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The Nuggets are 2-0, having beaten Phoenix 110-98 and San Antonio 102-96. Not high scoring games by current NBA standards. The Nuggets were 47-25 last year and won their first playoff series before getting swept by the Suns in the WC Finals.
The Nuggets hammered the Cavs last year by scores of 133-95 in Denver and 120-103 in Cleveland. The second game was especially memorable because Jamal Murray poured in 50 points, going 21-for-25 from the field and 8-for-10 on 3’s. He did not shoot a free throw. Hard to believe a guy lit the Cavs up for 50 and nobody fouled him once. Let's hope they're not that soft this year.
The good news for the Cavs is that Murray is out indefinitely with an ACL, suffered with one month left in the '20-'21 season. Denver averaged 115 ppg last year but is at 106 after two games this year, so Murray’s absence is being felt. He averaged 21.2 ppg.
Nikola Jokic is coming off a 32/16/7 game with three steals against the Spurs. Watching the battle between the supremely skilled Jokic, who is listed at 7’0”, 284, and the Cavs’ bigs will be interesting to say the least. I would like to see him doubled by two bigs when he gets the ball to force him to give it up. He's a skilled passer, however.
In their most recent game against the Spurs the Nuggets had 10 steals, so the Cavs need to protect the ball. The Spurs also had 21 turnovers so steal opportunities are there for the Cavs. There could be a lot of turnovers in this game.
Jokic scored 32 in his last game; nobody else had more than 13. With Murray out everything runs through the big man.
Here are some excerpts from John Hollinger’s preview, with highlights:
Big picture-wise, it was a fairly typical Nuggets season, with the defense trailing the offense. The offense was hurt by a bizarre inability to draw fouls despite having a dominant center; Denver was 28th in free throw rate, as high-volume players like Porter and Will Barton virtually never got to the line, and Jokic, for all his other artistry, hasn’t mastered the flop.
Defensively, looking at this team’s stats leaves me scratching my head how it finished 12th overall. The Nuggets were by far the worst team in the league defending at the rim, allowing 74.8 percent shooting from 0 to 3 feet — the next-worst team, Sacramento, was at 71 percent. Only three clubs surrendered more dunks, although overall, Denver surrendered relatively few shots at the rim; they just all went in. It almost seems heroic that they somehow finished in the top half of the league overall despite their timid rim protection. Some of that is on Jokic, but the Nuggets also had no real backup center and played a fairly aggressive style that left their bigs away from the basket. Denver’s best defense was preventing a shot attempt in the first place; by finishing in the top 10 in both forced turnovers and defensive rebounding, the Nuggets cobbled together an average defense despite giving up 3s, not defending the rim and fouling a lot.
Burning question: Can they become an elite playoff defense?
The Nuggets have won a playoff round in three straight seasons, have the league’s MVP and made a run to the conference finals in the 2020 bubble. Legitimately challenging for the title is the only thing left.
The biggest obstacle to getting there is the defense and, in particular, the playoff version of that defense. Denver ranked 12th in defensive efficiency last season and 16th the year before. That’s solid, and a lot of teams will envy that finish (hi, Portland), but the prescription for high-level playoff success is a top-10 unit that has the ability to play multiple styles.
Unfortunately, the Nuggets were carved up by Phoenix’s guards in the second round and honestly didn’t fare much better against the Blazers in the first round; Denver won that series by blistering Portland’s lackluster D even worse.
Injuries and fatigue explain some of the problem, but the bigger looming issue is whether Denver’s personnel can max out in the postseason. Jokic is a brilliant offensive player, but putting him in aggressive coverages, as Chris Paul showed, can leave some gaping openings. Switching him onto a small guard also is less than ideal. Most of the Nuggets’ other players are stronger on offense than defense, as well — most notably, the gaffe-prone Porter.
My comment:
It looks like the Nuggets’ defense has improved as they allowed under 100 points each of their first two games. However, if the Nuggets are still as weak as last year at defending the rim, that could work to the advantage of a big lineup like the Cavs can put on the floor.
Both Nuggets point guards are 5’10”. Between the two of them they’re averaging 15 ppg. I like the Cavs in that matchup.
In order for the Cavs to be competitive they need to play great defense on Jokic, doubling him to get the ball out of his hands, and pound the ball down low and take it to the rim. Garland, if he plays, and Rubio and Sexton need to dominate their matchups against the undersized point guards. The Cavs can’t let Will Barton get going from deep; he’s shooting 50% on 3’s so far. As a team the Nuggets are at 37.7% and they’ll be at home and well-rested.
Jokic is big but at 285 he is by no means a leaper. In fact, nobody on their team averaged one block per game last year. The Cavs should be taking it to the hole aggessively and either finishing strong or dumping it off to a big for a dunk. They should live in the paint. IMO, they don't shoot 3's well on the road so I'm all for taking it strong to the hole and hopefully getting their bigs in foul trouble.
