|
|
Post by famicommander on May 15, 2023 13:42:51 GMT -5
LeBron and AD after this series:  Grizz and Dubs are Charmin soft. Mr Glass and old man LeBron won't hold up against Joker and Gordon. |
|
|
|
Post by wizardofcozz on May 15, 2023 14:00:31 GMT -5
It's on all Murray as always. When he plays good and smart we win. When he doesn't we lose even if Jokic posts lines like: 53/11 on 67% fg, or 30/17/17 on 58% fg or 43/11/6 on 58% fg. That's how a big hole Jamal creates when he's not playing well. Let's hope he turns the table now and plays consistently in each game. He will never get a better matchup than in this series There's a ton of pressure on both Murray and Jokic. This is going to be the toughest series for Jokic on both ends of the floor. The #1 thing I'm scared of is Lebron switching MPJ onto him and then running a PnR. That is a recipe for disaster as MPJ is always going to be trailing and Jokic will be forced to guard Lebron and AD both going downhill. That's automatic. IMO this series is mostly going to come down to the role players. If MPJ,AG, Bruce and KCP outplay Reaves, Schroeder, D'Lo and Hachimura...pretty sure we're going to win this series. I agree about the role players comment, but my worry is Lebron is going to bring Jamal's man into screens to get Jamal on a switch then we have to help and those open shots or drives off of those closeouts of Lebron's passes is what's going to get us into trouble! |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 15, 2023 14:30:44 GMT -5
LeBron is old and injury-prone, AD is also injury-prone ...I expect both to be worn out as the series goes along, especially with 1 day of rest in-between games
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 15, 2023 14:32:20 GMT -5
It’s 50/50, in my view, that the Lakers take one of the first two games of the series. It’s probably less than 50/50 that the Nuggets win one of the games 3 and 4 in Los Angeles. Thus, I think it’s plausible that game 5 will be the must-win as it will either be a 2-2 series at that point, or we could be down 3-1. This Lakers team is excellent. You guys continue to underrate them. They are basically, with their current health and roster, at a level that would have made them, not us, the 1 seed if they had this team with full health all season and wanted to grab the 1 seed. They probably wouldn’t have been 1 seed, though, because even a healthy Lakers team would have wanted to load manage LeBron and AD plenty throughout the season. That naturally goes out the window here. I still call for Nuggets to win this in 7, but there is a plausible chance we lose this series. Unfortunately. The thing that scares me about the Lakers is on any given night, one of their role players can win them a game. Reaves. Hachimura. Walker. Russell. etc The Wolves had zero role players capable of that. Phoenix had 1 in Shamet. LA has like 4 or 5 of them. Thats why we need our role players to step up: Bruce Brown, Braun, Jeff Green (lol) and if anyone of the following play at all: Reggie Jackson, Vlatko, Zeke, Watson, Thomas Bryant, Ish Smith, etc |
|
|
|
Post by rock on May 15, 2023 14:45:35 GMT -5
LeBron is old and injury-prone, AD is also injury-prone ...I expect both to be worn out as the series goes along, especially with 1 day of rest in-between games They didn’t seem to wear down the first two rounds |
|
|
|
Post by famicommander on May 15, 2023 14:49:28 GMT -5
LeBron is old and injury-prone, AD is also injury-prone ...I expect both to be worn out as the series goes along, especially with 1 day of rest in-between games They didn’t seem to wear down the first two rounds They played two teams without bigs and LeBron was indeed wincing and walking gingerly on that foot in game 6. It's not going to get better as the playoffs go along. He said himself he was told he needed surgery, and he'll almost definitely be getting it as soon as the Lakers are eliminated. AD isn't going to get to feast on smaller guys in this series. LeBron is going to have Gordon covering him instead of Wiggins or Brooks. |
|
|
|
Post by Ring on May 15, 2023 15:06:01 GMT -5
Lebrons definitely having surgery on his foot after the season. That being said, he just showed in Game 6 he's still Lebron.
