked last year), I wanted to see improvement of Jokic(check... last year playoff, omg), I wanted to see improvement of Murray(check... still has long way to go, but he is steadily improving) and I wanted to see is there hope that MPJ can develop into star player(again, check... he is far away from being star, even impact player, but yeah, he has shown he has what it takes). So we already check all the boxes. Next question is crucial one. Can we become contenders next season? That was last box left to be checked. Jokic is where he has to be already. Murray is improving, and I hope he will be where we need him to be. Last year playoff showed he is not afraid of big moments, now its just a question of improving decision making. MPJ is ofc biggest question mark. I believe Malone knows what he is doing. His record shows he does. We'll see
ta-da... thats it... from now on, not gonna comment more then sticky or jimijam. those two are smart!