|
|
Post by GBG on Oct 16, 2024 17:47:13 GMT -5
Ramona Shelburne reported today that Jokic told her he only took a week off after the Olympics and basically he said he never wants to let himself get out of shape again. He doesn't want to rubber band between in-shape and out of shape every offseason. Fourth MVP is definitely in play. Joker is mature, taking himself and his conditioning as he approaches age 30 more seriously, and knows he has to carry more of the load with a thinner roster and much thinner than in 2023 championship year. This is very encouraging! Jokic never lets us down. Shallower depth is something he sees as a challenge, not as a handicap. |
|
|
|
Post by famicommander on Oct 16, 2024 17:52:27 GMT -5
I think if Luka plays 65 games they're giving him the MVP no matter what. Jokic could average a 30 point triple double with 2 steals and 1 turnover per on career high shooting efficiency and it won't matter if Luka chucks his way to 35 PPG.
Embiid has already said he's going to load manage all year and never play in another back to back the rest of the season so it seems doubtful he'll hit 65.
|
|
|
|
Post by wizardofcozz on Oct 16, 2024 17:53:24 GMT -5
Saric wasn't that impressive last year in Golden State either. His defense was about two steps above Hunter Tyson level, which is still... yikes. If he hits threes he'll be worth it. If he doesn't hit threes we'll probably end up running AG as 2C in the playoffs again. My main point was that I think Saric was one of the main targets of Malone's conditioning rant. Not encouraging that he'd show up out of shape even after playing international ball this summer and moving to a new team. What evidence do you have that Saric was he point of that rant. Saric has been fine in the preseason. He's missed shots but finished inside at a high rate. I've seen effort on Defense and he's rebounded. |
|
|
|
Post by famicommander on Oct 16, 2024 17:57:07 GMT -5
Saric wasn't that impressive last year in Golden State either. His defense was about two steps above Hunter Tyson level, which is still... yikes. If he hits threes he'll be worth it. If he doesn't hit threes we'll probably end up running AG as 2C in the playoffs again. My main point was that I think Saric was one of the main targets of Malone's conditioning rant. Not encouraging that he'd show up out of shape even after playing international ball this summer and moving to a new team. What evidence do you have that Saric was he point of that rant. Saric has been fine in the preseason. He's missed shots but finished inside at a high rate. I've seen effort on Defense and he's rebounded. I noticed Saric looking lazy and slow before Malone blasted the team's conditioning. I don't think he's looked very engaged or motivated out there at all. But I don't have any specific knowledge that he was the target of the rant, nor do I think he was by any stretch the only target. But there are only so many guys he could be talking about. Obviously Jokic, Braun, Porter, Gordon, Strawther, Zeke, Vlatko, and Jordan showed up in shape. Not that many names left after that. Murray, Saric, (possibly, but hopefully not) Watson, Pickett are my guesses as to who he was talking about. Maybe also Hall and Jones, which could explain their lack of minutes even in garbage time. And yes, those are only guesses and I have no insider information at all. |
|
|
|
Post by TNF on Oct 17, 2024 3:14:16 GMT -5
Wow. Best I can tell, not a single post, here or Npuppy, about this game.
The Nuggets are in trouble.
|
|
|
|
Post by nuggetshipster on Oct 17, 2024 3:34:00 GMT -5
I think if Luka plays 65 games they're giving him the MVP no matter what. Jokic could average a 30 point triple double with 2 steals and 1 turnover per on career high shooting efficiency and it won't matter if Luka chucks his way to 35 PPG. Embiid has already said he's going to load manage all year and never play in another back to back the rest of the season so it seems doubtful he'll hit 65. If nuggets is 1 seed then its over. But nuggets wont be. Not deep enough roster |
|
|
|
Post by nuggetshipster on Oct 17, 2024 3:36:55 GMT -5
Wow. Best I can tell, not a single post, here or Npuppy, about this game. The Nuggets are in trouble. Some fan bases aint built to be Champions i guess, did they even like basketball or just wanted go cross a Nugggets ring of their bucket list Fami got that passion for the game |
|
|
|
Post by wizardofcozz on Oct 17, 2024 8:27:35 GMT -5
I think if Luka plays 65 games they're giving him the MVP no matter what. Jokic could average a 30 point triple double with 2 steals and 1 turnover per on career high shooting efficiency and it won't matter if Luka chucks his way to 35 PPG. Embiid has already said he's going to load manage all year and never play in another back to back the rest of the season so it seems doubtful he'll hit 65. If nuggets is 1 seed then its over. But nuggets wont be. Not deep enough roster I actually think 1-10 is deeper than 2023. 25 vs 23 Jokic = Jokic AG = AG MPJ > MPJ (MPJ huge improvement from 23 Braun < KCP (not by a lot imo) Murray < Murray Russ < Brown (not by a lot imo) Strawther = Braun Saric > Green PWat > DJ or RJ Our issue won't be our bench imo! It'll be if our starters are healthy. Now I also don't think we'll be the 1 seed, but I also think the West is much deeper than 23'. We won west with 52 wins. 52 wins might not get us the 3 or 4 seed this year. |
|
|
|
Post by wizardofcozz on Oct 17, 2024 8:39:41 GMT -5
Shams reports Hartenstein out at least 5-6 weeks with fractured hand.
