GT: Nets @ Nuggets 5/8/2021 (Stop the bleeding please!!)

[Hello Brooklyn]

I would honestly way rather see the Saltics in the First Round than the Wizards.

Westbrook is on a tear right now. No thanks.

[Pelly24]

Also... i dont want to hear this jokic MVP stuff.

his team is 4th in the west and 7th overall in the NBA. He consistently gets beat by the best players. He was the 3rd best player on the floor tonight, and thats without harden playing.

i dont want to hear that noise.

Jokic def. the MVP yo. Top 3 player in the league. Still was pretty dominant tonight. Depending on how they finish their season, the Nuggets will have the equivalent of a 54-win season, and that's with losing Jamal Murray (even if MPJ makes up for that). In the East, they would be tied for 2nd seed and or finish in the top 3.

3rd in the east is not something to beat your chest on.

he isnt a top 3 player either. he is an elite offensive player. but he isnt lebron, he isnt durant, he isnt harden, he isnt curry and he isnt the 2-way that embiid is.

KD is great, but Jokic is more similar to LeBron offensively than any of these guys. Jokic has two playoff runs already that are at least as good as any of KD's before KD joined a ridiculous super team that beat him the year before. Jokic outplayed Kawhi and had an even better postseason in 2019. He's maybe the best passer in the league, and His ability to score from all three levels, post game and his great midrange game makes him one of the best scorers in the league. I'll concede I wouldn't quite say he's as good a scorer as KD, but he's averaging 26.5 ppg on 65 TS%, which is definitely a KD-level scoring season (I think better than a few of KD's GSW years). His numbers have held up in the playoffs thus far too, and that's without a top 15 player (even though Jamal Murray played like one last year). His ws/48 is at .301 and his BPM is right at 12. Those are peak Michael Jordan and MJ type of numbers. Having a 54-win pace might not be incredible, but it's definitely a high-level winning season. 23 games above .500 in a regular year. A lot of time with Murray out injured, MPJ struggling early on, no Aaron Gordon, Will Barton missing games, no Jerami grant replacement for a while. All the numbers say Jokic is having an all-time great season, and the outcome only corroborates that. As a scorer, he's not Steph or KD and maybe not Harden, but he's a better passer than everyone but Harden and LeBron, and he's close to both. He's got better playoff runs without a lot of help than anyone but LeBron. I'm more impressed w. his two runs than any of KD's OKC runs. Being able to run an offense at an elite level *and* get 27 ppg on GOAT-level efficiency is just hard to match. We gotta give credit where it's due!

[DarkXaero]

My ballot would be:

Embiid (better record, better 2-way player)
Harden (better win%, elevates his team more)
Lebron (Slightly worse record when in lineup, better in every other aspect)
Curry (same as lebron)
Jokic
Kyrie (Better record, better offensively, better defensively, but less games)

So you just don't care about games missed.

I'm not giving MVP to anyone who misses a lot of games. Jokic has player every game this season.

The best ability is availability.

I dont have KD ahead of him because of missed games. Harden missed less then KD and is just so much better then jokic i still have him up there. i moved lebron down see my edit.

Jokic playing every game, yet his team still is worse then the nets/sixers i think makes his case worse.

He has had less help than other candidates, its silly to make that comparison to other teams' record. Nets and Sixers also play in the easier Eastern conference. Embiid has multiple all star caliber players and elite defenders on his team, Harden had All-NBA level Kyrie next to him for the most part. Jokic's supporting cast has been inconsistent Jamal Murray, 2nd year MPJ, and post trade deadline Aaron Gordon (who didn't play tonight). Its not comparable.

[DarkXaero]

I would honestly way rather see the Saltics in the First Round than the Wizards.

Westbrook is on a tear right now. No thanks.

Wizards are a mediocre team and way less talented than the Celtics. Not to mention, Brad Stevens is a far better coach than Scott Brooks.

[Prokorov]

Stretch Run Breakdown.....

