Game 67: Dallas Mavericks (27-40) @ Denver Nuggets (44-22) - 10:30 PM ET

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[NuggetsWY]

Jokic over Powell - both ends
Millsap's defense vs. Doncic's offense - usually favors offense but on the other end, it's probably reversed - so which one wins over all? We need Millsap to win the boards
Barton against Finney-Smith should favor Barton overall if Barton plays the team game
Hardaway can be tough to stop but the guard matchups should favor Denver

We cannot take Dallas for granted - and watch for Hardaway to pump fake on three-pointers and calmly wait for the Nuggets to fly by him, it's what they do

[skywalker33]

Saw one site that had Doncic starting at PG, now that'd be an interesting matchup for Murray

[THE J0KER]

Denver at home is 28-6, Dallas on the road is 6-27, so eventual Nuggets loss would be sensation (but last week in a similar matchup Suns beat Warriors in Oakland). Jokic and Murray was both scoreless in 1st quarter, I can't remember it ever happens before since both become Denver starters. But happily Millsap playing so far this game like in his all-star years.

[THE J0KER]

Another poor 1st half in 2019. Jokic seems spiritually away from game, 2 points (from free throws) and -15 in +/- says enough. Millsap is fantastic in 1st half (20pts!), Barton is great for the change, but every time Jokic is worst Denver player, Nuggets are in troubles no matter who is opponent. We need him (Murray as well) in 2nd time much more aggressive.

We played so many times in 2019 awful 1st half, but won after way much better 2nd half, so no need to panic on halftime. Good news is that OKC loss tonight, so eventual win tonight will almost secure us TOP3 seed.

[THE J0KER]

-10 before start of the final quarter. OK, we have now a legit reason to start panic about this game!

[skywalker33]

Seems a simple case of tanking that worked in our favor

[THE J0KER]

I don't like our guys already forget what happens early this month in Pepsi Center vs tanking Pelicans (without AD), so in just two weeks they almost repeated the same type of unnecessary home loss which can cost us so much (who want to play vs healthy Rockets without home court advantage?). Jokic was arguably Denver's worst player before 4th quarter, but he dominates that quarter with scoring 9 of his 11 points and 9 out of Denver 21 4tQ points, including boozer winner, so everything is forgiven to him. Actually, when a team wins 4th quarter 21-10 it is a fantastic defense which deserves most of the credits. But the game is not just a final shot or quarter, so of course, the biggest credit deserves Paul Millsap with season-high and monster performance 33-8-3 (fg14-19) which take care of our team before final quarter where finally all are involved. Our backcourt backup duo Beasley-Morris also deserved to be mentioned, they clearly outplayed Mavs bench which backup guards are 0-10 tonight.

[Manolito]

Don't you think Jokic is fatigued? Since two weeks approx, he stays in the court quite inactive, most of the time behind the line. Yesterday he scored 9 of his 11 points in the last 6 minutes.

He went through huge workload during December and January with all the injuries we were facing.

I hope the guy gets back in track for the Play Off. No Jokic no party.

Sent from my Aquaris M5 using RealGM mobile app

[NuggetsWY]

Saw one site that had Doncic starting at PG, now that'd be an interesting matchup for Murray

Harris & Murray are roughly the same size, plus the Nuggets switch on most picks, so who matches whom just doesn't seem too important (by title).

Dallas outplayed us for three quarters before our guys decided to play some very serious defense. If our playoff attitude remains what we've exhibited since the All-Star break, we'll be lucky to win two games in the first round! Regular season wins are good but playing consistently is the only way to win in the playoffs.

For example, the Nuggets are the #2 OREB team but the Mavericks had more OREBs and they are ranked #16.
Our first half had well over half of our assists and few of our assists came on our 3pt shooting; probably because our starters shot 5-17 from three. Our bench was 3-12 from three.

But our #1 problem is when Jokic decides not to shoot and taking just nine shots is just not good. He clearly had more opportunities to shoot but he seems to avoid looking at the basket. Being unselfish can be good, but carrying that too far just hurts the team.

