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Post by JB on May 7, 2023 22:22:05 GMT -5
glad Charles went to bat for the Nuggets. narrative is everything and his voice holds weight.
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Post by passtheballquick on May 7, 2023 22:28:50 GMT -5
2 brutal losses, hard to tell which one is worse lol.
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Post by jimijam28 on May 7, 2023 22:32:14 GMT -5
hard lost ,but not brutal, no blowouts, we didnt choke any big leads,, just protect your homecourt that why you want the 1st seed.
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Post by JB on May 7, 2023 22:37:04 GMT -5
2 brutal losses, hard to tell which one is worse lol. wasting a 53 point Joker game definitely stings, as does holding KD/Book to under 80 but Landry freaking Shamat makes up the difference and then some. |
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Post by AbdulJabber on May 7, 2023 22:47:55 GMT -5
For those that need to see what teams need in order to win a title, having multiple elite scorers vs one elite player that is surrounded by trio of streaky shooters, this game is exhibit "A" of why the trio of Jamal/AG/MPJ can't match Booker or Durant consistently. I think that's the most brutal part of this whole thing.. if MPJ/Gordon/Murray clean up even 10% of there mistakes the Nuggets grab 1 of the past 2 .. if not both. Just losing off how streaky they are. That'll be my take away if we lose this series. PHX gave us there best shot, Jokic stepped up and did what was expected of him, the surrounding pieces on Denver just couldn't keep up. We didn't even need a perfect game from Murray/MPJ/Gordon. We literally just needed them to be a tad bit better across the board. Murray/MPJ were like 3-12 from deep vs Shamet who went 5-8. Murray 25 shots to score 28 points, MPJ 13 shots to score 11 points. It's not even like they aren't getting good enough looks. Just knock down a few more and it's a different game. The funny thing though is the our big 4 of Jok/ag/mpj/mur are all a + in the last two games. I think they've handled the pressure of playing on the road and dealing with two unstoppable scorers very well. The support guys on the other hand, just haven't made themselves much of a factor. Green's probably been the best of the group. KCP, Brown, CB are struggling to make an impact. The Suns depth looked very weak to me on paper, but they've had the bigger impact by far in their home games. |
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Post by GBG on May 7, 2023 23:11:48 GMT -5
It’s possible Devin Booker, when all is said and done, might have as good a career as Kobe Bryant. He came into the league awfully young. And makes scoring look awfully easy.
If we lose a series to Booker/Durant-led Suns team, there might not be much shame in it.
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Post by eathb on May 8, 2023 0:40:17 GMT -5
Suns completely changed the tide playing 4 non rotation players.
Got killed in the bench minutes.
This should have been an advantage for us.
Very very concerned right now.
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Post by duh88 on May 8, 2023 2:11:29 GMT -5
Sorry guys - but I'm not going down pessimist-path on this one.
Some notes:
1. Phoenix's Shooting Percentage is absolutely unworldly the last 2 games. Devin Booker basically shot 80% tonight, was still "-1" and PHX barely won the game.
2. We're acting like turnstiles on too many defensive plays. Jeff Green has provided wonderful service this year - but father time has hit him this week (literally). Zeke, Watson or Cancar would all serve more effectively as an alternate.
3. We do need more from MPJ. He's got a max contract. I don't know if that means passing to him more, or him being more assertative? We're not going to win this series if Jamal is on fumes at the end of each game (and Jokic can only do so much). We need our 3rd-scorer to step up.
We definitely need to make a change, because PHX's cast of "Rodney Hood" players have fresh legs and are shooting well, when open.
Let us not forget that in the 2020 playoffs, down 3-1 to Utah, Malone turned to a very unseasoned player - started PJ Dozier, and that one change turned the series (followed by Garris finding health, and taking PJ's spot). A similar thing happened in the Clippers series, when Malone more forcefully placed JGrant on Kawhi. Let's also not forget San Antonio 2019, when Malone took Barton out of the starting lineup and inserted Tory f**kface Craig. Malone has been here before.
A cold read of the paper, and you would much prefer to be Denver right now. When you factor that the entire Suns bench went into Ish Smith Thanos mode, followed up with MPJ, BB, KCP and AG not providing much scoring at all (and the game still being within one basket with a minute to go) -
Do you really want to bet on PHX to continue playing close to perfection, while Denver plays well below its skill?
One substition can turn this series. I don't know if that's Peyton, Cancar or Zeke. If Jeff keeps playing large mins, we are risking the results of the last 2 games.
All it took to turn the Utah series was a young, unknown player named PJ Dozier. Adversity is good. If we win this series, and get Jeff off the floor - well - better that bench transformation happen now, rather than the WCF or Finals.
Calm all. This on Malone. He has the arsenal to adjust. Let's wait and see if he does (history shows he usually does).
