Game 23: Denver Nuggets @ Dallas Mavericks 8:30 PM ET

[ducler]

[Powder Blue]

Well it's a road game so we'll probably spot them a quick 15 points

[NuggetsWY]

Well it's a road game so we'll probably spot them a quick 15 points

That's the pattern <sigh> They have the third worst record, but they will hustle and that's the kind of team the Nuggets often fall to. We tend to play to the talent level of our opponents and as they say, "If you let them think they can win, they just might."

[Mickey8]

Malone is just not good as a coach. None of the players will improve under him, he also buried few this season.

[Acountant_Z]

Plumlee and Mudiay do not belong in the NBA.

Of course Denver issues run much deeper but these two stick out.

[THE J0KER]

No excuses for -17 on halftime vs 6-17 team in only "must win" road game until the end of this calendar year.

[NuggetsWY]

Well it's a road game so we'll probably spot them a quick 15 points

You were wrong! We decided they needed a big head-start than just 15!

[NuggetsWY]

Murray scores 9 of our first 12 and Malone pulls him halfway through the first quarter - crazy! "Ride the hot hand" is a common approach. For the game, Murray was 7-12 & 4-8 while Harris was 7-17 & 3-8 yet Harris had 43 minutes and Murray had 28. Why doesn't Malone play Murray more? Insane!

Has anyone thought about what happens if Plumlee is injured? When he went out, Dallas immediately started dumping the ball to Majeri for easy buckets.

[Mickey8]

Somebody here on this board had the audacity to blame solely Jokic for the defensive problems(I actually think he improved a lot this season , probably with Millsap the best defensive player this team have) , as I said last season, Denver guards are atrocious on the defensive end , they can't guard perimeter and they are easy to break down with the dribble penetration, I doubt that even defensive specialist like Gobert could plug all holes on the defense on this team.

[HoopsMalone]

Somebody here on this board had the audacity to blame solely Jokic for the defensive problems(I actually think he improved a lot this season , probably with Millsap the best defensive player this team have) , as I said last season, Denver guards are atrocious on the defensive end , they can't guard perimeter and they are easy to break down with the dribble penetration, I doubt that even defensive specialist like Gobert could plug all holes on the defense on this team.

You are correct sir. Jokic has excelled on the defensive end this year. He will never be the sexy type of defender that fans love like Dummond or Whiteside who block shots but he is still becoming an elite defender.

Losing to Dallas isn't THAT big of a concern. They've actually been playing much better lately.

The concern is letting guys like dSJ, Matthews, and Barnes who have completely sucked on offense all season all go off for efficient nights. One of them has a good game, okay they're NBA players... sometimes they get lucky... but all three of those chumps get hot and you've clearly got some serious defensive issues.

Also, it's been hard to judge Murray solely on his lack of assists because Jokic truly does handle a lot of the playmaking duties... but Jokic didn't play tonight and Murray finished the game with ZERO assists. Sure, other guys like Barton, Plumlee, and Harris had great assist totals and overall the Nugs had a 25:7 ast/to ratio but something is just off when your PG doesn't get ONE assist.

I didnt get a chance to see the game but I can tell you without watching a single second that either:

1) Murray doesn't have the court vision or ballhandling ability to be a fulltime PG.
2) Murray doesn't understand where players are supposed to be on the court
3) The offensive scheme is broken.

I"m going with #3 because even with Jokic and Millsap healthy the offense was just passable. And that shouldn't be the case. I also think #1 and #2 are playing a part. I'd really like to see the Nuggets draft and develop a more natural PG... then Murray couild get like 18 mins/game at PG when paired with Jokic and 14 at SG when Harris sits...

Teams are hitting extreme levels of offensive efficiency and I don't see Murray able to lead a team to those type of levels. I just think he's being miscast in his current role.

[MidMountain]

1) Murray doesn't have the court vision or ballhandling ability to be a fulltime PG.
2) Murray doesn't understand where players are supposed to be on the court
3) The offensive scheme is broken.

I"m going with #3 because even with Jokic and Millsap healthy the offense was just passable. And that shouldn't be the case. I also think #1 and #2 are playing a part. I'd really like to see the Nuggets draft and develop a more natural PG... then Murray couild get like 18 mins/game at PG when paired with Jokic and 14 at SG when Harris sits...

Teams are hitting extreme levels of offensive efficiency and I don't see Murray able to lead a team to those type of levels. I just think he's being miscast in his current role.

The Nuggets don't need their PG to lead the team to elite levels of offensive efficiency, that's what Jokic is for. While Murray might no be a great traditional point guard, he doesn't need to be on this team. In the context of a Jokic-led offense, Murray has some positive attributes, notably his ability to play off-ball. Many "natural" PGs need the ball in their hands to be effective and lack off-ball skills. Sure Murray is inconsistent and his court vision has room for improvement. His weakness as a PG really shine through with Jokic out. The question is whether he improves at PG with more time?

[MidMountain]

Also, the Millsap / Jokic offense ranked 5-8, depending on the metric, and showed signs of improving. I'd hardly call that just passable.