Add to that, Harris only took seven shots. They should each take at least fifteen to twenty shots per game.

It was nice to see some meaningful minutes for Hernangomez (even if there were only a few). I did like Malone's rotation and while he may use Craig instead of Hernangomez, he seems to have settled on his playoff rotation - unless Lyles changes that when he's available.

BTW - Barton seemed to have a decent game on offense and no turnovers really helped but his defense in this game was terrible. He just didn't seem to be trying as much as he had been in recent games. That might be why Malone went with Morris, Murray, Harris for the end of the game.

[The Rebel]

Don't you think Jokic is fatigued? Since two weeks approx, he stays in the court quite inactive, most of the time behind the line. Yesterday he scored 9 of his 11 points in the last 6 minutes.

He went through huge workload during December and January with all the injuries we were facing.

I hope the guy gets back in track for the Play Off. No Jokic no party.

Sent from my Aquaris M5 using RealGM mobile app

I think Jokic and murray are both fatigued, it has been blatantly obvious the last couple of weeks that they just do not have the energy or fire to play hard entire games.

I think Millsap knows it as well which is why he has been playing so much harder lately.

[NuggetsWY]

Don't you think Jokic is fatigued? Since two weeks approx, he stays in the court quite inactive, most of the time behind the line. Yesterday he scored 9 of his 11 points in the last 6 minutes.

He went through huge workload during December and January with all the injuries we were facing.

I hope the guy gets back in track for the Play Off. No Jokic no party.

I think Jokic and murray are both fatigued, it has been blatantly obvious the last couple of weeks that they just do not have the energy or fire to play hard entire games.

I think Millsap knows it as well which is why he has been playing so much harder lately.

and as many times are, we are in "survival until playoffs mode" --- playoffs get shorter rotations, especially the first round so that teams can play their best players more (and so TV can make more money)

[SkillzFromThe6]

I love the rotations. They were just like last game but this time Malone had in Murray for Barton in the entire 4th quarter.

Barton played 27 minutes. He also had in Monte instead of him AT THE END OF THE GAME! I hope this happens more going forward. I love a lineup of Monte, Murray, Gary, Millsap, Jokic at the end. L

Barton had a decent offensive game but his defense was awful as usual. Will usually has 1 good defensive stop once a game, I'll say. But he gave up at least 3-4 corner three pointers in this game.

Overall, I hate Barton. So, I loved this game even though Denver struggled

[skywalker33]

Don't you think Jokic is fatigued? Since two weeks approx, he stays in the court quite inactive, most of the time behind the line. Yesterday he scored 9 of his 11 points in the last 6 minutes.

He went through huge workload during December and January with all the injuries we were facing.

I hope the guy gets back in track for the Play Off. No Jokic no party.

Sent from my Aquaris M5 using RealGM mobile app

I think Jokic and murray are both fatigued, it has been blatantly obvious the last couple of weeks that they just do not have the energy or fire to play hard entire games.

I think Millsap knows it as well which is why he has been playing so much harder lately.

I've seen so many posters bitchin' about Jokic's lack of mins, saying he needs to play 37-40 mins a game...

We may even want to sit him vs. a game such as the Knicks....just sayin'

[The Rebel]

Don't you think Jokic is fatigued? Since two weeks approx, he stays in the court quite inactive, most of the time behind the line. Yesterday he scored 9 of his 11 points in the last 6 minutes.

He went through huge workload during December and January with all the injuries we were facing.

I hope the guy gets back in track for the Play Off. No Jokic no party.

Sent from my Aquaris M5 using RealGM mobile app

I think Jokic and murray are both fatigued, it has been blatantly obvious the last couple of weeks that they just do not have the energy or fire to play hard entire games.

I think Millsap knows it as well which is why he has been playing so much harder lately.

I've seen so many posters bitchin' about Jokic's lack of mins, saying he needs to play 37-40 mins a game...

