big honey and the nuggets

one of the all time greats deserves his own thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsE3ZcQ25Zw

from hollinger’s column:

The thing about the NBA MVP award is that only one person can win it, which makes things a bit problematic when multiple players appear to be having MVP-caliber seasons.

I wrote about this dilemma a year ago, when three players had bonkers campaigns that would have made them runaway winners in any normal year. Instead, Nikola Jokić narrowly won a second straight MVP award over Joel Embiid and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Granted, we’re not even halfway through the 2022-23 season yet, but this year’s MVP traffic only seems worse. To wit:

Boston’s Jayson Tatum has been the best player on the league’s best team, automatically bestowing MVP equity. And this isn’t on the same level as the “You have to consider Devin Booker because the Suns won 64 games” vibe of a year ago. Tatum legitimately has a case for being the best player this time around, as a two-way menace averaging 30.9 points per game for the league’s best offense. He punctuated his candidacy with a 41-points-on 22-shots tour de force against mighty Milwaukee on Christmas.
Kevin Durant has spent the past month reminding everyone how amazing he is. Durant is averaging 29.3 points on 68 percent true shooting since the beginning of November, and his defense has been on par, if not even better than his offense. The Nets have won nine straight to pass Cleveland and Philly in the standings and are breathing down the necks of Boston and Milwaukee for the top spot. At age 34, Durant has also played in 33 of Brooklyn’s 34 games and is third in the NBA in minutes.
Luka Dončić is an offense unto himself for a short-handed Dallas team, one that is ninth in the NBA in offensive efficiency despite having virtually no shot-creation anywhere else on the roster. On top of his ever-widening array of tricks, feints and pivots in the basket area, Dončić has massively increased his free-throw rate in his fifth pro season while shooting a scalding 58.1 percent inside the arc. He’s third in the league in PER, second in scoring and second in BPM despite the near-constant attention from defenses.
Giannis? No, he didn’t go anywhere. The Bucks superstar is fourth in scoring, leads the league in free-throw attempts and remains a monstrous presence for the league’s fifth-ranked defense despite a dip in his PER to “just” 28.1 so far.
Embiid is still here too. He got off to a slow start, but quickly made up for lost time, to the point that he now leads the league in scoring. A lack of durability could again work against him – he has already missed eight games – but at his current rate, it might not matter. Embiid’s December splits are truly ridiculous: 35.9 points, 50 percent from 3, 86.4 percent from the line, 65.8 percent true shooting, more assists than turnovers and eight straight wins for the Sixers. He’s also played every game since Nov. 28.
All of this would make for an amazing five-way MVP race! How we do choose?

Except for one inconvenient fact … the Joker.

The two-time reigning MVP is still here, clowning fools in slow motion with no-look passes, impossibly soft running floaters and all the other random cool stuff he does that seems impossible for a huge ground-bound guy until he does it.

Here, have a Smitty from your opponent’s giant center:

That’s from Nikola Jokić’s 41-point, 15-rebound, 15-assist triple-double against Phoenix on Christmas night, which was notable mostly for how unremarkable it seemed. He was just kind of having a regular game for him and ended up compiling these stats. At 24.4 points, 11.0 rebounds and 9.4 assists per game, Jokić has an outside shot at averaging a triple-double for the season.

The NBA hasn’t had an MVP three-peat since Larry Bird (1984-86), and those of you suffering from Joker fatigue in the MVP vote will need to do some soul searching again this season. Jokić’s PER of 32.2 not only leads the league, but also nearly matches last season’s career high. His 12.4. BPM leads the league by a wide margin … and it’s also higher than his first MVP season.

His 68.5 percent true shooting? Well, it doesn’t lead the league, but it does for medium- to high-usage players (anyone over 20 percent) and it is easily the best mark of his career. Durant is choking on his dust back at 67.3. There’s a good reason for this: Jokić has cut back sharply on taking 3s after hitting 33.7 percent a year ago, flinging them barely half as often as last year to instead move to his comfort zone from midrange. (Fun stat: Jokić is shooting 61 percent this season on midrange shots, according to Cleaning the Glass. What?!?!)

