Game 31 : Portland Blazers (17-15) @ Denver Nuggets (19-11)

Post #1 » by **THE J0KER** » Fri Dec 23, 2022 7:26 pm

Everything is ready for the big battle.

skywalker33 · Post #2 » by **skywalker33** » Fri Dec 23, 2022 9:07 pm

POR always seems like a strong matchup for this Nuggets team. Being a division rival doesn't help, they know us as well as any team. Hope we can play another strong game at home, would love to see Malone use that defensive lineup against this team and see what comes of it against Dame and Crew.

skywalker33 · Post #3 » by **skywalker33** » Sat Dec 24, 2022 3:11 am

Allowed 37 pts in the 2nd qtr, Dame went off, gotta clean things up. And Malone DNP's Braun....????

Post #4 » by **THE J0KER** » Sat Dec 24, 2022 3:23 am

-6 on halftime, but everything is open. This is just another example of why Malone is (still) not an elite NBA coach. Early in 2nd, we lead +13, opponent desperately put way too early starting lineup but there was no response from Malone to add any of our starters to Murray who is on the floor at the moment. An 8-0 run for Portland which happens before Malone finally reacted changed the momentum of this game in the first half finishing with Portland's lead.

Post #5 » by **THE J0KER** » Sat Dec 24, 2022 3:57 am

35-16, literally perfect 3rd quarter which shows once again how mighty is this team when all 7 big7 are healthy. We don't need epic Jokic games every night for the win. Porter looked cold in the first half 7-0 but 11-4 in 3rd alone, while Murray hunting a triple-double now. MPJ and Murray proved in 3rd quarter why they are max-contract players. They have enough time before the playoff to be in this kind of shape constantly.

skywalker33 · Post #6 » by **skywalker33** » Sat Dec 24, 2022 4:32 am

THE J0KER wrote:35-16, literally perfect 3rd quarter which shows once again how mighty is this team when all 7 big7 are healthy. We don't need epic Jokic games every night for the win. Porter looked cold in the first half 7-0 but 11-4 in 3rd alone, while Murray hunting a triple-double now. MPJ and Murray proved in 3rd quarter why they are max-contract players. They have enough time before the playoff to be in this kind of shape constantly.

Was looking at this myself, after letting loose in the 2nd, came back and dominated that 3rd qtr. Not sure why Malone DNP'd Christian Braun, especially given his recent surge but our Big 3 came thru. Noticed that AG50 steps back to allow MPJ to do his thing, great team player !!

Post #7 » by **THE J0KER** » Sat Dec 24, 2022 4:37 am

Great win, that 3rd quarter was one of our best quarters this season. Jokic and Murray both need two rebounds for a 25+ triple-double, Porter seems ready already after his comeback, Gordon doing his thing as usual, as well as Brown and KCP, and the only disturbing moment was Hyland's injury early in the final quarter. We waiting for 13 games to see MPJ is back and see a big-7 rotation back together. Let's hope it is nothing serious with Bones' hand.

My favorite stat from today's game is 3pt shooting because Portland and Denver are TOP2 teams this season so far in 3p% with nearly 40% both. Nuggets clearly outplayed Blazers today, 10-21 vs 9-35 (48% vs 26%).

TunaFish · Post #8 » by **TunaFish** » Sun Dec 25, 2022 5:15 am

Jeff Green is out for at least 4 weeks with a fractured hand. I am a Malone fan most of the time but when I saw Green grasping at his hand, I was surprised at how slow he was removed him from the game.

skywalker33 · Post #9 » by **skywalker33** » Sun Dec 25, 2022 6:09 am

TunaFish wrote:Jeff Green is out for at least 4 weeks with a fractured hand. I am a Malone fan most of the time but when I saw Green grasping at his hand, I was surprised at how slow he was removed him from the game.

Saw that too but Green could've/should've taken himself out of the game too, either could've just thought it was a stinger. Anyway, hope Malone takes this opportunity to find out more about what he has in both Cancar and Nnaji.