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Post by famicommander on Apr 11, 2024 19:12:13 GMT -5
Injury report
Zeke Nnaji - probable (thigh)
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope - probable (shoulder)
Michael Porter Jr. - probable (quadriceps)
Aaron Gordon - probable (foot)
Jamal Murray - probable (knee)
Nikola Jokic - probable (hip)
Vlatko Cancar - out (knee)
Dominic Barlow - out (knee)
Cedi Osman - out (ankle)
Keldon Johnson - out (foot)
Devin Vassell - out (foot)
Jeremy Sochan - out (ankle)
Charles Bassey - out (knee)
Victor Wembanyama (ankle) is not listed on the injury report so it looks like he'll play.
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Post by Ring on Apr 12, 2024 11:56:39 GMT -5
Wemby can single handedly win a team a game. Basically the exact same lineup we faced last time and it came down to the last minutes. Nuggets need to not have a let down game. They're a mature bunch so I doubt they will.
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Post by passtheballquick on Apr 12, 2024 12:02:02 GMT -5
I can now see Jokic playing hard for the win. I was hoping that the management would sit him earlier but they didn't. I think, this year they prioritize mvp over the championship
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Post by famicommander on Apr 12, 2024 12:48:51 GMT -5
I can now see Jokic playing hard for the win. I was hoping that the management would sit him earlier but they didn't. I think, this year they prioritize mvp over the championship Jokic said after the last game that playing games is the easiest part of what he does. He doesn't want the rest. |
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Post by Camby's Left Nut on Apr 12, 2024 13:22:03 GMT -5
Part of me was a little worried about these last couple games, as the tendency when playing these bottom dweller teams is to generally not have as much focus and intensity, and then the games end up being much closer than they should be. Although even then the Nuggets have still been very good about finding a way to close them out and get the win (28-4 vs sub .500 teams, which is second to Boston's 30-3 record). That said, listening to the way all the guys were talking after the Minnesota game, they obviously know these two games are must wins to get the #1 seed. I imagine they'll bring the same type of focus they did vs Minnesota because of that, unlike what you would normally see if this was just some random game in January. We saw last season how easy it was for them to just flip the switch come playoff time, but I think that switch was already flipped a few games ago when Jamal got back.
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Post by freakns on Apr 12, 2024 13:53:31 GMT -5
Looking at injury report, they are going to play this game then rest against Memphis. At least it looks like it. But even if our starting 5 arent playing, we should still be able to win. No Keldon Johnson, Sochan or Vassell. If we cant beat that team with our bench, those guys should all be sent to G-League
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Post by sawyeral on Apr 12, 2024 14:15:55 GMT -5
Wemby can single handedly win a team a game. Basically the exact same lineup we faced last time and it came down to the last minutes. Nuggets need to not have a let down game. They're a mature bunch so I doubt they will. Wemby will be a fine overall player one day. But he is not a ‘win a game by himself’ player yet, much less against a good team. If Denver loses, it will be 100% because Denver played poorly. |
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Post by wizardofcozz on Apr 12, 2024 14:30:51 GMT -5
The Luka hate on here is crazy. Jokic going to win the MVP and deservedly so, but DAL is playing great, and a lot of that is they finally got a roster around Luka that makes sense. If Jokic had won last year when he should of, Luke would of won it this year becaause of voter fatigue. They're both deserving considering the years they are having.
