pepe1991 wrote:First two games were excellent watch for basketball fans.
This one got ugly for Nuggets.
At the end of a day, Nuggets from roster construction, FO decisions, ownership nepotism simply fails Jokić.
With Bucks & Giannis, their FO at least tried ato make moves, no matter how poor those moves are.
Nuggets do nothing year after year, since winning title, they return every year with worst roster than year prior.
Whoever thought it was brilliant idea to give Murray AND Porter max money killed hopes for multiple titles.
When you look Nuggets bench, it's bunch of enigmatic names for nba pub quiz culture like Jalen PIckett, Vlade Čančar, Hunter Tyson. LIke, there are some G league teams with better players.
$14M went to Zeke Nnaji and Dario Šarić. Neither are in rotation whole year long. It is still great enigma to me how they won 50 games with such roster, having 6 nba players on it whole year long.
Clippers on other hand have 4 players that play great. This game Powell was cooking and it was massive swing for Clippers side.
At the end of a day, judging by this series, among top 6 players in a series, 4 are on Clippers.
Nuggets need Porter to play like near all star, and guy averages 8 ppg. In only W they have, Gordon played like all star. Been off since.
And this is where their complete lack of depth comes to play. Even if they had actual nba coach ( they don't, Jokić is coach-player) you simply can't make adjustments without players required to do so. Every time JOkić goes to bench, Nuggets are screwed. For crying out loud, in this one, Gordon played PG to start 4th quarter
The CBA with the accursed 2nd apron really killed the Nuggets.
-Bruce Brown was a casualty where they were restricted to non-bird rights and could only offer him a taxpayer MLE beginning at 7.8M. Indiana dwarfed it by offering 22M guaranteed with a 23M T/O that was exercised.
-KCP was let go because the 2nd apron would've killed them and honestly it was the right move because Anthony Edwards killed him and he looked a step slower and Braun has done well in the starting role. Sadly if they resigned KCP, they risked having their tradable 1st(2031) being frozen and risked having their 1sts they still owe being sent to the bottom of the 1st(ex. if in 2030 they stunk and ended up with the 15th pick, that pick would become the 30th).
What made matters worse was the cold war brewing between Mike Malone and Calvin Booth. Malone refusing to play younger players whom he saw as Booth's guys and insisting on playing veterans who were cooked while failing to develop a backup big that could soak up minutes while Jokic sat(When asked what happens when Jokic sits, Malone's response: Pray
) along Booth being too smart for his own good and the fact that both parties weren't willing to separate the personal from the professional was sad. The real victims besides from Jokic's historic season going to waste were the young players who simply wanted an opportunity to shine was disgraceful. Didn't help that Malone was insistent on playing Nnaji at C for 2 years when the evidence was clear that he should only be a 4 at the NBA level and was doing well. At least it could've pumped up his trade value if need be.When the old dudes like Russ aren't getting it done, they should've given Strawther and Pickett major burn to see what they had because their bench was amongst the worse in the league and we're seeing the bottom fall out. Honestly an early playoff exit may be the best thing for the Nuggets as Porter Jr. is now injured and can't do much. He's their only real tradeable piece (his last year is only guaranteed for 12m) and unless Durant says I only want Denver, they'd be better off breaking up his contract into useable role players. Yes they won't come close to Porter Jr's scoring, but this isn't working out.
The Clips are feeling pretty good right now. They managed to dodge a bullet by letting PG-13 go. I have major concerns about Kawhi's quad, but man when that dude plays, he's truly the embodiment of ole reliable. Harden doesn't have to score much and can just be a playmaker while Zubac has really shined in controlling Jokic (you ain't stopping greatness from doing what they do) while scoring at will. That Harden/Zubac PNR has been fabulous. Kris Dunn is an absolute pest on defense and Norm Powell (he'll always be a fan favourite in Toronto) has done amazing. Getting Nic Batum and DJJ to compliment Kawhi on the wings and minimize the load has been a real steal of a deal.
If Kawhi can stay healthy and lead the Clippers to a ring with Harden, it'll truly be impressive and I'd be really happy for longtime suffering Clippers fans, in particular Clipper Darrell.
