Game 36: Denver Nuggets (20-15) @ Indiana Pacers (16-18) - 8:00PM

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[NuggetsWY]

Indiana is one team that probably rivals Denver in passing - overall anyway. They also rebound fairly well. But I see no reason Denver shouldn't win this game. Game plan? No doubt Malone would say, "Get a good start and keep going hard". I agree!

[FilNugsFan]

Game plan? No doubt Malone would say, "Get a good start and keep going hard". I agree!

Speaking of game plan, I know Sabonis is having a pretty good year, even made it to the ASG, but key to this game I think is containing Malcolm Brogdon. He's underrated but very efficient at the same time even when he was still playing for MIL. I say we stop him and we'll win this one.

[THE J0KER]

Our final grade of 1st half of the season depending on this game. If wins, 21-15 would be grade B-, while 20-16 is grade C+.

[GeorgeSears]

Solid first half but they have to box out better for rebounds and stop being so careless with the ball. The Pacers already have 9 offensive rebounds which kept them in the game.

[GeorgeSears]

Careless basketball by Will Barton to start the 2nd half. Too much dribbling.

[skywalker33]

Careless basketball by Will Barton to start the 2nd half. Too much dribbling.

That's his MO

[GeorgeSears]

The Nuggets are completely out of sorts right now. The Pacers don't belong on the same court as them and it's a tie game thanks to careless basketball and bad rebounding.

[GeorgeSears]

Nuggets finished that quarter off strong, once Will Barton went to the bench. Cancar and Dozier are +19 and +21 respectively off the bench.

[Mickey8]

Too bad its the all star break, Denver is playing well now.

[skywalker33]

So, MPJ leads the Nuggets in scoring a regular-season game, 1st of (fill in the blank of the number of games). Jokic doesn't have to be Superman, just his all-around great self !!

[THE J0KER]

Pacers have 17-0 run in 1st and 14-2 in 3rd, Turner has big 22-12 game, Sabonis triple-double, McDermott 20p, Jokic was not on MVP level while Murray broke his 10 games 24p+ run... but... Nuggets won this game almost routinely!

Special credit to Porter with 24-11, Dozier with 8 assists in just 22 minutes, and Barton was very good in 1st half. And special credit to tht Nuggets defense today.

[Mickey8]

Porter still takes bunch of dumb shot attempts , his basketball iq is still a lot to desire for

[GeorgeSears]

PJ was a beast, +31 off the bench!

It's great that Cancar is part of the rotation now as well. He plays smart basketball and hit the open shots.

[The Rebel]

MPJ obviously still has a way to go but having him at PF next to Jokic is going to be a big problem for the rest of the league. MOst teams have 1 big that is good on offense and a solid defender and 1 that is a good help defender that can maybe shoot a little big. Teams are going to have a very hard time stopping both Jokic and MPJ.

Despite a couple of his iso messed Barton has really started to look like he did last year these last few games. He has improved on defense and seems to be figuring out when his energy is needed on offense.

For years I was hoping that Juancho would develop into a Najera type of player, but I think the guy who is going to develop into that is Cancar. Good at irritating guys, hustles hard, not terrible on offense, moving constantly, and a great attitude. What more can you ask from a 9th man type?

The question is what are they going to do with Millsap? He has the right to approve a trade, but with MPJ and NNaji playing so well at PF, Hartenstein and Green at backup C, and Barton/Dozier/ and Cancar at SF I don't see a lot of room for Millsap.

[NuggetsWY]

Game plan? No doubt Malone would say, "Get a good start and keep going hard". I agree!

Speaking of game plan, I know Sabonis is having a pretty good year, even made it to the ASG, but key to this game I think is containing Malcolm Brogdon. He's underrated but very efficient at the same time even when he was still playing for MIL. I say we stop him and we'll win this one.

10 points - good enough --- great call

[NuggetsWY]

"Great game for Denver"? I heard and read quite a few things like that and I disagree. The Pacers outscored Denver in the 1st & 3rd quarters - granted, not by much, but the Nuggets should have been able to dominate from beginning to the end.

But it was a nice to win anyway; so I do understand why people that it a great game.

I'm truly loving the lineup of the last few games: Jokic, Porter-Barton, Murray-Morris.

Shots taken seemed like the perfect balance - more or less.

Jokic 18
Murray 15
Porter 14
Barton 9
Morris 6

The team seems to be really coming together.

[Mickey8]

I Like Dozier a lot , I liked him last year as well, he should play 20 min a game at least, he's not a good scorer , streaky shooter at best but he does lots of good things on the floor and he has good chemistry with Jokic.

[skywalker33]

Four wins on the road leading into the ASB is a nice way to end the 1st half of the season. By the time the 2nd half begins we should be a much healthier team, our 3 COVID rookies should be back and hopefully Harris, Green and Millsap are closer to recovered. Heck, we might even see a Whittington sighting, I am kinda curious to see what he can do when healthy.

[Mickey8]

There are lots of winnable games in the first two weeks after the ALL Star Weekend . If they play like they have been playing the last four game, this team will move to the top 4 spot in the Western Conference very soon.