Game 18 : Denver Nuggets (10-7) @ Los Angeles Clippers (12-9)

[THE J0KER]

The Clippers upset the Nuggets in Denver in October, it is the perfect time for revenge.

[THE J0KER]

The second quarter used to be our worst, but that was not the case tonight. Denver strike back in Q2 after a very bad Q1, so it is tied at halftime. Good to see Gordon is back.

[THE J0KER]

Two losses vs LA Clippers without Kawhi (while Denver was injury-free both times) and a 3-5 record in the past 20 days say the team is still in bad form this season (apart from Jokic). Just when we take a double-digit lead in the 3rd things go bad. We managed somehow to lose the game where we shooting FG%58% (compared to opponent 48%), which is rare achievent.

[skywalker33]

Piper came knocking when we couldn't make our FT's, several down the stretch. Out 3-pt shooting not there either, but seemed like a winnable game, just let it slip through our hands

[famicommander]

Absolutely pathetic.

Far too much of our roster is useless:
DeAndre Jordan - washed
Dario Saric - washed, headcase, out of shape
Vlatko Cancar - can't stay healthy, unfortunately
Hunter Tyson - terrible player
Jalen Pickett - terrible player
Zeke Nnaji - terrible player
DaRon Holmes - out for the season
Trey Alexander - has potential, but too raw
PJ Hall - too raw, may or may not have potential
Spencer Jones - too raw, may or may not have potential

And we have another four guys that are absurdly inconsistent:
Russell Westbrook - might be great, might turn it over 6 times and go 0/9
Julian Strawther - just too raw; his brain is a half second behind his feet most of the time
Jamal Murray - still can't create separation off the dribble or hit wide open shots
Michael Porter - usually picks one quarter per night to be the worst player on the floor, then plays well otherwise (except on defense where he always sucks

Ultimately we have three very reliable guys (Jokic, Braun, Gordon) and one mostly reliable but still raw guy (Watson). That's not nearly enough.

And I've also had it with Malone not having these guys ready to play every night. We get punched in the mouth in the first quarter most nights and our team defense disappears for huge chunks at a time.

[NuggetsWY]

Absolutely pathetic.

Far too much of our roster is useless:
DeAndre Jordan - washed
Dario Saric - washed, headcase, out of shape
Vlatko Cancar - can't stay healthy, unfortunately
Hunter Tyson - terrible player
Jalen Pickett - terrible player
Zeke Nnaji - terrible player
DaRon Holmes - out for the season
Trey Alexander - has potential, but too raw
PJ Hall - too raw, may or may not have potential
Spencer Jones - too raw, may or may not have potential

And we have another four guys that are absurdly inconsistent:
Russell Westbrook - might be great, might turn it over 6 times and go 0/9
Julian Strawther - just too raw; his brain is a half second behind his feet most of the time
Jamal Murray - still can't create separation off the dribble or hit wide open shots
Michael Porter - usually picks one quarter per night to be the worst player on the floor, then plays well otherwise (except on defense where he always sucks

Ultimately we have three very reliable guys (Jokic, Braun, Gordon) and one mostly reliable but still raw guy (Watson). That's not nearly enough.

And I've also had it with Malone not having these guys ready to play every night. We get punched in the mouth in the first quarter most nights and our team defense disappears for huge chunks at a time.

All those players useless & terrible? I don't think so. They all have exceptional talent or they wouldn't have even gotten a shot at the NBA. If a player was good elsewhere, why are they not good on our roster? Look around the NBA and there are former Nuggets still playing for other teams -- and some doing quite well.

It is no secret that I was not a fan of Malone from the earliest days. I let it go because people get tired of hearing constant griping. So I'll say it again; but I will not focus on it. Malone is a coach that tries to make players fit his system. He does not allow them to play in any manner that he doesn't like. He does not like playing young players. During his tenure, the Nuggets have had one first-team all-rookie player: Jokic. There have been four second-team all-rookie players: Nurkic, Mudiay, Murray, Hyland (all of whom are gone). I seriously doubt all of our young players are that terrible. Many teams believe young players learn by playing in games -- Malone believes they have to prove themselves in practice. Any athlete can tell you some players look good in practice but not in games and some players look terrible in practice but not in games. Of course some look good in practice and in games.