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Post by famicommander on Apr 12, 2024 14:40:25 GMT -5
The Luka hate on here is crazy. Jokic going to win the MVP and deservedly so, but DAL is playing great, and a lot of that is they finally got a roster around Luka that makes sense. If Jokic had won last year when he should of, Luke would of won it this year becaause of voter fatigue. They're both deserving considering the years they are having. Just because Luka is having a fantastic year doesn't mean he's deserving, and just because they'd rob Joker this year if they hadn't robbed him last year doesn't make it okay. Jokic is a considerably better player having a considerably better year. That's the bottom line. There is a tendency to pretend like the 2nd best player at any given time, whomever it is (Luka, Giannis, Embiid, SGA) is close to the level of the best player just by virtue of being 2nd best, but that's fallacious. Jokic has been the best player by a considerable margin in each of the last four seasons and if not for non-basketball narratives he'd be getting his 4th MVP in a row this year with zero controversy. The same thing happened to Jordan and LeBron in their primes. It was stupid then and it's stupid now. |
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Post by Ring on Apr 12, 2024 14:41:20 GMT -5
The Luka hate on here is crazy. Jokic going to win the MVP and deservedly so, but DAL is playing great, and a lot of that is they finally got a roster around Luka that makes sense. If Jokic had won last year when he should of, Luke would of won it this year becaause of voter fatigue. They're both deserving considering the years they are having. Yeah the bias is ridiculous. Like who cares if Luka isn't good off the ball if he's the best on ball player in the league? Why wouldn't you want the ball in his hands 24/7? The guy is incredible and his defense has been solid post ASB. Dallas will not be an easy series. People forget about playoff Luka too I guess. |
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Post by famicommander on Apr 12, 2024 14:45:15 GMT -5
The Luka hate on here is crazy. Jokic going to win the MVP and deservedly so, but DAL is playing great, and a lot of that is they finally got a roster around Luka that makes sense. If Jokic had won last year when he should of, Luke would of won it this year becaause of voter fatigue. They're both deserving considering the years they are having. Yeah the bias is ridiculous. Like who cares if Luka isn't good off the ball if he's the best on ball player in the league? Why wouldn't you want the ball in his hands 24/7? The guy is incredible and his defense has been solid post ASB. Dallas will not be an easy series. People forget about playoff Luka too I guess. 1. It's a full season award, not a "the portions of the season after the trade deadline in games Luka didn't sit out" award 2. He's not the best on ball player in the league, Jokic is 3. If he were fully engaged off the ball on offense and defense Dallas would have a considerably better record. He's not interested if it's not about him. Drastic overreaction to a very small sample size. Remember how good the Clippers looked after the initial adjustment period with Harden, until they suddenly didn't? Remember when the Rockets won 11 in a row until the Warriors punched them back into reality? They play 82 games for a reason. |
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Post by wizardofcozz on Apr 12, 2024 14:51:33 GMT -5
The Luka hate on here is crazy. Jokic going to win the MVP and deservedly so, but DAL is playing great, and a lot of that is they finally got a roster around Luka that makes sense. If Jokic had won last year when he should of, Luke would of won it this year becaause of voter fatigue. They're both deserving considering the years they are having. Just because Luka is having a fantastic year doesn't mean he's deserving, and just because they'd rob Joker this year if they hadn't robbed him last year doesn't make it okay. Jokic is a considerably better player having a considerably better year. That's the bottom line. There is a tendency to pretend like the 2nd best player at any given time, whomever it is (Luka, Giannis, Embiid, SGA) is close to the level of the best player just by virtue of being 2nd best, but that's fallacious. Jokic has been the best player by a considerable margin in each of the last four seasons and if not for non-basketball narratives he'd be getting his 4th MVP in a row this year with zero controversy. The same thing happened to Jordan and LeBron in their primes. It was stupid then and it's stupid now. I wouldn't say it's considerable. I would agree it's better, I can just see why others might disagree. |
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Post by famicommander on Apr 12, 2024 14:54:10 GMT -5
