Game 54: Denver Nuggets (37-16) vs. San Antonio Spurs (22-30) - 9:00 PM ET

ducler · Post #1 » by **ducler** » Mon Feb 10, 2020 4:37 pm

skywalker33 · Post #2 » by **skywalker33** » Mon Feb 10, 2020 5:32 pm

re-match from 2018 playoffs, taking the Nuggets to step up on the road. Interesting to see if Murray can explode again after a 36pt performance against the Suns, see if he could continue that type of production. I want to see more of KBD, good matchup against DeRozan. MPJ now has some interesting running mates playing either at PF (Craig, KBD, Barton) or at SF (Millsap, Grant, Vonlah ??) add in Jokic and there is some serious frontline combinations.

Post #3 » by **THE J0KER** » Mon Feb 10, 2020 6:33 pm

Murray is 29-3-5 this month with monstrous 75%TS%, but 3 games are a small sample, so I agree he is the player to watch today to see will this 'all-star' strike continues. Is this is his breakthrough month which we waited for so long?

The others to watch are Millsap in his 2nd game of comeback and also Gary Harris to be seen is his offense gone or he just didn't want a trade or just have temporary little bit different priorities in his life past few weeks (birth of his son). Also, it will be interesting to see Jeramy Grant production after starters come back. MPJ and Barton are always interesting to watch, but they will not play today anyway.

Post #4 » by **NuggetsWY** » Tue Feb 11, 2020 1:21 am

Aldridge is a handful for anyone but both Jokic and Millsap have defended him fairly well and I think Grant could play him well also.

Lyles is someone we know and Grant should do quite well against him. I think Bates-Diop could cover him also.

Craig & Harris can both do a decent job slowing down DeRozan. Bates-Diop & Dozier should also do well against him. Same with Forbes.

Murray vs Murray should be the most interesting matchup of the night.

I believe Denver wins this game and hopefully by at least 15 points (I think that should be 20 though).

Post #5 » by **THE J0KER** » Tue Feb 11, 2020 4:58 am

A historic comeback for Nuggets, so I will not complain how on Earth Spurs comes in position to lead in the 3rd +23 without DeRozan in Pepsi Center?! Murray stays hot, Jokic takes only 8 shots, but 19-8-13 is still all-star performance, and the key thing for this win and comeback was our 18-35 3p shooting lead by Millsap and Morris efficiency. They scored combined about 40pts playing about 40 minutes, shooting 14-22 (6-8 3p). McRae was good and useful today, but once Barton is back his minutes will be very limited.

I hope Murray and Craig ankles are OK.

skywalker33 · Post #6 » by **skywalker33** » Tue Feb 11, 2020 4:58 am

Terrible start but great comeback...not sure which is more notable ??? Playing to the level of the competition, then realized it in the 3rd qtr.

Mickey8 · Post #7 » by **Mickey8** » Tue Feb 11, 2020 6:14 am

Jokic cant be passive on the offense like he was the last two games, he has to be aggressive from the get go , he turned some good looks few times , almost cost them this game,also Garry Harris continue to be horrible ,he cant hit anything and hes also too selfish for the guy who cant score the ball , he refuses to pass the ball to Jokic and some other players , chemistry with Jokic is non existing at this point , the first two seasons together it looked like they had something special together , the last two nothing, one of the reason why Harris points per game averages plummeted the past two seasons.

Post #8 » by **NuggetsWY** » Tue Feb 11, 2020 5:18 pm

We talk about Jokic's high-bb-IQ and yet he makes silly fouls and refuses to shoot even when open or being covered by a guard. In so many ways, his play truly hurts the team. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if Jokic shoots more, teams will have to cover him tighter and this will lead to other Nuggets being open. 8 shots in a game means that if Murray hadn't stepped up, we lose. Two bench players took more shots than Jokic. Against Utah, it was the Jokic & Murray show, but most games no one is sure who is going to score in any given game.

Four starters took 28 shots total - Murray took 21 shots.
6 shots - Harris
7 shots - Grant
7 shots - Craig
8 shots - Jokic

Bench players took 31 shots - if our starters are not going to take shots, we are going to start every game poorly (as well as every second half). Malone is supposed to be a smart coach; when will he figure out that in order for a team to score baskets, they have to take shots?