His 45.7 percent assist percentage? No, that doesn’t quite lead the league. Dončić and Indiana’s Tyrese Hailburton are still slightly ahead of him. But, did I mention Jokić is a center? His rate is nearly twice that of any other five (Embiid is next at 24.4), and yes, is a career high for a player who already was cemented as the best passing big man of all time before the season tipped off.

All of this would be easy to write off were it not for one other inconvenient fact: Jokić’s team is also in first place in the West at 21-11, a half game ahead of second-place New Orleans.

The biggest argument against the Joker the past two years – and the biggest reason voter fatigue was likely to get in the way of a three-peat – was that the Nuggets were good, but not among the league’s elite, winning 47 and 48 games, respectively. Well, what now? What if they finish first in the West, with the team still hemorrhaging points any time Jokić leaves the floor? This year’s Nuggets have a whopping TWENTY-FIVE-POINT differential between having Jokić on the court (plus-11.3 points per 100 possessions) and off it (minus-13.6 points).

No amount of staggering or tinkering has seemed able to fix this, although the Nuggets’ recent stretch of seven wins in eight games has seen more stability from the second group. If they finish first in the West with the team going instantly into tire-fire mode anytime Jokić leaves the floor, how could he not be the MVP?

There’s still more than half a season to play and torrents of water left to go under the bridge. Injuries will inevitably scratch a few names from the race. Slumps may do so as well; the Nuggets are hardly ironclad with their half-game lead atop the West, especially given that they rank only 11th in net margin of victory and 25th in defense. (Jokić, for all his positives, is not exactly an imposing rim protector; he has good hands and positions himself well, but to date, his greatest defensive accomplishment has been mastering the kick-ball violation.) And maybe Durant renders all this discussion irrelevant by averaging 35 a game during a 20-game win streak or something.

But the Nuggets’ unexpected appearance at the top of the standings, despite still trying to incorporate Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. through an uneven first half of the season, makes for some interesting conversation for the second half.

The presumption heading into the season was that Joker fatigue would take over the MVP race, and voters would shift toward rewarding a player whose team was at or near the top of the standings.

But what if that player turns out to be Nikola Jokić?

they shouldnt have given it to him last year now they cant give it to him this year, his best season

there's an understandable urge to vote for someone new, but as k3vin's article indicates, that vote's going to split badly among four or five other players and the joker might just win again based on that

it's a long season

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinking-basketball/id1428290303?i=1000591786808

enjoyed this deep dive into jokic, one mind blowing stat is that this year the nuggets have 11 fewer assists per 100 possessions with jokic on the bench, which I guess is the best of all time, other leaders on the list are like peak nash lebron curry etc seasons

I think there’s a reasonable chance that in terms of impact on wins and losses jokic is significantly better than his basic numbers indicate, might be even better than being a 2 time MVP might suggest, just my thoughts

Feel like you could say that for the handful of mvp level dudes in the league but I get your point.

thats why everyone wants the big dogs

theres also a thing where denvers roster just really doesnt work without him in there

Very random but I can't stop thinking about how the other night Nikola Jokic jumped to try to create space between him and Bam Adebayo.

No fake pass from Jamal Murray or anything. Just jumped to try to trick Bam, then ran to the ball.

Gonna call this the "Joker jump." pic.twitter.com/PJ2nttyCHm

— Wes Goldberg (@wcgoldberg) January 4, 2023

ha got em

him and kornet should start a cheerleading school

Bruce Brown, last 2 seasons...

31-for-57 (54.4%) from the right corner.
12-for-59 (20.3%) from the left corner.https://t.co/ejDRStYnU9https://t.co/2YxCnuFdcJ

— John Schuhmann (@johnschuhmann) January 7, 2023

gonna use this as a nuggets thread

faked me out in slomo while i was expecting something crazy

WHAT THE HELL IS THIS JOKIC pic.twitter.com/aWNRj59h51

— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) January 10, 2023

Love those kinda slow mo 360 dribble moves, luka does does a lot

yeah good for husky boys who can give a lil bump at the end of the spin and get their shoulders by

14-11-16-1-1 tonight. ON 5 SHOTS (5-5 fg, 1-1 3p, 3-3 ft)

what on earth lol

that’s truly silly it is making me laugh thinking about it

I missed 95% of the game due to a flight but it’s a sort of line Ive seen plenty of times from jokic (ok, the perfect shooting triple double is only something he’s done once). it’s a thing he does when he doesn’t respect the opponent in my viewing experience

also does anyone know if anyone keeps stats on opening tips? jokic has to be bottom 10% at that, seems like I never see him win one lol

alright maybe I’m way off base because according to “degendata.com” the nuggets win 70% of their tips?

https://www.degendata.com/games/20230109

Nuggs vibe check

“This is the best locker room I have been a part of.”