The Nuggets have to be locked in and in killer mode the entire series. Keep the 3s and fouls to a minimum and we'll win the series.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 15, 2023 15:15:59 GMT -5
Lebrons definitely having surgery on his foot after the season. That being said, he just showed in Game 6 he's still Lebron.The Nuggets have to be locked in and in killer mode the entire series. Keep the 3s and fouls to a minimum and we'll win the series. With whatever PEDs / HGH he is taking lol ...I would love for us to sweep LeBron & the Lakers, especially after losing the 2020 WCF ...revenge time |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 15, 2023 15:19:30 GMT -5
for whatever its worth, I think most NBA fans will be cheering for us ...so we got that extra support
|
|
|
|
Post by Coach Sticky on May 15, 2023 15:28:39 GMT -5
Imagine AD getting injured and we make it to the finals. Since the media hates us, it would be “we were lucky CP3 and AD were injured”
|
|
|
|
Post by GBG on May 15, 2023 15:31:38 GMT -5
Imagine AD getting injured and we make it to the finals. Since the media hates us, it would be “we were lucky CP3 and AD were injured” Right. The national narrative will be, “Are the 2023 Denver Nuggets the worst NBA champions ever?” We never get our just due. |
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 15, 2023 16:04:13 GMT -5
Imagine AD getting injured and we make it to the finals. Since the media hates us, it would be “we were lucky CP3 and AD were injured” Right. The national narrative will be, “Are the 2023 Denver Nuggets the worst NBA champions ever?” We never get our just due. Kevin Durant was injured during the 2019 finals against the Raptors …no one is holding that against Toronto |
|
|
|
Post by LotharBraunBrownBryant on May 15, 2023 16:19:46 GMT -5
Right. The national narrative will be, “Are the 2023 Denver Nuggets the worst NBA champions ever?” We never get our just due. Kevin Durant was injured during the 2019 finals against the Raptors …no one is holding that against Toronto The media liked Kawhi back then. Still kinda does. They think the Clippers are contenders every year. I don't know if they'll turn positive on the Nuggets this year if we win (or even merely make the finals) or if they'll write everything off like "yeah they got lucky because..." |
|
|
|
Post by scooter on May 15, 2023 16:27:24 GMT -5
IMO this series is mostly going to come down to the role players. If MPJ,AG, Bruce and KCP outplay Reaves, Schroeder, D'Lo and Hachimura...pretty sure we're going to win this series. Some of you can be as negative as you want. But since this particular post is highlighting the “matchup of role players,” I’ll stick with my view that there isn’t a head coach or president of basketball operations in the league who would take the group of Reaves/Schroder/Russell/Hachimura over Gordon/Porter/Caldwell-Pope/Brown. And if one really wants to get into the concept of “some bench player who could be pressed into duty and surprise people with some scoring in a game (ala Lonnie Walker IV),” one should include Thomas Bryant. I don’t expect him to play, but for the Lakers this season he had a 71% TS% over 41 games in which he averaged 12 points in only 21 minutes/game. I’m pretty sure that’s a better stretch of scoring efficiency than any 41 game stretch of Lonnie Walker’s 5 year NBA career. Just sayin’. |
|
|
|
Post by JB on May 15, 2023 16:50:35 GMT -5
all championship teams rely on a healthy dose of luck to win it all.
|
|
|
|
Post by GBG on May 15, 2023 17:13:33 GMT -5
IMO this series is mostly going to come down to the role players. If MPJ,AG, Bruce and KCP outplay Reaves, Schroeder, D'Lo and Hachimura...pretty sure we're going to win this series. Some of you can be as negative as you want. But since this particular post is highlighting the “matchup of role players,” I’ll stick with my view that there isn’t a head coach or president of basketball operations in the league who would take the group of Reaves/Schroder/Russell/Hachimura over Gordon/Porter/Caldwell-Pope/Brown. And if one really wants to get into the concept of “some bench player who could be pressed into duty and surprise people with some scoring in a game (ala Lonnie Walker IV),” one should include Thomas Bryant. I don’t expect him to play, but for the Lakers this season he had a 71% TS% over 41 games in which he averaged 12 points in only 21 minutes/game. I’m pretty sure that’s a better stretch of scoring efficiency than any 41 game stretch of Lonnie Walker’s 5 year NBA career. Just sayin’. It’s not negative to be realistic. It’s realistic to be realistic. Lakers have lots of momentum and a healthy roster at the moment. We have good momentum and a healthy roster, except for Jamal’s normal bumps and bruises. Jokic is the best player in this series. LeBron is #2. AD is #3 as long as he’s available. Murray is a distant #4. Can be great, but is inconsistent. The benches are fairly evenly matched with the edge going to Gordon over Hachimura, and MPJ over their third best player. We should win this series, but how anyone scoffs at the idea it could be tough and go 7 games is beyond me. LeBron and AD are the only top players with championship DNA in this series. They get to the line a lot, and Jokic could be saddled with foul trouble more than once in this series. It’s not negative to be genuinely worried about the aura of the Los Angeles f***ing Lakers! |
|
|
|
Post by blackhill on May 15, 2023 17:13:51 GMT -5
Have not been to a game for over 30 years.
8 year old Blackhill Jr. and I are flying in to attend Game 5.
|
|
|
|
Post by famicommander on May 15, 2023 17:16:21 GMT -5
They can say whatever the hell they want while Jokic is carrying the O'Brien and the Russell trophies through the streets of Denver on a parade float.
|
|
|
|
Post by GBG on May 15, 2023 17:18:45 GMT -5
They can say whatever the hell they want while Jokic is carrying the O'Brien and the Russell trophies through the streets of Denver on a parade float. I like the optimism, but until Nuggets win their championship, it is nothing more than cockiness. There’s the small matter of getting past the Lakers, then beating the Celtics who have home court and are favored to win the chip. It’s a tough task, for sure. And if anyone thinks the Heat will upset the Celtics, I have some South Florida swampland to sell. |
|
|
|
Post by famicommander on May 15, 2023 17:30:36 GMT -5
The Celtics almost got bit on the ass by a Hawks team that doesn't even like each other and then they got bailed out in round 2 by the holy trinity of choking (Doc, Harden, and Joe-L). On paper the Celtics are the best team remaining and the best team in the NBA overall, but they're missing something. They should beat the Heat; without Herro and Oladipo it'd be a monumental collapse if they don't; but I'm not afraid of them.
|
|