Just because Luka is having a fantastic year doesn't mean he's deserving, and just because they'd rob Joker this year if they hadn't robbed him last year doesn't make it okay. Jokic is a considerably better player having a considerably better year. That's the bottom line. There is a tendency to pretend like the 2nd best player at any given time, whomever it is (Luka, Giannis, Embiid, SGA) is close to the level of the best player just by virtue of being 2nd best, but that's fallacious. Jokic has been the best player by a considerable margin in each of the last four seasons and if not for non-basketball narratives he'd be getting his 4th MVP in a row this year with zero controversy. The same thing happened to Jordan and LeBron in their primes. It was stupid then and it's stupid now. I wouldn't say it's considerable. I would agree it's better, I can just see why others might disagree. There's no argument in Luka's favor. The best people can come with is, "Luka's really, really good and Joker has already won two" just like Embiid last year. Luka put up worse stats on a less successful team while playing fewer games and having his 2nd best player miss fewer games than Jamal did. He's considerably worse on defense and he was considerably less consistent. He's a ridiculously good player that had a ridiculously good season but Jokic is still a level above. It's the same gap that existed between Jordan and Malone. |
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Post by wizardofcozz on Apr 12, 2024 14:57:41 GMT -5
Yeah the bias is ridiculous. Like who cares if Luka isn't good off the ball if he's the best on ball player in the league? Why wouldn't you want the ball in his hands 24/7? The guy is incredible and his defense has been solid post ASB. Dallas will not be an easy series. People forget about playoff Luka too I guess. 1. It's a full season award, not a "the portions of the season after the trade deadline in games Luka didn't sit out" award 2. He's not the best on ball player in the league, Jokic is 3. If he were fully engaged off the ball on offense and defense Dallas would have a considerably better record. He's not interested if it's not about him. Drastic overreaction to a very small sample size. Remember how good the Clippers looked after the initial adjustment period with Harden, until they suddenly didn't? Remember when the Rockets won 11 in a row until the Warriors punched them back into reality? They play 82 games for a reason. It is a full season award, and the full body of Luka's work is quite impressive, but I didn't see anyone in here complaining when Jokic won the MVP as the 6th seed, when he dealt with injuries to his team, nor did people on here say we should of won more games. The roster around the dude needs to be taken into account. Your whole schtickt that he isn't engaged is also super subjective. I've watched alot of DAL games, and I've never watched the game going man, he's not trying very hard. Lastly, as Ring rightfully noted, most advanced stats favor bigs, because they overrate rebounding, and don't even it out for position. While Jokic is a great rebounder he doesn't rebound by some great margin over other bigs, but his advanced stats will benefit none the less. Before you come at me as some hater, I think Jokic is alreaday borderline top 10 player of all time, and may reach top 5 before it's all said and done, and is probably already a top 5-6 talent of all time. |
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Post by JB on Apr 12, 2024 15:00:37 GMT -5
I've always given Luka his flowers and he's a great player - in a vacuum. he's just not on Jokic's level and won't be unless Jokic falls off or retries.
I mean, it's not even close. you're going to have to be a transcendent offensive player and play DPOY level defense to have an argument against the big guy.
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Post by famicommander on Apr 12, 2024 15:02:02 GMT -5
1. It's a full season award, not a "the portions of the season after the trade deadline in games Luka didn't sit out" award 2. He's not the best on ball player in the league, Jokic is 3. If he were fully engaged off the ball on offense and defense Dallas would have a considerably better record. He's not interested if it's not about him. Drastic overreaction to a very small sample size. Remember how good the Clippers looked after the initial adjustment period with Harden, until they suddenly didn't? Remember when the Rockets won 11 in a row until the Warriors punched them back into reality? They play 82 games for a reason. It is a full season award, and the full body of Luka's work is quite impressive, but I didn't see anyone in here complaining when Jokic won the MVP as the 6th seed, when he dealt with injuries to his team, nor did people on here say we should of won more games. The roster around the dude needs to be taken into account. Your whole schtickt that he isn't engaged is also super subjective. I've watched alot of DAL games, and I've never watched the game going man, he's not trying very hard. Lastly, as Ring rightfully noted, most advanced stats favor bigs, because they overrate rebounding, and don't even it out for position. While Jokic is a great rebounder he doesn't rebound by some great margin over other bigs, but his advanced stats will benefit none the less. Before you come at me as some hater, I think Jokic is alreaday borderline top 10 player of all time, and may reach top 5 before it's all said and done, and is probably already a top 5-6 talent of all time. The advanced stats favor passing far more than rebounding. That's why they've always loved Harden and Curry. The only advanced stats that favor bigs are Ortg, Drtg, and TS%. And you absolutely can't compare Jokic's 6th seed MVP to Luka this year because: 1. Jokic's team was WAY worse than Luka's team this year. Like 9 dudes from that team were literally out of the NBA in less than two years. Campazzo, Forbes, Howard, Cousins, Green, Rivers, Cornelie, Reed, Barton? Come on bro. 2. Jokic that season was BY FAR the best statistical player. He literally set all time NBA records for PER and BPM that season. This year the best statistical player is not Luka, it's Jokic, by a lot. Ridiculous arguments. |