-Bruce Brown on the Nuggets roster. He said they spend off nights together, play Call of Duty and other stuff.

— T.J. McBride (@TJMcBrideNBA) January 10, 2023

Nugs vibes seem good but let’s not forget that Bruce Brown’s previous NBA locker room experiences are the Pistons and Nets

haha yes

true lol

wow this locker room is great theres no kyrie or james harden in it

i now realize that was a bad post i apologize

lol it does seem like the vibes are good tho

I think having a chill guy like jokic who is also a world-beater leading the team is a formula for good vibes. his teammates legit revere him

its true saw a bones interview where he seemed legit amazed at jokers humility, like it was something he hadnt even considered possible

yeah I watch a lot of local segments they show on the league pass streams and it’s a borderline cult

you are in a cult kev seek help

I seek help from jokic only he will save me

lmao

joks bruv

two biyombo pick and roll finishes to start out, nice

the torrey craig redemption show part 2

The best 1:42 you will spend today 😂 pic.twitter.com/NcTSjiSin0

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) January 14, 2023

Bill Simmons and Zach Lowe are such Nikola Jokic fans/supporters/believers.

They can’t help themselves when talking about Nikola, they are like little kids on Christmas morning when they talk Jokic.

Love it. @Adam_Mares @HarrisonWind @DLineCo @BrendanVogt #Nuggets pic.twitter.com/jqZxs5mn5M

— JB Denver Sports (@JB_DenverSports) January 14, 2023

No cap like I am wearing no hat

8-6-5-1 in 10 mins of the first quarter

JOKIC. BANGARANG!https://t.co/UuwxYJmnXx pic.twitter.com/qM43q7xXBd

— Wobkola Jokić (@WorldWideWob) January 16, 2023

big shot big honey

he's somehow so chill

just don’t dunk on him

Nikola said he told Bol after the game: "If you dunk one more time on me, I'm gonna F him (up)."

— Mike Singer (@msinger) January 16, 2023

Great pass, comical shot pic.twitter.com/2jQntQmEVa

— Taco Trey Kerby (@treykerby) January 18, 2023

lowe:

With the Orlando Magic, Gordon was miscast as a wing. Orlando was overstocked with bigs. Gordon had ambitions of LeBron James-style ball dominance. Over several roster mutations, none of it worked. Across the league -- even within Orlando -- insiders wondered: Why couldn't Gordon access his inner Draymond Green? He could be the superstar role player every good team needs!

How wonderful when experience and luck put someone in the right place to fulfill their destiny at the moment they are ready to accept it. Gordon is the perfect support player for Nikola Jokic, and he's enjoying a career season: 16.5 points, 7 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 59% shooting -- 37.6% on 3s, and 65% on 2s.

As a leaper with size and anticipation, Gordon is an ideal target for Jokic -- on cuts, and leaking out in transition. But Gordon is doing so much more than dining on Jokic's passing genius.

He's been vicious as a post-up scorer, and defenses are starting to send help -- even when Gordon doesn't have a size mismatch. Denver's trusting Gordon to make the right plays:

He still gets to run some pick-and-roll, and has great chemistry with Jokic. The Nuggets have averaged 1.33 points when Gordon shoots out of the pick-and-roll or dishes to a teammate who fires -- No. 1 (!) among almost 200 ball handlers who have run at least 75 such plays, per Second Spectrum.

Gordon's supplementary passing has been a big boost. He's heaving accurate outlets, leading fast breaks, and pinging smart extra passes around the perimeter. The Nuggets have sets for Gordon to facilitate from the elbows. What are you supposed to do here -- with Gordon holding the ball at the right elbow, Jokic setting a down screen for Bruce Brown at the left elbow, and ace shooters in each corner?