|
|
|
|
Post by GBG on Oct 17, 2024 9:51:25 GMT -5
Shams reports Hartenstein out at least 5-6 weeks with fractured hand. Lucky for us we have a couple early season games with them. Still think we lose the opener at home. |
|
|
|
Post by GBG on Oct 17, 2024 9:59:42 GMT -5
If nuggets is 1 seed then its over. But nuggets wont be. Not deep enough roster I actually think 1-10 is deeper than 2023. 25 vs 23 Jokic = Jokic. TRUE AG = AG TRUE MPJ > MPJ (MPJ huge improvement from 23 IN THEORY. WE SHALL SEE. Braun < KCP (not by a lot imo) < IN SHOOTING AND DEFENDING QUICKER GUARDS, > IN DEFENDING BIGGER GUARDS AND WINGS Murray < Murray RECENCY BIAS, I THINK THE SAME MURRAY IF HEALTHY Russ < Brown (not by a lot imo) TRUE Strawther = Braun IN THEORY, WE DON’T KNOW A LOT. MIGHT BE > or <. Saric > Green NOT BY MUCH PWat > DJ or RJ LOST PRESEASON, POTENTIAL TO BE WAY > BUT MISTAKE PRONE Our issue won't be our bench imo! It'll. if our starters are healthy. Now I also don't think we'll be the 1 seed, but I also think the West is much deeper than 23'. We won west with 52 wins. 52 wins might not get us the 3 or 4 seed this year. See my reactions above in caps. Also we have a couple wild cards, Cancar and Zeke, who could be better or worse than they were in 2023. Neither was used in playoffs. They may have to be used this time. I see a roster that could finish anywhere from 2 seed to 5th seed, even if reasonably healthy. |
|
|
|
Post by wizardofcozz on Oct 17, 2024 11:07:30 GMT -5
I actually think 1-10 is deeper than 2023. 25 vs 23 Jokic = Jokic. TRUE AG = AG TRUE MPJ > MPJ (MPJ huge improvement from 23 IN THEORY. WE SHALL SEE. Braun < KCP (not by a lot imo) < IN SHOOTING AND DEFENDING QUICKER GUARDS, > IN DEFENDING BIGGER GUARDS AND WINGS Murray < Murray RECENCY BIAS, I THINK THE SAME MURRAY IF HEALTHY Russ < Brown (not by a lot imo) TRUE Strawther = Braun IN THEORY, WE DON’T KNOW A LOT. MIGHT BE > or <. Saric > Green NOT BY MUCH PWat > DJ or RJ LOST PRESEASON, POTENTIAL TO BE WAY > BUT MISTAKE PRONE Our issue won't be our bench imo! It'll. if our starters are healthy. Now I also don't think we'll be the 1 seed, but I also think the West is much deeper than 23'. We won west with 52 wins. 52 wins might not get us the 3 or 4 seed this year. See my reactions above in caps. Also we have a couple wild cards, Cancar and Zeke, who could be better or worse than they were in 2023. Neither was used in playoffs. They may have to be used this time. I see a roster that could finish anywhere from 2 seed to 5th seed, even if reasonably healthy. If you were to summarize, what do you think makes this season thinner than 23'?? Thanks |
|
|
|
Post by LotharBraunBrownBryant on Oct 17, 2024 11:20:17 GMT -5
I'm in relative agreement that this year's roster is a little better than the championship roster. I don't think Murray will stay worse. I do think MPJ will stay better. Jokic may have improved. Braun is comparable to KCP though they don't do the exact same things and the starting lineup might not be balanced as well shooting-wise. The bench as a whole is better than the Jeff Green Playing Meaningful Minutes bench.
But the championship year, we also coasted to a 1 seed while not having to even take the last month of the RS seriously, and were able to rest guys and still have homecourt. I don't think that's happening this year. I do think we can beat any team, including on their home court, in the playoffs. But having both homecourt *and* tons of rest is a big advantage, and having only a little rest without homecourt (for example, settling into the 3 or 4 seed in the last week of the season) means the margins are thinner and the team needs to be better. It's still plausible to me that we could win it all, but it doesn't feel like "our year" the way it did in 2023.