1) We have clinched a top 3 seed, Knicks cant catch us
2) We clinch the 2 seed if we run the table and the Bucks lose to the Heat
3) If the Sixers win 1 game, We can not be the 1 seed
4) We have 4 winnable games, but they are 2 sets of back to backs. The bucks also have 2 back to backs.
5) The spurs (play vs. us and the bucks) are the 10 seed and fighting to stay in the playoffs
6) The pacers (play the bucks, but not us) are the 10 seed and fighting to stay in the playoffs
7) The Bulls (Play us twice, bucks once) are the 11 seed fighting to get in
8) The heat are the 6th seed, just 1 game up on boston. they'll need to win to stay out of the play-in round


Nets Remaining:
Bulls
Spurs
Cavs
Bulls

Bucks Remaining:
Spurs
Magic
Pacers
Heat
Bulls

Sixers Remaining:
Pacers
Heat
Magic
Magic

It looks like the celtics and heat will overtake the hawks and be the 5/6 seeds. That would mean the 2 seed avoids miami/boston.

Should be a fun finish

[HardenGoat]

What a relief. I mean that in the sense we played good defense and with passion to win in the end. Turnovers will be cleaned up when Harden returns and I think Harris and Shamet will really benefit with a return to their roles when he’s on the court. Durant looks healthy which had me really worried. He has shown he can turn it up and that’s what we need especially at the end of games. He is our closer, you just can’t guard him on that pull-up. Blake is going to help us way more than I thought. He continues to be that gritty smart player that disrupts the other team. Plus he showed he is a real threat from 3 which spreads the floor and he knows how to distribute the ball when defenses come forward. Blake added huge depth to what was our thinnest position. And then there is Claxton. What a godsend, such a great defender and his minutes will only go up. We have found our primary center and that was after the huge blow from losing LMA. We can rest easier tonight, I know we have what it takes, these next games will all be about building off this win.

[Hello Brooklyn]

Read on Twitter

31 pts and a W with no food or water. King!

[Prokorov]

Read on Twitter

31 pts and a W with no food or water. King!

Was as good or better the past 2 games as well without any sustenance

[NetsJets]

I had no confidence that we would win this game. What a come back. Guys started playing with energy and they played like they cared. Their defense tightened up and guys stepped up. We needed this for our confidence.

[Papi_swav]

This was a awesome game, a Nets all time classic. Down 21 and came back to dominate the 4th quarter. This proves KD and Kyrie can beat a contending team together with them 2. We needed this win after this losing streak. This game had everything you wanted.

KD got 33 points on 14 shots , Kyrie got 31 on 17 shots . This is just next level play. And they got stops when needed and shots to go in. Kyrie sometimes seem lost on defense and it looks like he's confuses the rest of the team on defense at times. He gets lost on switches and it results to open shots. IDK if I'm the only one seeing this.?

Blake played as good as he you can against Jokic. But one thing I don't like, he goes foul hunting a little too much at times and tries too hard to sell it. Sometimes we just need him to play ball. Uncle Jeff was great too and Claxton got some nice stops for us.

The refs were letting it get physical out there. They gave us a few tacky fouls. Glad we got this W, we needed a win like this going into the PO against a top team.

[ecuhus1981]

Best win of the season. Glad I stuck it out.

I hope we can use this game to turn the corner defensively.

I feel you, HB. It's more relief than joy, but I'm glad I gutted out this one, just like Brooklyn did!

[therealbig3]

Let me guess, Nash gets no credit for the comeback, it's all because Kyrie and KD were amazing...he didn't help them at all, he didn't put the right players out there at the right times at all, he didn't push the right buttons, etc.

So many NBA-caliber head coaches here that are clearly better at this than guys that have played the game at the highest level for years and are literally being paid millions to do this...so what's the deal? You guys just prefer your day jobs and would just rather not be an NBA head coach? True, totally understandable. Please, continue to whine, it's the reason why I wake up in the morning. To hear anonymous people on the Internet talk about how much better they are at something than trained professionals.

[gigantes]

Joking getting all calls

Joking! But perhaps you're right...

Watch on YouTube

[gigantes]

Still I don't think offense was really ever a problem this game. It was all defense.