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Post by wizardofcozz on Apr 12, 2024 15:12:51 GMT -5
It is a full season award, and the full body of Luka's work is quite impressive, but I didn't see anyone in here complaining when Jokic won the MVP as the 6th seed, when he dealt with injuries to his team, nor did people on here say we should of won more games. The roster around the dude needs to be taken into account. Your whole schtickt that he isn't engaged is also super subjective. I've watched alot of DAL games, and I've never watched the game going man, he's not trying very hard. Lastly, as Ring rightfully noted, most advanced stats favor bigs, because they overrate rebounding, and don't even it out for position. While Jokic is a great rebounder he doesn't rebound by some great margin over other bigs, but his advanced stats will benefit none the less. Before you come at me as some hater, I think Jokic is alreaday borderline top 10 player of all time, and may reach top 5 before it's all said and done, and is probably already a top 5-6 talent of all time. The advanced stats favor passing far more than rebounding. That's why they've always loved Harden and Curry. The only advanced stats that favor bigs are Ortg, Drtg, and TS%. And you absolutely can't compare Jokic's 6th seed MVP to Luka this year because: 1. Jokic's team was WAY worse than Luka's team this year. Like 9 dudes from that team were literally out of the NBA in less than two years. Campazzo, Forbes, Howard, Cousins, Green, Rivers, Cornelie, Reed, Barton? Come on bro. 2. Jokic that season was BY FAR the best statistical player. He literally set all time NBA records for PER and BPM that season. This year the best statistical player is not Luka, it's Jokic, by a lot. Ridiculous arguments. You used PER and BPM, BPM has Sabonis at 6, Wembayama at 11, Porzingis at 15 and Sengun at 17, I'm high on all those guys, but those rankings are to high for all of them. Again because bigs are overrrated slightly in the metric. Same goes for PER, which isn't a very good stat, and I prefer VORP and WS to be honest, but whatever. IN PER, Anthony Davis is 5, Sabonis is 10, Wembayama is 11, Porzingas 12, in fact 6 of the top 12 in PER are bigs. Just feels like a lot of people on here just want to bash him, when guy took a team to WCF at age 22. For all the people calling him Harden, that's a travesty, as he's a much more creative player and passer then Harden has ever been. |
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Post by famicommander on Apr 12, 2024 15:19:54 GMT -5
The advanced stats favor passing far more than rebounding. That's why they've always loved Harden and Curry. The only advanced stats that favor bigs are Ortg, Drtg, and TS%. And you absolutely can't compare Jokic's 6th seed MVP to Luka this year because: 1. Jokic's team was WAY worse than Luka's team this year. Like 9 dudes from that team were literally out of the NBA in less than two years. Campazzo, Forbes, Howard, Cousins, Green, Rivers, Cornelie, Reed, Barton? Come on bro. 2. Jokic that season was BY FAR the best statistical player. He literally set all time NBA records for PER and BPM that season. This year the best statistical player is not Luka, it's Jokic, by a lot. Ridiculous arguments. You used PER and BPM, BPM has Sabonis at 6, Wembayama at 11, Porzingis at 15 and Sengun at 17, I'm high on all those guys, but those rankings are to high for all of them. Again because bigs are overrrated slightly in the metric. Same goes for PER, which isn't a very good stat, and I prefer VORP and WS to be honest, but whatever. IN PER, Anthony Davis is 5, Sabonis is 10, Wembayama is 11, Porzingas 12, in fact 6 of the top 12 in PER are bigs. Just feels like a lot of people on here just want to bash him, when guy took a team to WCF at age 22. For all the people calling him Harden, that's a travesty, as he's a much more creative player and passer then Harden has ever been. WS and VORP favor Jokic over Doncic to an even greater degree. It's not like Jokic has a slight lead in some cherry picked advanced stats. He has a huge lead in all of them. And he has better box score totals than Doncic in everything but points. Again, it's not bashing Luka to say Jokic is the best player by far. Because it's true and it should be quite obvious. |
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Post by somborshuffle on Apr 12, 2024 17:16:51 GMT -5
Jokic is clearly the best player right now, but not "by far".
Luka is absolutely transcendent and also steps up in the playoffs. There's few players in history with his offensive talent.
"Ring Culture" does a disservice to elite NBA talent. Jokic was just as amazing in 20-21 & 21-22 but he didn't have the requisite supporting cast to go deep into the playoffs...
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Post by famicommander on Apr 12, 2024 17:27:23 GMT -5
Every time a player goes on a 20 game stretch where their play comes anywhere close to spitting distance of Jokic's play someone rushes to crown him "almost as good" as Jokic. And then another 20 games later it's someone else and Jokic is still being Jokic. Haliburton had an absolutely insane stretch this year, Embiid had a crazy stretch, then SGA had a crazy stretch, and then Luka. And through it all Jokic was just as good as any of them in those stretches if not better, and he did it for the whole damn season (four years in a row).
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