|
|
|
|
Post by wizardofcozz on Oct 17, 2024 11:28:39 GMT -5
I'm in relative agreement that this year's roster is a little better than the championship roster. I don't think Murray will stay worse. I do think MPJ will stay better. Jokic may have improved. Braun is comparable to KCP though they don't do the exact same things and the starting lineup might not be balanced as well shooting-wise. The bench as a whole is better than the Jeff Green Playing Meaningful Minutes bench. But the championship year, we also coasted to a 1 seed while not having to even take the last month of the RS seriously, and were able to rest guys and still have homecourt. I don't think that's happening this year. I do think we can beat any team, including on their home court, in the playoffs. But having both homecourt *and* tons of rest is a big advantage, and having only a little rest without homecourt (for example, settling into the 3 or 4 seed in the last week of the season) means the margins are thinner and the team needs to be better. It's still plausible to me that we could win it all, but it doesn't feel like "our year" the way it did in 2023. I don't think some truly understand how much better the Western Conference is now compared to 2023. OKC, MIN, DAL are legit NBA Finalists along with DEN. Outside of MIN I think those other 3 could win it all! On top of that PHX, MEM, are also going to be good! |
|
|
|
Post by Ring on Oct 17, 2024 12:01:13 GMT -5
I still don't understand the doom and gloom about this team. They have the best player in the world and an improved bench over last years version. If Murray sucks the team won't be THAT good. If he's good they'll be a top 4 seed. It's not rocket science. The talk about the 3 point shooting is dumb because the Nuggets didn't take a lot of 3s last year and were a 2 seed. They lost KCP but gained Strawther who is much higher volume. MPJs volume will go up too.
|
|
|
|
Post by wizardofcozz on Oct 17, 2024 12:15:27 GMT -5
I still don't understand the doom and gloom about this team. They have the best player in the world and an improved bench over last years version. If Murray sucks the team won't be THAT good. If he's good they'll be a top 4 seed. It's not rocket science. The talk about the 3 point shooting is dumb because the Nuggets didn't take a lot of 3s last year and were a 2 seed. They lost KCP but gained Strawther who is much higher volume. MPJs volume will go up too. I somewhat understand the negativity around Jamal. But he either performs as he is supposed to or he doesn't. It's that simple. Everything else around the team is improved over last year in some way or another. As you rightly put it, if Jamal plays 65 games and is mostly healthy entering playoffs we should be good enough to get to Finals and win it. BUT Jamal can't be the Jamal we saw last postseason, in the Olympics, or in this preseason. That won't cut it! |
|
|
|
Post by JB on Oct 17, 2024 12:52:12 GMT -5
I still don't understand the doom and gloom about this team. They have the best player in the world and an improved bench over last years version. If Murray sucks the team won't be THAT good. If he's good they'll be a top 4 seed. It's not rocket science. The talk about the 3 point shooting is dumb because the Nuggets didn't take a lot of 3s last year and were a 2 seed. They lost KCP but gained Strawther who is much higher volume. MPJs volume will go up too. maybe because you've been leading a moral panic over Murray and MPJ literally since the playoffs ended lol |
|
|
|
Post by GBG on Oct 17, 2024 12:54:01 GMT -5
See my reactions above in caps. Also we have a couple wild cards, Cancar and Zeke, who could be better or worse than they were in 2023. Neither was used in playoffs. They may have to be used this time. I see a roster that could finish anywhere from 2 seed to 5th seed, even if reasonably healthy. If you were to summarize, what do you think makes this season thinner than 23'?? Thanks In 2023, we had a healthy Cancar who had a pretty good season, yet Malone opted to have Uncle Jeff play over him almost exclusively in postseason. This year, Cancar is a question mark for the season and postseason, coming off his ACL. We just don’t know if he will be as good in 2025 as he was in 2023. Saric helps, but he could be Plumlee level playoff guy, ie 10 mpg. Malone might opt to have AG as backup center once again in playoffs. In 2023, Bruce Brown was a young vet who fit perfectly with this roster, and his versatility was likely superior to what Westbrook might give us in 2025. Russ is an upgrade on Reggie, but not really on BB. He brings Bruce level vibes, but he’s not a known quantity in terms of roster fit or production at his age. In 2023, we had 28 year old KCP who fit perfectly with our starters. While a promising wing, CB was also with the 2023 squad and we are simply asking him to give us more minutes since KCP is gone. That means we are thinner at the 2, except for Strawther who is unproven until proven as a playable postseason player. |
|
|
|
Post by famicommander on Oct 17, 2024 13:29:27 GMT -5
We went from 6 playable NBA guards to 4. And one of them is always hurt, another is turning 36 next month, and another is essentially completely untested.
Anyone who thinks this team is stronger than last year's or the championship team is huffing some serious copium.
|
|
|
|
Post by wizardofcozz on Oct 17, 2024 13:40:01 GMT -5
We went from 6 playable NBA guards to 4. And one of them is always hurt, another is turning 36 next month, and another is essentially completely untested. Anyone who thinks this team is stronger than last year's or the championship team is huffing some serious copium. Who were the 6 playable guards? |
|