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Post by duh88 on May 8, 2023 2:17:48 GMT -5
hard lost ,but not brutal, no blowouts, we didnt choke any big leads,, just protect your homecourt that why you want the 1st seed. Some calm commentary, amongst a pit of fire. Thank you! Let's not forget too - KD and Booker were not thriving in altitude - both usually lost legs by the 3rd or 4th quarter. Bodes well for us. |
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Post by nuggetshipster on May 8, 2023 3:07:07 GMT -5
OUR s**t Defense is the problem, it been fools gold all season Defense will always be a struggle. Bench is the bigger problem IMO |
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Post by nuggetshipster on May 8, 2023 3:07:47 GMT -5
KD and Booker are great basketball players and Suns can win it all. Some people here should think before they type
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Post by nuggetshipster on May 8, 2023 3:12:06 GMT -5
And lets not act like PHX is playing perfect either. Our starters are winning their minutes.
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Post by duh88 on May 8, 2023 5:40:17 GMT -5
Hipster - quick tip here -
Put your thoughts in ONE post.
Thank you - Team Duh
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Post by nuggetshipster on May 8, 2023 5:42:50 GMT -5
Why? Im not spending my time editing and deleting posts to please you lot
Only thing that really matters is whats being said
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Post by nuggetshipster on May 8, 2023 6:35:40 GMT -5
I appreciate the concern tho
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Post by Ring on May 8, 2023 7:48:21 GMT -5
Nuggets lost a game in which they had a 132 offensive rating. Just absolutely amazing.
Sucks that this series isn't the WCF. Games 3 and 4 were absolute classics. I had the Suns in 6 coming into the series and I really hope I'm wrong but I have a really bad feeling about Game 5.
The Suns have made the proper adjustments and the Nuggets don't really have any adjustments they can make in terms of their rotation. Sure, you can play Watson, Vlatko or Zeke over Jeff but how big of a difference is that really going to make?
Jokic is probably just going to have to suck it up and play 45 minutes per game. Nuggets can't survive the minutes without him in this series because Murray can't carry a bench unit and the Nuggets just don't have any other reliable scorer besides MPJ who doesn't stagger with the bench.
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Post by Ring on May 8, 2023 7:52:04 GMT -5
Also feels like we're living in bizarro world where MPJ has been pretty good defensively all series long, isn't really targeted and now it's switched to Murray being targeted all series long and KCP getting cooked to a burnt crisp by Booker.
Nuggets are really missing a shooter off the bench. Just can't score enough to win those minutes. Feels like Malone has to start using Murray/MPJ together in the non-Jokic minutes. I think that might be an adjustment to lower Jeffs minutes. I just feel like Malone has too much trust in Jeff.
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Post by freakns on May 8, 2023 8:20:40 GMT -5
Also feels like we're living in bizarro world where MPJ has been pretty good defensively all series long, isn't really targeted and now it's switched to Murray being targeted all series long and KCP getting cooked to a burnt crisp by Booker. Nuggets are really missing a shooter off the bench. Just can't score enough to win those minutes. Feels like Malone has to start using Murray/MPJ together in the non-Jokic minutes. I think that might be an adjustment to lower Jeffs minutes. I just feel like Malone has too much trust in Jeff. this is interesting... everyone was worried about MPJ and Jokic being cooked, it turns out its Murray and KCP  I still think we winning this though... as long as Adam Silver doesn't go crazy on Jokic |
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Post by Ring on May 8, 2023 8:29:44 GMT -5
Also feels like we're living in bizarro world where MPJ has been pretty good defensively all series long, isn't really targeted and now it's switched to Murray being targeted all series long and KCP getting cooked to a burnt crisp by Booker. Nuggets are really missing a shooter off the bench. Just can't score enough to win those minutes. Feels like Malone has to start using Murray/MPJ together in the non-Jokic minutes. I think that might be an adjustment to lower Jeffs minutes. I just feel like Malone has too much trust in Jeff. this is interesting... everyone was worried about MPJ and Jokic being cooked, it turns out its Murray and KCP I still think we winning this though... as long as Adam Silver doesn't go crazy on Jokic The problem when a series gets this tight is that random stuff can be the difference in the series. For example, next game Murray/Jokic can outscore Booker/KD by 10 but maybe Shamet hits another 5 3s and that's the difference. Jokic defensively has been fine but his lack of rim protection has lead to KD getting to the line a lot. He just knows he can be aggressive because if he gets by AG, Jokic can't disrupt the shot. To be clear, Murray has been the worst defender on the Nuggets in this series and it's not particularly close. |
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Post by passtheballquick on May 8, 2023 8:30:40 GMT -5
Also feels like we're living in bizarro world where MPJ has been pretty good defensively all series long, isn't really targeted and now it's switched to Murray being targeted all series long and KCP getting cooked to a burnt crisp by Booker. Nuggets are really missing a shooter off the bench. Just can't score enough to win those minutes. Feels like Malone has to start using Murray/MPJ together in the non-Jokic minutes. I think that might be an adjustment to lower Jeffs minutes. I just feel like Malone has too much trust in Jeff. Murray's been targeted every single possession. They're not stupid. They watch films and see those tired legs, not capable to play 40+ mins a game. His defense was horrific the entire game, but 4th Q was brutal. At least he was ok scoring wise and efficiency wise but that wasn't enough. In a game where Murray is solid on offense, MPJ s**t* his bed |
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