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Game 2 of the west coast road trip and the Cavs visit the Land of Broken Toys, at least according to yesterday’s Denver Post. Here's a portion of their column following Monday's loss to the Bucks:
Call them Joker and the Misfits.
Rather than a championship contender on the rise, the Nuggets look more like a roster of mismatched parts. While center Nikola Jokic is playing like a legit MVP candidate, Denver is wasting his efforts. Too often, Joker’s teammates not only appear out of sync but as if they don’t particularly enjoy coming to work....
Where does this team need to improve?
“Everywhere,” said point guard Jamal Murray, not one to mince words.
More than 30% into a season impacted by the coronavirus, the Nuggets are contenders for nothing except being the NBA’s biggest flop of 2021.
The Post went on to mention that PG Jamal Murray is banged up, nursing a hamstring problem and only shoots on game days. He was 4-for-17 Monday night against the Bucks. The Post suggests the Nuggets have two choices: aggressively pursue a trade for Bradley Beal or "wait til next year".
The Post added that a deep run in the 2020 post-season bubble followed by a short off-season is taking its toll on the Nuggets.
[Head Coach Michael] Malone added: “No one is 100-percent (healthy) right now.”
The Nuggets are 12-11 but unlike the Suns have lost 4 of 5. However, a couple of those losses were to the Lakers and Bucks. Surprisingly, Denver is 5-6 at home. The Western Conference is turning into a logjam with 14 of the 15 teams either in a playoff spot or within two games of one. The Nuggets are currently in 8th place but are only two games ahead of the 14th place team and two games behind the 4th place team.
On a side note, this year could be a seller’s market when it comes to trades with 14 teams in the West with a realistic shot at a playoff spot. The East is similar with the 13th place team only two games out of the 8th spot. Maybe a few teams will drop off as the season moves along, but I have to believe there will be teams looking for help. Maybe a lot of them.
The Nuggets are an offensive minded bunch, ranking 3rd in scoring at 115.3 ppg and 20th in scoring defense at 112.7. If you like to see a high scoring shootout this is your team. They like to take it inside, ranking 6th in points in the paint while only 19th in 3-point rate. They take fewer 3‘s than average but are good at making them, ranking 6th in 3-point percentage. It will be interesting to see how they do in the paint against Drummond, Allen, and McGee.
The Nuggets don’t run that much, ranking 22nd in fast break points. They move the ball around, ranking 3rd in assists per possession. They pass the ball, get into the paint, and are judicious about shooting 3's.
The thing they do best is offensive rebounding, ranking 2nd in offensive rebound percentage. This is what is going to kill the Cavs, who rank last in defensive rebound percentage. It’s the second best offense rebounders against the worst defensive rebounders. Look for Denver to exceed the 14 offensive rebounds the Suns got Monday night because they’re way better than the Suns who only rank 23rd in offensive rebounding. This could be a very frustrating game to watch if Dre and Allen don't get some help on the defensive glass.
Between unselfish passing, accurate shooting, and Jokic's brilliance the Suns are 7th in effective field goal percentage. When you add in all those offensive rebounds and second chance points you end up with the 3rd highest scoring team in the league.
Defensively they’re a little below average in scoring defense. They don’t seem to defend the paint that well, ranking 29th against 2-point shots and 25th in block percentage. But they get a lot of steals, ranking 6th in steals per defensive play.
The Suns don’t have a lot of size. Nikola Jokic is 6’11”, of course, but he’s not a leaper. He’s an Andre Drummond physical clone at 6’11”, 284 pounds, but with mad skills. Other than Jokic their starters are 6’10”, 6’7”, 6’6”, and 6’3”. The 6’7” guy is 35-year-old Paul Milsap. With Milsap at 257 pounds and Jokic at 284 they can muscle their way to the offensive glass.
Nobody on their team is averaging over 1.0 blocks per game so I can see our guards taking it to the rim and shooting a lot of layups and runners. I can also see Drummond trying to take it to Jokic early and get him in foul trouble but good luck trying to muscle him out of the way.
Jokic averages 27.5 ppg and scored 50 the other night, so it’s on Drummond, Allen, and McGee to contain him. He’s hitting 56.5% overall and 40.0% on 3’s. Michael Porter, Jr, their 6’10” power forward, is shooting 50.4% and 42.9%. He only weighs 218 so I expect Allen will be on him. The Drummond/Jokic and Allen/Porter matchups will be fun to watch regardless of the score.
Ageless Paul Milsap is shooting 49.4% and 40.0%. He starts but only averages about 24 minutes. Starting SG Gary Harris, third on the team in minutes per game, is out. The point guard is 6’3”, 215 pound Jamal Murray, averaging 18.6 ppg in 35 minutes. I imagine he’ll try to push Garland and Sexton around and maybe post them up, however, he is "banged up" and has a hamstring problem so Sexland may be able to run circles around him when the Cavs have the ball. I'm hoping for a lot of blow-bys resulting in floaters, layups, and lobs to the bigs.
The Cavs’ defense will really be put to the test against the league’s third best offense, but the Nuggets suck at shot blocking and defending 2-point shots so maybe the Cavs can put enough points up to make a game of it like they did Monday in Phoenix.
I expect the Nuggets to come out with some fire in their eyes after their beat writer referred to them as "Joker and the Misfits". They've lost four of five and are barely hanging on to the 8th spot in the West. They'll see this game as a chance to get back on the right track.
