POST GAME THREAD: Nuggets master the Grizzlies 120-110 | Nov 19, 2024

50 comments

1. Great win, hope Vlatko is okay

2. o-oh! jokic just texted me. he won’t be coming back until we win 3 in a row

3. For all the angst this week, Nuggs are still in a great place. OKC losses Chent (their AG) and they look like they forgot how to play basketball.

4. and so the copers are in full force again after 1/100 good games from mal

5. I’m surprised Tyson didn’t get any minutes. Last two games were rough for him, but I figured he had done enough positive stuff so far to at least get some minutes in a game like this

6. Saric pairing well with Murray, Westbrook pairing well with Jok

   Murray and Jok being one of the more efficient duos in the league

   Great learning experience of a road trip I like the growth game to game

7. Spurs CTE ball Jesus

8. And with that Victory, Jok knows it’s time to come back

9. Fucking finally

10. Anyone remember when russ scores on a guy,  doesn’t say anything or gesture, just looked at him. Get a tech

    Gross officiating all night but that was one of the more ridiculous ones

11. Scrappy win, Jamal still getting into shape but at least he hit shots.

12. I was very worried for a minute we were going to blow it. I wish we closed it out a little better but a W is a W and I’m not going to think about it anymore.

    We did a great job finding shots without Jokic and the Murray flurry carried us over the finish line.

13. This Jalen Pickett highlight is absurd. https://x.com/nbagleague/status/1858963457132974484?s=46&t=uQz3rmTtDJyYH__gdIwlfQ

14. Hey Spurs it would be cool if you didn’t choke this

15. MJP 0-4 on 3 and 2-6 on free throws.
    I thought this guy was the shooter?

16. Jamal and Westbrook looked like they finally figured out how to play together, which would be huge

17. I implore all Murray haters, as soon as you are able: go outside, find a big rock, and kick it as many times as you are able, post haste

18. GET THAT WEAK-ASS SHIT OUT OF HERE SGA

19. wow Castle just fathered SGA

20. TRIPLE DOUBLE #200 for Westbrook! The team also looked very good for most of the game.

    Hoping Malone and the coaches pay attention to the differences between this game and the last vs. the Grizz, and keeps up with it. To his credit, he did make a few more adjustments tonight.

    Facilitator

    Even though he didn’t start, when Westbrook plays 30 minutes and has the ball in his hands, the difference is night and day. Everyone on the team was getting better shots and scoring more efficiently in large part due to Westbrook’s penetration and pace bringing the ball up the floor. Glad Malone finally let this happen – playing faster means they can score before defenses are set, and/or after defenses have to shift out of position. This is in contrast to the slow predictable offense where the team ends up having to shoot through traffic, or take contested shots against a set defense that didn’t have to move.

    Importantly, Jamal himself played MUCH better tonight when he focused mostly on just getting good shots. As others have pointed out, he’s a natural SG and he can score much more efficiently when when his shots are setup by Westbrook (and obviously Jokic when he’s back). At least a few of Westbrook’s 14 assists were kicking it out to Jamal at the 3point line where he was practically unguarded Westbrook shifted the defense with his penetration. I even saw a little bit of Westbrook/Jamal P&R which I think Malone needs to explore more for sure, as it has the potential to be deadly. Credit to Jamal for dropping his pride, and allowing Westbrook to make his game easier.

    I think they need to re-visit the Strawther as facilitator experiment next season. The team looks better when he’s just focused on scoring, but taking good shots. He needs to find a way to be more consistent with that.

    Defense

    As Grizz Coach Jenkins said himself post-game, the big difference this game was Nuggets physicality, pace, and disruptive defense. Watson, Braun, and Cancar contributed to this for sure pressuring the ball, even Jamal was making more effort on the defensive end tonight.

    Westbrook was a huge part of this with his deflections, and quick double-teams, often starting the fast break – his effort and energy is contagious. As pointed out by the Grizz commentators, Westbrook was a “problem” for them not only because of his passing and rebounding, but he was banging in the post against 6’10 Jaren Jackson! Muscle Chestbrook held JJ to 41% shooting, 13% less than his season average. Playing Westbrook as a “big” adds a completely different dimension to the offense and defense, glad Malone is seeing this.

    Big Man Rotation

    DJ can still be effective in short spurts, providing a big body to bang down long, get easy buckets, and challenge shots. Cancar was playing really well before he got hurt (heal up Vlatko!). He’s not going to have huge numbers, but he was setting good screens and making nice dribble hand-offs, which opened up the floor for the guards/wings. He was being very active on D and O, getting to his spots, took and made smart shots, and did his part on the boards. When he’s back from injury he should definitely be in the rotation.