I agree for the most part... in that we consistently got good shots/the shots we want. I disagree though because we turned it over so much. many unforced live ball turnovers. those are killers. need to clean that up.

I mean, Nasheroo has been saying that all season, like many coaches do.

To me, that's 75% coach-speak for 'these boyos still getting to know each other, roit?'

[therealbig3]

Anyway, FWIW, this is now officially our 2nd best NBA RS ever, with the equivalent of 50 wins in a typical RS.

[Sharcm1]

The fact that this team can play the kind of defense they played in the fourth quarter frustrates me more. It just shows the lack of effort for the times they don’t do that.

[MrDollarBills]

Read on Twitter

31 pts and a W with no food or water. King!

There was also the fact that he was in a different time zone as well.

It's clear that he has finally adjusted to playing without water or food because he's been posting elite numbers despite the losses, but man. I dunno how he or anyone does it. I can go without food, but no water all day and then you have to play basketball? I can't even go 5 mins through one of my weight lifting sessions without a sip of water.

[sashaturiaf]

The fact that this team can play the kind of defense they played in the fourth quarter frustrates me more. It just shows the lack of effort for the times they don’t do that.

I think self preservation and a sense of complacency has led to that.

I'm glad that embarassing first half and facing a 5 game losing streak triggered their competitive juices to play some defense in the second half. Our big 3 as good as they are on offense are probably 3 of our top 5 defenders as well. And to ask them to carry the burden on both ends during a grueling season is too much when we know their injury histories and the fact KD is coming back from an Achilles.

This was a statement game, in the final 4 games of the season I maintain the same stance I've had all along. Go into the postseason with health intact, and hopefully Harden starts getting some minutes to get himself ready. If all that happens it's a big win despite what seed we end up.

[ecuhus1981]

Let me guess, Nash gets no credit for the comeback, it's all because Kyrie and KD were amazing...he didn't help them at all, he didn't put the right players out there at the right times at all, he didn't push the right buttons, etc.

So many NBA-caliber head coaches here that are clearly better at this than guys that have played the game at the highest level for years and are literally being paid millions to do this...so what's the deal? You guys just prefer your day jobs and would just rather not be an NBA head coach? True, totally understandable. Please, continue to whine, it's the reason why I wake up in the morning. To hear anonymous people on the Internet talk about how much better they are at something than trained professionals.

You seem to want laurels for not criticizing Nash, so here you go.

I have never said I could do the Nets head coaching job better than Nash. I have critiqued some of his decisions. It's a tough job, and he's at the apex of his industry. When you're a Fortune 500 CEO and your company has a terrible quarter, you might have to answer to the Board of Directors. They may even fire you.

I don't want to lose anyone with this analogy, so I'll make it clear: I am not advocating for firing Steve Nash. I'm saying you can be at the top of your field, and have to accept criticism or even get the axe if/when you underperform.

[ecuhus1981]

Kudos to Nash, he made half-time adjustments and pressed the right buttons with defensive switches. Playing Brown and Claxton down the stretch, even benching Kyrie for late-game offense/defense situations, was an overdue change and I'm glad to see it.

Props to Kyrie and Kevin, they could have easily directed their frustration with this game in unhealthy, less productive ways. Instead, they kept their poise, and kept their teammates' heads high. We could not have pulled off this kind of a comeback, on the MVP's last homecourt game this regular season, without it.

Green and Griffin are becoming a meme. Sure, they have their limitations. Still, they both had critical one-man rallies when everyone else was cold and the game was very close from becoming a blowout. In baseball terms, they're the perfect 8- and 9-hitters. It's going to be great when they don't have to bat cleanup.

Landry and Joe are also becoming a meme, for the wrong reasons. To their credit, I thought they defended capably. But they both had numbskull passes, could not create opportunities for others and were intimidated off of their shot. I cannot stress this enough: they have GOT to stop flinching when opponents bull rush them to close out their jumpshot. Channel your inner Reggie Miller, make them afraid to even graze you while in your shot motion. Other teams are taking notice, you can give these two the yips if you spook them.

Good win. Now let's close out the season strong. GO BROOKLYN!