WCQF | P1 (2) Denver Nuggets vs (7) San Antonio Spurs

[Naero]

While Denver isn't as playoffs-experienced and star-studded as the most veritable title-contenders are in today's league, it's even more implausible to downrate them as playoffs fodder as I've seen many do. The team has made meteoric strides on the defensive end—credit to the coaching staff, who I thought was going to end up overhauled due to yesteryear's deficiencies on it alone—and although Jokic doesn't score as gaudily as your typical superstar, his versatility—including his playmaking—contributes more than enough to ensure that his team scores amply.

Coach Popovich is smart enough to know that, which is why he won't let his team be lulled into accepting their opponents as pushovers. The Nuggets have been enhungered by years of eluded playoffs appearances, and it'll take much more than their playoffs appearance to sate it; they want to make noise in the playoffs, as their hunger has been stoked even further by everyone bandying them around as regular-season paper tigers.

Even as as hopeful as many Spurs fans seemed to be of this match-up, it certainly doesn't disfavor the Nuggets. All but LaMarcus Aldridge on the Spurs' front court will find themselves overtopped by Denver's; who else will cover Millsap, Jokic, and Plumlee while they're on the court simultaneously? Even the Spurs want to try a small-ball gambit, could DeMar DeRozan, who was caricatured as a Trash Brother every postseason in Toronto because of his playoffs drop-offs, fill in Aldridge's void?

Denver will be ready to leverage one of the most pronounced HCAs in the league—not just from their fans, who the Spurs will find even more cacophonic after finally returning to the playoffs and hearing their team hastily underplayed in the process, but from the altitude of the city. The Spurs might have youthened their roster this season, but their sixth-slowest pace in the league hasn't quite conditioned them for the mile-high city that is Denver.

It feels impossible to outrule a Spurs victory when they avail from coach Popovich and the playoffs-experience disparity, and that's why I'm expecting a semi-competitive series; however, those are the only advantages you can note for them in this match-up. Thanks to their talent depth, HCA, mountainous front-court, and the collective chip on their shoulders, Denver's growing pains are survivable enough for this round.

The Nuggets don't pose any realistic threat to the Warriors, Rockets, and Bucks yet, but they're ably determined enough to earn more than one series' worth of playoffs experience this year.

Bottom-line prediction: Nuggets in six.

[hype_2004]

San Antonio pulls this off, experience MATTERS in the playoffs. Pop will find a way to beat Mike Malone, just watch.

[The Rebel]

From what I can gather, the Nuggets started playing their "real starters" 20 games ago. In those 20 games, they were actually better defensively than offensively: +0.7 defensively and -0.4 offensively, relative to league average. What gives?

The Nuggets for the season are number 1 defensively against 3 point shots, number 1 defense in the 4th quarter, and number 1 point differential in the 4th quarter. Anybody that has paid attention knows that those numbers are real and hold up, and they also know that the Nuggets have been struggling offensively with Harris and Barton trying to work there way back in shape and get everybody on the same page.

[The Rebel]

Also this:

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C'mon. Jokic has the stats, but doesn't have the history to back it up in the playoffs. I think Spurs coach Greg Popovich will come up with something up his sleeve to upend the stats minded Nugz in a long series. Jokic has to rise to the occasion or else it could be an embarrassing one and done for the #2 seed.

So you start off in this thread saying that the Nuggets fans have to defend Jokic against what you think will happen, then you continue to post proving that you do not know a damn thing about the Nuggets. Maybe you should educate yourself as you are just embarrassing yourself making statements as dumb as calling the Nuggets a stats minded team.

[The Rebel]

WTF does "stats minded Nugz" mean? If the Nuggets, and especially Jokic, were concerned with stats, Jokic would be scoring 25+ per game, which he could easily do, albeit to the detriment of their team game.

Haha. It sounds as though you are gripping already for the Nugz matchup vs the Spurs. Understandable, when the Nugz have one of the youngest rosters, if not the youngest, in the WC playoffs. OTOH, Spurs have playoff tested DeMar, LaMar, Gay, Beli and more. They also have the edge in coaching of Pops v. Malone. I got the Spurs in 7, so your team will give a battle. If it goes seven, then either team could win and advance to the second round.

Demar is battle tested and failed the test. The only advantage the Spurs have on the Nuggets is the coaches.

[Pillendreher]

From what I can gather, the Nuggets started playing their "real starters" 20 games ago. In those 20 games, they were actually better defensively than offensively: +0.7 defensively and -0.4 offensively, relative to league average. What gives?

The Nuggets for the season are number 1 defensively against 3 point shots, number 1 defense in the 4th quarter, and number 1 point differential in the 4th quarter. Anybody that has paid attention knows that those numbers are real and hold up, and they also know that the Nuggets have been struggling offensively with Harris and Barton trying to work there way back in shape and get everybody on the same page.