    Also, more minutes for Cancar and DJ means less for Saric, who is ideally better suited to playing brief minutes in a specific role as a stretch big. He CAN’T be your leading minutes getter at the 5 since he can’t defend physically or box out consistently, and can’t score inside. Nnaji shouldn’t play at all…

    FUTURE

    Obviously when Jokic is back they should go back to what’s worked for them, but hopefully Malone remembers the benefits of having another natural facilitator and disruptive defender on the floor. They really have to find a way to get Westbrook 30 mins a game in the 6th man role. Keep the fast pace offense and challenge ALL the players to keep up the defensive intensity! Find time for Cancar off the bench, and continue short sports of DJ.

21. Lololol SGA butterfingers

22. Thunder lost to spurs without wemby or vasell

    

23. Eat shit Thunder

24. Lol chunder

25. Why is westbrook so damn athletic, maybe Braun can be like that one day. No hope from Jamal to do that

26. C’mon jazz

27. Caurso might as well shoot with his feet hes piss

28. Haven’t done one of these since Jokic was out, but it seems fitting now that he should be coming back next game. Please, Jokic, if you read this, please.

    Nuggets go 1-2 on the road trip without Jokic and AG. A couple of not very competitive losses and then a nail-biter win to finish it off. Russell Westbrook with career TD 200 was the story tonight. Good for Russ!

    The non-Jokic minutes/games ended up (-7) (-15) and (+12), overall only -10 on the whole road trip. This brings the season total to:

    #-79

29. I like D-Line’s takeaway on DNVR:

    The Nuggets win the non-Jokic minutes when they don’t stop running. Run run run. So what if you miss a dunk. Run. Sow chaos. Don’t let the other team play. We can just run a crazy athletic bench that runs amok

30. What was up with the last second layup by Westbrook at the end of the game? The bench looked to be in on it and getting hyped but he already had the triple double.

31. Come on Jazz, beat the Lakers

32. 25-0 jazz run c’mon

    https://i.redd.it/xqchmlkqpz1e1.gif

33. Let’s trade Jamal for knecht

34. Knecht/dlo duo’s offensive rating are gonna shoot up higher than what was posted here days ago lmao

35. does someone know zeke nnaji plus minus? i just finished the game and i feel like he almost single handedly lost us that one in the 3rd and 4th quarter

36. Who needs Nikola Jokic when you have the true triple double machine in Russell Westbrook on the team?

37. I’m hurting for Vlatko he just can’t catch a break. Mike looked great attacking tonight and he’s really developed as a passer and off ball defensive awareness. Love seeing Murray hit his shots, he still can’t get around anyone but he is a sniper from 3 off the dribble and that just hasn’t been there this year so I’m glad to see him get that rolling. Hopefully it’ll give him an extra edge to get to the basket. CB can basically get to the basket at will in transition it’s crazy plus his handles are actually pretty decent at breaking down the defense. 

    Also 200th TD for Westbrook right? 

38. God damn Knecht is killing it. We’re absolutely fked if Jokic doesn’t come back Saturday. 2nd night of a b2b against an absolute hot Lakers team with a better head coach

39. DNVR nuggets is my favorite basketball media, but I felt like Russ got no love for 200 career TDs.

40. Honestly having Russ is amazing. This guy is a massive upgrade from Reggie and he impacts the game all over the place.

    I’ve never seen a 6’4 guy hold up that well in the post and to do it at 35 is just incredible

41. Jamal’s effort was much better tonight and his efficiency is healing itself a lil bit but he still looked slow (obvious when matched up with Scottie Pippen Jr past two games) and was struggling to get round defenders and it was noticeable when he was double teamed. Rushed some jump shots too but margin for error is larger when he’s on 9 or 10 3PA a game (has to be the new normal for him)

42. A Jokic less win always feels special

43. I loved Russell’s wesbrook defence. I forgive him for any mistake he makes during any games. His will and determination is unmatched. Glad we have him. 
    And yes when he is on court he should have the ball in his hands. It suits to Murray as well.

44. Did Vlatko seriously hurt his knee again?

45. Ramadan Russ at it again

46. Good. They figured it out. Now when Jok comes back, we’ll be unstoppable.

47. It’s a bad day when fakers win smh

48. 15 steals tonight. Most we had last year was 13 (twice).

49. I wonder why no hunter Tyson??

50. This team kinda reminds me of a children’s bicycle; the training wheels provide balance and support and pretty much do all the work. But let’s say the training wheels are unavailable due to personal reasons, what do you do?

    Well you have to unlearn old habits and learn new ones. Yes you might fall a couple times but eventually you’ll get the hang of it.