*** ***

But is it all on coach? Trying to be honest about some of our trades and knowing coach does not always have control of trades -- but certainly has input. So I'm asking if the front office is as much to blame? Or are they trying to placate a stubborn coach? Just thinking about trades since Malone became coach and no doubt I've missed some, but here goes.

Trey Lyles & Tyler Lydon for Donovan Mitchell? Boggles the mind now. But even back then, #13 pick for #24 and a 6 ppg role player? Ridiculous!

Trading Gary Harris for Aaron Gordon worked out for the Nuggets, but if we hadn't given away Jerami Grant the year before ... Gary Harris + Jerami Grant seems like a nice combo -- maybe better than Aaron Gordon?

Why was Bones Hyland traded for Thomas Bryant? Hyland had and still has a much higher upside IMO.

Trading Monte Morris for KCP was a fairly good trade; but Morris seemed like a good fit. Ish Smith for Will Barton was included, but that makes it not as nice IMO. But still worked out okay, I guess.

Can anyone remember why we traded Hernangomez & Malik Beasley & Jarred Vanderbilt for anybody? Anybody notice that Beasley & Vanderbilt are still playing quite well?

Wouldn't it be nice to have Mason Plumlee as Jokic's backup -- still? I know, I know, salary cap stuff.

[famicommander]

Zeke Nnaji is five years and over 200 games into his career. He's played more than enough to make the determination that he's simply not good. He has some of the worst hands I've ever seen. He can't catch passes, he can't throw passes, he's not a great rebounder, and his jump shot has been horrible since he decided to change his shooting motion for no reason. All he can do is defend, but only guys his size or smaller. He absolutely cannot bang inside with NBA centers, which means his potential in this league is extremely limited. His ball skills are simply too poor to be a forward and that's a moot point anyway with his shooting decline.

Jalen Pickett can't dribble. Flat out, straight up. Even at the G-League level his handles would be poor even for a forward; the fact that he's a guard with no handles means he can't play in this league. Period.

Hunter Tyson is two years into his pro career but he's actually even older than Zeke Nnaji. There isn't a ton of development left for him to do. He's a man without a position; he can't be a 3 because he's ridiculously slow and has poor ball skills. He can't be a 4 because he gets absolutely manhandled. He is a poor defender and a low IQ guy whose sole asset at the NBA level is hustle. He can't even hit shots unless he's wide open. I watched him play in the G-League all year last year. He was rarely even one of the three best players on the court in those games. His own teammates, including Pickett (and Braxton Key, Jay Huff, Collin Gillespie) regularly played levels above him on both ends of the floor. All he did was stand in one spot and get force-fed great passes for wide open 3s because the defenses were worried about players with talent hurting them elsewhere.

Saric played himself out of the rotation in Golden State last year and was DNP - coach's decision down the regular season stretch and the play-in. His 3 point shot disappeared around February and never returned. Steve Kerr nailed him to the bench, then he showed up here completely out of shape and has played some of the worst basketball of anybody they've ever tried in the Jokic backup spot. The Nuggets are his fourth team since the start of the 2023 season. Nobody wanted him even when he was knocking down shots, because his mobility is in the toilet post knee injury and he's always been a head case. And now he's not even knocking down shots.

I love DeAndre Jordan. Absolutely love the guy. But he's washed. Sorry.

And Vlatko would be a useful guy, except he just can't stay healthy. He had a foot injury that took him out of the rotation down the stretch of the regular season two years ago, he missed the entire year last season with a torn ACL, and this year he's already had an ankle injury and a reinjury of the knee.

Holmes, Alexander, Hall, and Jones -- the jury is out. I think Trey has a lot of potential. Haven't seen enough of Hall or Jones yet, and obviously Holmes went down in his summer league debut. But if any of these four guys can help us it will be in the future and not this season.