and everybody laughed at them for giving away too much when they traded for Gobert, who’s laughing now. this truly does give me hope for The Rockets, just work around the young core talent you have, let them develop another year or two, continue to get vet defenders, and shooters and they might have a chance.
Well, I would laugh when they are in the Finals but yep in the regular season they laughed. Definitely good to see markets like OKC, Minnesota gradually going back to relevance.
This game reminded me of the old warriors “defense”, where they would just mug and hack and foul every play and never get called.
Jokic's lackadaisacal offseason contaminated the whole team. I can't believe what I'm seeing from Murray.
I think if they are not winning 3 in a row or 2 in a row quickly they are as good as done..... The Timberwolves are on a mission.
This. Looks like the NBA has finally found its next marketable player. Doncic and Jokic don’t appeal to the largest NBA demographic, but Edwards does. NBA owners are control freaks, and it’s a shame, because it’s going to turn what should be one of the better series ever into a circus, if last night is any indication.
First, Murray is still hurt and he's their most clutch player and primary perimeter scorer. That makes a big difference. But, the biggest thing I see in these first two games is the length and discipline of the Twolves rotations completely junks up the Nuggets offense. Denver relies on Jokic being double teamed and kicking it to an open man or at minimum a defensive rotation that leaves MPJ/Gordon guarded by smaller guys or Murray guarded by an unathletic guy. That rarely happens with the Twolves. When Jokic kicks it out the Twolves rotate and now it's McDaniels on Gordon or Ant on Murray. And, that's only when they choose to double Jokic. The majority of the time they're playing him straight up. Saying all that, I actually disagree with many here. These losses are on Jokic. The best player in the world can't get mostly single covered and end the game with 13 shots and 16 points. That's unacceptable. He should be dropping a 50 burger on KAT's head. The Nuggets lost this game because Jokic allowed himself to be guarded by Karl Anthony Towns.
As a Wolves fan, I still can't quite believe this is real. I still lived in Texas during the KG era so I wasn't a fan back then. When I moved to Minnesota, they were still selling $5 tickets at the box office on Thursdays because they couldn't get anyone to go to games. I didn't have much money back then but I remember you could buy floor seats for $300-$400 on occasion back then. I saw pretty much every star in the league for virtually nothing because no one bothered to go to Wolves games and watch those awful teams. I dont live in Minnesota now so I sadly can't go watch this team in person but its been a special experience to see this team put it all together.
I expected more poise and composure from the Nuggets. Jokic looked sluggish, complacent, Murray with a dirty act that should get him suspended and Malone freaking out over nothing. Kudos to the ref who should’ve T’d him up.
The Nuggets were not toying with the Lakers in the first round. They simply outlasted a team whose best player is 39 years old and overcame large deficits in the 2nd half. Now they're facing a T'Wolves team whose best player is 22 and has a far superior defense, and reality is smacking them upside the head. Also, I don't think it's been discussed enough that Denver was not exactly a dominant title team last year. If the Celtics hadn't choked against the Heat, they may not have even won the championship.
maybe this sweep will allow us to trade for daddy yokich for green + baby yokich + smith + picks + mafia threats.
I'm seeing a lot of blame placed on the Nuggets. In a sentence, what I saw was an overwhelming defense controlling the entire pace, flow, and outcome of the game. There may be some teams that would have lost by 7-10 last night but I don't believe any team was beating that defense. That's not the type of defense you can play over 82 games but if you can find it 5-6 times in the Playoffs you're a lock for the Finals. I'm so impressed, so quickly, by this Wolves team. I remember they had some wild "death lineup" stats a few years ago w/ Vanderbilt putting up ridiculous Rodman-esque numbers as the stocks/boards anchor. The framework has been there with KAT//ANT. I think it's clear ANT is a top 5 player anytime he needs to be which is perhaps the thing that was underestimated. You can't underestimate the #1 ranked defense or you're just not paying attention. Blame Denver if you want - I'd posit, who was beating that TWolves team last night? Which team was scoring 100 on them?
In summary, Jamal Murray: 1. Had several whiny b**** fits after getting locked up defensively 2. Taunted the refs with the money sign 3. Threw a towel at the ref 4. Threw a heat bag on the floor in live action 5. Skipped the post-game press conference
Wow - we are seeing the birth of a super team in Minny - if they can sustain that defensive intensity..... DD
