>The champs are third in the West and just sixth overall in net rating, but they remain clear favorites to make the Finals — even conceding the conference’s current top seed, the Minnesota Timberwolves, plays Denver well.
>The Nuggets have obliterated opponents by 15 points per possession with Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic on the floor. There is no answer for the Murray-Jokic two-man game, all staccato dribbles and in-between shots that shouldn’t be efficient but somehow are. Denver’s starting five is the league’s most complete playoff-tested lineup. Each player complements the other four, amplifying strengths and covering up weaknesses.
>There will be off nights, but Denver’s young bench is slowly rounding into form. Julian Strawther is a two-way playmaker. Peyton Watson wants to swat your shot through the floor and is 7-of-11 from deep over his past four games.
>The Nuggets have been a slow-paced team for most of the Jokic era, but they have slowed an extra tick: Their pace is down, and they are taking longer to shoot after makes, misses and live-ball turnovers, per Inpredictable. Murray and Jokic make art jabbing at defenses, but the Nuggets are at their best when they hunt transition chances with more purpose.
>It activates Jokic’s bonkers outlet passing, and gets their support players easy looks. Heck, they might actually get fouled: Denver is 26th in free throw rate, and their frustration has boiled over into technical fouls.
>The energy from fast-break plays ripples across the roster. Denver’s defense hits another gear. A half-court scoring machine tossing in extra fast-break buckets is demoralizing for opponents.
>The Nuggets’ transition game has been a little ragged by their standards. They somehow rank dead last in points per play on transition chances, according to Cleaning the Glass. That shouldn’t even be possible with Jokic heaving water polo outlets.
>Aaron Gordon indulges in the occasional early-clock triple in semi-transition:
>Gordon is such a defensive stalwart, you want to give him some leeway to chase points. It’s good for Denver if he takes a certain number of wide-open dare 3s in the half court. But this is a different variant of 3-pointer, and the Nuggets would be better served if Gordon — 26% on 3s this season — bagged most of them and let the offense flow.
>When the Nuggets are a little off, it’s as if they toggle between ambling around and then rushing when they hit the gas. They know the happy medium, and they’ll find it when it matters.
5 comments
We could repeat
All this analysis seeks to somehow read the crystal ball and tell us if Denver can repeat. I get it, these guys have to write stuff. But whatever is written, this year’s Nuggets team just reminds me a lot of past champs like San Antonio or Kobe-era Lakers, not really designed for 20-game win streaks. A bit rough so far (Murray hurt was a bummer, AG only now starting to play like he did last season, early bench struggles were ugly), but still winning games. When the playoffs come around, they are rounding into their best form. Rotation gets a little shorter, best players get more run. Getting that 1-seed would be nice, but I don’t think it’s an absolute must, they’ve shown that they can win road games in the playoffs.
They might not win the whole thing, but assuming good health, they’re still the team to beat and they know what it takes to win. I’m not over-confident, but I do trust these guys, including Coach Malone.
The Jamal injury to start the season brought some challenges but Joker willed us to stay in playoffs. To me that injury might’ve been the best thing that could’ve happened to the Champs. Malone got to see the young un’s play more and it seems to have added chemistry and confidence in the whole team. Lot of season left but we can win any game anywhere any time.
That’s the Lowe down. Wow!
they forgot to mention Braun has improved as a freethrow shooter and finisher. And that Reggie has found his form again