We may even want to sit him vs. a game such as the Knicks....just sayin'

I know, a lot of posters do not understand how hard it is to play 82 games in a season with all the travel, especially when you play in the post and/or use your body to set a lot of screens and play physical. Jokic has the 2nd most touches in the league which was actually 1st in the league in January, and is involved in every play on the defensive end, he has to be tired.

If we win our next 2 games I would actually sit Jokic against both the Knicks and Wizards, gives Jokic a full 6 days off to rest and get ready for the homestretch and playoffs. I would probably give Murray off the night against the Knicks as well.

[U hova]

I heard we won on a gamewinner... why was it that close to begin with though?

[NuggetsWY]

I heard we won on a gamewinner... why was it that close to begin with though?

Uh, yeah, what everyone already said.

[RRFB]

Man, Jokic is something else. This was as bad of a game as you'll see from him, he was clearly exhausted, and yet he still finished 2 assists shy of a triple-double while carrying the team to a W. I love Malone's confidence to force the ball in his hands down the stretch despite the off game, and I love Jokic fighting through the fatigue to put the team on his back. But yeah, I wouldn't at all be against finding a way to get him some extra rest these last few weeks.

I was in attendance for this one. Pretty bad game overall, but what a finish. Great crowd too. I think we may continue to see Barton be the odd man out in close games where the offense is struggling. Monte has such a calming effect on the offense, Murray often seems to play better off-ball, and Harris is obviously the better defender.

It's pretty impressive how they've been able to clamp down on defense in the 4th quarter all season long. Apparently they've got the best 4Q defensive rating in the league by a wide margin. As much as you'd like to see them do it for a full 48, I think that extra effort in the 4th has become a real part of their identity.

[Maf]

Must confess I saw this game a whole lot different than most of you.

Barton- I was happy with what I saw. Does he make time to time some defensive mistake? Sure he does. But he also showed he won't give up on play with another awesome block shot. Great hustle.

Jokič- Nah, to me he didn't look tired or exhausted. Otherwise he wouldn't steamroll in 4th Q. To me ho looked like he didn't really care that much. Like hey, this is gonna be easy game for us, I don't have to work hard too much this one.

I also believe Plums didn't really try that hard. There were several situation where if he put more effort and extra steps he'd get ball going out of bound, he'd be in better position to box out and so. I yelled at monitor on Malone to put in Welsch if our C's doesn't want to play.

Well, those are things I saw different. As the rest of you I salute to Paul Millsap's another great game, whole team for their 4th Q defense and not giving up and as usual to Monte. He might be the most aesthetic player in the league.

[NuggetsWY]

Must confess I saw this game a whole lot different than most of you.

Barton- I was happy with what I saw. Does he make time to time some defensive mistake? Sure he does. But he also showed he won't give up on play with another awesome block shot. Great hustle.

Totally agree and I think he'd be a great player on another team - even better than he's been here. I appreciate him and the last few games, he's seemed to fit a little better. But Beasley would make a better SF in my opinion and seems to fit better on the Nuggets, especially because of his defense.

Jokič- Nah, to me he didn't look tired or exhausted. Otherwise he wouldn't steamroll in 4th Q. To me ho looked like he didn't really care that much. Like hey, this is gonna be easy game for us, I don't have to work hard too much this one.

I think Jokic looks tired 4 minutes into each game - it's just the way he is. When I was in high school, I was a big boy but could run a decent sprint (not great, but ...) The thing is, at the end of a one mile run, I could run a sprint almost as good as when I was fresh. Jokic isn't a sprinter but he can do it when he needs to.

I just wish he'd give a little more focus on scoring, it would make everyone else's game easier.

I also believe Plums didn't really try that hard. There were several situation where if he put more effort and extra steps he'd get ball going out of bound, he'd be in better position to box out and so. I yelled at monitor on Malone to put in Welsch if our C's doesn't want to play.

I sorta' saw that too. I think it might just have been a tough matchup for him or maybe he had a sore muscle or something.

Well, those are things I saw different. As the rest of you I salute to Paul Millsap's another great game, whole team for their 4th Q defense and not giving up and as usual to Monte. He might be the most aesthetic player in the league.