Call them Joker and the Misfits.
Rather than a championship contender on the rise, the Nuggets look more like a roster of mismatched parts. While center Nikola Jokic is playing like a legit MVP candidate, Denver is wasting his efforts. Too often, Joker’s teammates not only appear out of sync but as if they don’t particularly enjoy coming to work....
Where does this team need to improve?
“Everywhere,” said point guard Jamal Murray, not one to mince words.
More than 30% into a season impacted by the coronavirus, the Nuggets are contenders for nothing except being the NBA’s biggest flop of 2021.
The Post went on to mention that PG Jamal Murray is banged up, nursing a hamstring problem and only shoots on game days. He was 4-for-17 Monday night against the Bucks. The Post suggests the Nuggets have two choices: aggressively pursue a trade for Bradley Beal or "wait til next year".
The Post added that a deep run in the 2020 post-season bubble followed by a short off-season is taking its toll on the Nuggets.
[Head Coach Michael] Malone added: “No one is 100-percent (healthy) right now.”
The Nuggets are 12-11 but unlike the Suns have lost 4 of 5. However, a couple of those losses were to the Lakers and Bucks. Surprisingly, Denver is 5-6 at home. The Western Conference is turning into a logjam with 14 of the 15 teams either in a playoff spot or within two games of one. The Nuggets are currently in 8th place but are only two games ahead of the 14th place team and two games behind the 4th place team.
On a side note, this year could be a seller’s market when it comes to trades with 14 teams in the West with a realistic shot at a playoff spot. The East is similar with the 13th place team only two games out of the 8th spot. Maybe a few teams will drop off as the season moves along, but I have to believe there will be teams looking for help. Maybe a lot of them.
The Nuggets are an offensive minded bunch, ranking 3rd in scoring at 115.3 ppg and 20th in scoring defense at 112.7. If you like to see a high scoring shootout this is your team. They like to take it inside, ranking 6th in points in the paint while only 19th in 3-point rate. They take fewer 3‘s than average but are good at making them, ranking 6th in 3-point percentage. It will be interesting to see how they do in the paint against Drummond, Allen, and McGee.
The Nuggets don’t run that much, ranking 22nd in fast break points. They move the ball around, ranking 3rd in assists per possession. They pass the ball, get into the paint, and are judicious about shooting 3's.
The thing they do best is offensive rebounding, ranking 2nd in offensive rebound percentage. This is what is going to kill the Cavs, who rank last in defensive rebound percentage. It’s the second best offense rebounders against the worst defensive rebounders. Look for Denver to exceed the 14 offensive rebounds the Suns got Monday night because they’re way better than the Suns who only rank 23rd in offensive rebounding. This could be a very frustrating game to watch if Dre and Allen don't get some help on the defensive glass.
Between unselfish passing, accurate shooting, and Jokic's brilliance the Suns are 7th in effective field goal percentage. When you add in all those offensive rebounds and second chance points you end up with the 3rd highest scoring team in the league.
Defensively they’re a little below average in scoring defense. They don’t seem to defend the paint that well, ranking 29th against 2-point shots and 25th in block percentage. But they get a lot of steals, ranking 6th in steals per defensive play.
The Suns don’t have a lot of size. Nikola Jokic is 6’11”, of course, but he’s not a leaper. He’s an Andre Drummond physical clone at 6’11”, 284 pounds, but with mad skills. Other than Jokic their starters are 6’10”, 6’7”, 6’6”, and 6’3”. The 6’7” guy is 35-year-old Paul Milsap. With Milsap at 257 pounds and Jokic at 284 they can muscle their way to the offensive glass.
Nobody on their team is averaging over 1.0 blocks per game so I can see our guards taking it to the rim and shooting a lot of layups and runners. I can also see Drummond trying to take it to Jokic early and get him in foul trouble but good luck trying to muscle him out of the way.
Jokic averages 27.5 ppg and scored 50 the other night, so it’s on Drummond, Allen, and McGee to contain him. He’s hitting 56.5% overall and 40.0% on 3’s. Michael Porter, Jr, their 6’10” power forward, is shooting 50.4% and 42.9%. He only weighs 218 so I expect Allen will be on him. The Drummond/Jokic and Allen/Porter matchups will be fun to watch regardless of the score.
Ageless Paul Milsap is shooting 49.4% and 40.0%. He starts but only averages about 24 minutes. Starting SG Gary Harris, third on the team in minutes per game, is out. The point guard is 6’3”, 215 pound Jamal Murray, averaging 18.6 ppg in 35 minutes. I imagine he’ll try to push Garland and Sexton around and maybe post them up, however, he is "banged up" and has a hamstring problem so Sexland may be able to run circles around him when the Cavs have the ball. I'm hoping for a lot of blow-bys resulting in floaters, layups, and lobs to the bigs.
The Cavs’ defense will really be put to the test against the league’s third best offense, but the Nuggets suck at shot blocking and defending 2-point shots so maybe the Cavs can put enough points up to make a game of it like they did Monday in Phoenix.
I expect the Nuggets to come out with some fire in their eyes after their beat writer referred to them as "Joker and the Misfits". They've lost four of five and are barely hanging on to the 8th spot in the West. They'll see this game as a chance to get back on the right track.