Who talked about their 4th quarters?

[IllMagic04]

Nuggets in 7. The home team wins all the games.

[Gooner]

Aldridge is gonna be the best player in this series. Nuggets don't have an answer to him.

[manchambo]

Aldridge is gonna be the best player in this series. Nuggets don't have an answer to him.

You're predicting Jokic will die before the series starts?

And this is one of several comments that seems to suggest Denver isn't a strong defensive team and, in particular, that Paul Millsap isn't an especially strong defender. No idea where this thought comes from, but it's plainly false.

[THE J0KER]

Two seasons in the row San Antonio Spurs are a team with highest winning percentage difference compared records at home and on the road. (0.780 and 0.805 at home, just 0.390 and 0.341 on the road)
Two seasons in the row Denver Nuggets are a team with 2nd highest winning percentage difference compared records at home and on the road. (0.829 and 0.756 at home, just 0.488 and 0.366 on the road)

The home team won the last 10 games between these two!


So who will win most probably between these two?
The team with a home-court advantage! Who else?

[DROB27]

Aldridge is gonna be the best player in this series. Nuggets don't have an answer to him.

You're predicting Jokic will die before the series starts?

And this is one of several comments that seems to suggest Denver isn't a strong defensive team and, in particular, that Paul Millsap isn't an especially strong defender. No idea where this thought comes from, but it's plainly false.

Aldridge has outplayed Jokic in almost every matchup Denver can’t guard him..

I’m worried about the guards coming off Denver’s bench tbh

[Harry Garris]

Spurs in 6. Experience matters in the playoffs. Spurs will slow the game down, and that doesn't suit Denver.

The Nuggets are actually one of the slowest paced teams in the league, they don't shoot a whole lot of 3s, a lot of their offense comes through offensive rebounding and free throws. They play a similar game to the Spurs but are obviously much better at it.

The label of the Nuggets being a fast paced run and gun team hasn't been accurate for several years now. But no one watches them so I don't really blame you for not knowing how much Mike Malone has changed their system.

[Sharkboy242]

Spurs in 6. Experience matters in the playoffs. Spurs will slow the game down, and that doesn't suit Denver.

The Nuggets are actually one of the slowest paced teams in the league, they don't shoot a whole lot of 3s, a lot of their offense comes through offensive rebounding and free throws. They play a similar game to the Spurs but are obviously much better at it.

The label of the Nuggets being a fast paced run and gun team hasn't been accurate for several years now. But no one watches them so I don't really blame you for not knowing how much Mike Malone has changed their system.

This.

The majority of their offense is generated by dribble hand offs from the center to the guards. This works best in half court sets. Whenever a fast pace ensues its generally bad for the Nuggets. I agree that there's this notion that we're a fast paced team but that's dead wrong.

[manchambo]

Aldridge is gonna be the best player in this series. Nuggets don't have an answer to him.

You're predicting Jokic will die before the series starts?

And this is one of several comments that seems to suggest Denver isn't a strong defensive team and, in particular, that Paul Millsap isn't an especially strong defender. No idea where this thought comes from, but it's plainly false.

Aldridge has outplayed Jokic in almost every matchup Denver can’t guard him..

I’m worried about the guards coming off Denver’s bench tbh

Here's a listing of all the Nuggets' games, including the San Antonio games. http://www.espn.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/den/seasontype/2

You might notice that Aldridge didn't lead scoring, rebounds or assists in any of those games. In their last meeting the only reason Jokic didn't have a triple double was because Denver was so far ahead he sat early. Or how about the prior game, where Aldridge dominated with 22, 9 and 2 vs. Jokic's 22, 10 and 6. Or the one before that, another obvious Aldridge domination with Aldridge's 24, 7 and 3 vs. Jokic's 21, 9 and 9. In fact, Aldridge only had one notably superior game, when he scored 27 vs. Jokic's 4. Of course, the unstoppable Juancho matched Aldridge's 27 points in that game.

And, noticing these things, you might also realize that you're making things up. Or maybe your view will remain too thoroughly obscured by your own ass.

[SwatLakeCity527]

I think Denver peaked early.

This matchup has the highest probability of upset, in my opinion.

[jason bourne]

Also this:

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C'mon. Jokic has the stats, but doesn't have the history to back it up in the playoffs. I think Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will come up with something up his sleeve to upend the stats minded Nugz in a long series. Jokic has to rise to the occasion or else it could be an embarrassing one and done for the #2 seed.

So you start off in this thread saying that the Nuggets fans have to defend Jokic against what you think will happen, then you continue to post proving that you do not know a damn thing about the Nuggets. Maybe you should educate yourself as you are just embarrassing yourself making statements as dumb as calling the Nuggets a stats minded team.