The Nuggets hammered the Cavs last year by scores of 133-95 in Denver and 120-103 in Cleveland. The second game was especially memorable because Jamal Murray poured in 50 points, going 21-for-25 from the field and 8-for-10 on 3’s. He did not shoot a free throw. Hard to believe a guy lit the Cavs up for 50 and nobody fouled him once. Let's hope they're not that soft this year.
The good news for the Cavs is that Murray is out indefinitely with an ACL, suffered with one month left in the '20-'21 season. Denver averaged 115 ppg last year but is at 106 after two games this year, so Murray’s absence is being felt. He averaged 21.2 ppg.
Nikola Jokic is coming off a 32/16/7 game with three steals against the Spurs. Watching the battle between the supremely skilled Jokic, who is listed at 7’0”, 284, and the Cavs’ bigs will be interesting to say the least. I would like to see him doubled by two bigs when he gets the ball to force him to give it up. He's a skilled passer, however.
In their most recent game against the Spurs the Nuggets had 10 steals, so the Cavs need to protect the ball. The Spurs also had 21 turnovers so steal opportunities are there for the Cavs. There could be a lot of turnovers in this game.
Jokic scored 32 in his last game; nobody else had more than 13. With Murray out everything runs through the big man.
Here are some excerpts from John Hollinger’s preview, with highlights:
Big picture-wise, it was a fairly typical Nuggets season, with the defense trailing the offense. The offense was hurt by a bizarre inability to draw fouls despite having a dominant center; Denver was 28th in free throw rate, as high-volume players like Porter and Will Barton virtually never got to the line, and Jokic, for all his other artistry, hasn’t mastered the flop.
Defensively, looking at this team’s stats leaves me scratching my head how it finished 12th overall. The Nuggets were by far the worst team in the league defending at the rim, allowing 74.8 percent shooting from 0 to 3 feet — the next-worst team, Sacramento, was at 71 percent. Only three clubs surrendered more dunks, although overall, Denver surrendered relatively few shots at the rim; they just all went in. It almost seems heroic that they somehow finished in the top half of the league overall despite their timid rim protection. Some of that is on Jokic, but the Nuggets also had no real backup center and played a fairly aggressive style that left their bigs away from the basket. Denver’s best defense was preventing a shot attempt in the first place; by finishing in the top 10 in both forced turnovers and defensive rebounding, the Nuggets cobbled together an average defense despite giving up 3s, not defending the rim and fouling a lot.
Burning question: Can they become an elite playoff defense?
The Nuggets have won a playoff round in three straight seasons, have the league’s MVP and made a run to the conference finals in the 2020 bubble. Legitimately challenging for the title is the only thing left.
The biggest obstacle to getting there is the defense and, in particular, the playoff version of that defense. Denver ranked 12th in defensive efficiency last season and 16th the year before. That’s solid, and a lot of teams will envy that finish (hi, Portland), but the prescription for high-level playoff success is a top-10 unit that has the ability to play multiple styles.
Unfortunately, the Nuggets were carved up by Phoenix’s guards in the second round and honestly didn’t fare much better against the Blazers in the first round; Denver won that series by blistering Portland’s lackluster D even worse.
Injuries and fatigue explain some of the problem, but the bigger looming issue is whether Denver’s personnel can max out in the postseason. Jokic is a brilliant offensive player, but putting him in aggressive coverages, as Chris Paul showed, can leave some gaping openings. Switching him onto a small guard also is less than ideal. Most of the Nuggets’ other players are stronger on offense than defense, as well — most notably, the gaffe-prone Porter.
My comment:
It looks like the Nuggets’ defense has improved as they allowed under 100 points each of their first two games. However, if the Nuggets are still as weak as last year at defending the rim, that could work to the advantage of a big lineup like the Cavs can put on the floor.
Both Nuggets point guards are 5’10”. Between the two of them they’re averaging 15 ppg. I like the Cavs in that matchup.
In order for the Cavs to be competitive they need to play great defense on Jokic, doubling him to get the ball out of his hands, and pound the ball down low and take it to the rim. Garland, if he plays, and Rubio and Sexton need to dominate their matchups against the undersized point guards. The Cavs can’t let Will Barton get going from deep; he’s shooting 50% on 3’s so far. As a team the Nuggets are at 37.7% and they’ll be at home and well-rested.
Jokic is big but at 285 he is by no means a leaper. In fact, nobody on their team averaged one block per game last year. The Cavs should be taking it to the hole aggessively and either finishing strong or dumping it off to a big for a dunk. They should live in the paint. IMO, they don't shoot 3's well on the road so I'm all for taking it strong to the hole and hopefully getting their bigs in foul trouble.