We know Jokic will have to score inside for the Nugz to win. He is your dominant player in the paint. Jokic fans have bragged about him all season like he's better than KAT in the WC and a triple threat who can play D stud. He will also have to rebound and pass which he does, but this is the playoffs so he may not do it as free to do it as he did during the season. OTOH LA will have to do what he's been doing for the Spurs to win and that is to shoot from outside and inside, rebound and play D. I think LA will be more relaxed and it will show even if he starts off cold.

As for #2, the Nugz have Murray and he's had some big scoring games but has had some duds. He's been inconsistent even if he came back in the game and score some. He'll be up against Derrick White who I think will give him a difficult time. This is what I mean by being stats minded. The Nugz big two will have to score and score. Both benches will have to score and the Spurs have the edge there. The Nugz D will have to contain them.

Where I think the Spurs will have another advantage is with DeMar v. Gary Harris as Harris has been hurt and inconsistent all season. Is Harris healthy? I had him in fantasy and was waiting for him to deliver like he did early in the season, but he never did. I dropped him before the playoffs.

The Nugz is supposed to have the better D, but will they be able to contain the Spurs and their shooters? I expect some kind of wrinkle from Pops and it's not like the Spurs are turrible on D. They weren't great, but they could rise to the occasion. I'll be looking for a lot of scoring inside and some timely 3-balls from the Nugz if they are going to have a chance to win. The series could be close, but I got the Spurs in 7. It could be less if the Spurs rise to the occasion and Pops has something up his sleeve on Mike Malone.

Demar is battle tested and failed the test. The only advantage the Spurs have on the Nuggets is the coaches.

Haha. Okay, DeMar doesn't count. I'll be watching him v. Harris or whomever else Malone puts in front of him.

[B-Ball Freak]

This is probably going seven games, SA is lethal at home.

[Sgt Major]

Are you trying to say that KAT is better than Jokic? Good luck with that.

[DROB27]

You're predicting Jokic will die before the series starts?

And this is one of several comments that seems to suggest Denver isn't a strong defensive team and, in particular, that Paul Millsap isn't an especially strong defender. No idea where this thought comes from, but it's plainly false.

Aldridge has outplayed Jokic in almost every matchup Denver can’t guard him..

I’m worried about the guards coming off Denver’s bench tbh

Here's a listing of all the Nuggets' games, including the San Antonio games. http://www.espn.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/den/seasontype/2

You might notice that Aldridge didn't lead scoring, rebounds or assists in any of those games. In their last meeting the only reason Jokic didn't have a triple double was because Denver was so far ahead he sat early. Or how about the prior game, where Aldridge dominated with 22, 9 and 2 vs. Jokic's 22, 10 and 6. Or the one before that, another obvious Aldridge domination with Aldridge's 24, 7 and 3 vs. Jokic's 21, 9 and 9. In fact, Aldridge only had one notably superior game, when he scored 27 vs. Jokic's 4. Of course, the unstoppable Juancho matched Aldridge's 27 points in that game.

And, noticing these things, you might also realize that you're making things up. Or maybe your view will remain too thoroughly obscured by your own ass.

I literally just watched a video of jokic saying how LMA is the hardest player for him to guard and how hes outplayed him in almost of their matchups.

So who should i believe ? You or Jokic

https://www.facebook.com/YahooSports/videos/2254984011411142/

Watch the entire video

[manchambo]

Aldridge has outplayed Jokic in almost every matchup Denver can’t guard him..

I’m worried about the guards coming off Denver’s bench tbh

Here's a listing of all the Nuggets' games, including the San Antonio games. http://www.espn.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/den/seasontype/2

You might notice that Aldridge didn't lead scoring, rebounds or assists in any of those games. In their last meeting the only reason Jokic didn't have a triple double was because Denver was so far ahead he sat early. Or how about the prior game, where Aldridge dominated with 22, 9 and 2 vs. Jokic's 22, 10 and 6. Or the one before that, another obvious Aldridge domination with Aldridge's 24, 7 and 3 vs. Jokic's 21, 9 and 9. In fact, Aldridge only had one notably superior game, when he scored 27 vs. Jokic's 4. Of course, the unstoppable Juancho matched Aldridge's 27 points in that game.

And, noticing these things, you might also realize that you're making things up. Or maybe your view will remain too thoroughly obscured by your own ass.

I literally just watched a video of jokic saying how LMA is the hardest player for him to guard and how hes outplayed him in almost of their matchups.

So who should i believe ? You or Jokic

https://www.facebook.com/YahooSports/videos/2254984011411142/

Watch the entire video

Because Jokic says something nice about Aldridge we should ignore what actually happened in the games? I’m pretty sure that they decide the winner of playoff games the same way they do in the regular season—team with most points wins. So, the points, rebounds and assists seem fairly pertinent to me.