On defense, Gordon can guard all five positions. His pinpoint rotations and shot-blocking are essential in Denver's demanding scheme.

Gordon has a real All-Star case.

jamal is doing his best jokic impression: has 12-9-9-2 3 mins into the 3rd quarter. would be his first career triple double

*taps the sign*

jesus christ this nuggets game is a religious experience

30 assists for the team through 3 quarters with jokic not playing. 38 point third quarter

season high 15 dunks

nikola jokic is a system player

ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?

hint: I was entertained 😂 pic.twitter.com/YKrPy8rtWb

— Katy Winge (@katywinge) January 21, 2023

just dunk every time idk why more teams dont do it

its a high percentage shot

Joker is stylin' tonight in Denver 🔥 pic.twitter.com/nSqmmqR7Q4

— NBA (@NBA) January 21, 2023

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that absolute dominance would look like that.

John 13:7 “You may not know now, but later you’ll understand”

— Bones Hyland (@BizzyBones11) January 30, 2023

poor guy, there are lots of trade rumors about him and that’s got to be tough on a second year player. KCP said yesterday or the day before that it really affected him earlier in his career. that said I think the nuggets should definitely look to move him if the right offer comes along, though I doubt it will

not sure he's shown enough to net much in return. seems like useful player to have on your roster but if hes checked out and feels disrespected then not what can you do

Jok pullin' out all the tricks 🃏 pic.twitter.com/CynGIQP0AW

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) February 1, 2023

what a move.

not sure ive ever seen someone split a double team like that, lull them to sleep

Magic Jokic

Nikola Jokic with a fantastic assist to Michael Porter Jr. on the cut#Nuggets #MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/JmsR8xeJGf

— Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) February 1, 2023

dying at this

Nikola Jokic responds to a reporter informing him that he is now averaging a triple double pic.twitter.com/X9nQtIzV5O

— hoops bot (@hoops_bot) February 1, 2023

lmaoooo

omg

what a king

22-14-16 on 9/13 shooting, +22, W

Aaron Gordon's career season is not the result of expanding his game, but narrowing it. On the benefits of doing less in order to do so much more, at @fivethirtyeight: https://t.co/LIpTadzwon

pls enjoy this video of Jokic finding AG for sick dunks https://t.co/CuppEj42o3

— Yaya Dubin (@JADubin5) February 3, 2023

Last year, AG set a career high with 130 dunks in 75 games. This season, he already has 125 dunks. More than a quarter of his shots have been dunks! All he does is dunk, dunk, dunk, no matter what. And it's awesome. https://t.co/LIpTadzwon pic.twitter.com/3ExY2ALNyD

— Yaya Dubin (@JADubin5) February 3, 2023

love our big dunking boy

19-10-10 on 8/10 shooting, 1 turnover in the first half

finishes with 20-12-16 in 27 minutes

nikola jokic in january: 24.0 points, 11.6 rebounds, 11.3 assists on .677/.538/.897 shooting, 76% true shooting, 143 offensive rating 110 defensive rating. video game numbers

― k3vin k., Wednesday, February 1, 2023 12:50 PM (one week ago) bookmarkflaglink

february update: 18.7, 14.7, and 14.0 on 74.5% true shooting, 150 offensive rating, 105 defensive rating

the stats of the soon to be 3x MVP are no longer impressive to ILH, sad!

The Nuggets trolling Jokic’s accent is pure comedy 🤣 pic.twitter.com/v8BIjU1hks

— ClutchBet (@ClutchBetSB) February 4, 2023

vibes

last season's suns traumatized me that all vibes are a mirage. luckily joker and jamal are sterling vibes guys, gotta keep an eye in that mpj fella tho

porter really seems to have bought into his role, he’s competing really hard on defense lately, been shooting great, vibes are good

Another record in the books. The Nuggets have now won 25 consecutive games when Jokić records a triple double, the longest such streak in the NBA history.
Jokić 25
Magic 24 https://t.co/mv8P6XD4y3

— Miroslav Ćuk (@MiroslavCuk) February 16, 2023

1st Q: +13.1 net rating (previous: +15.2) | Ranked 1st (previous: 2nd)
2nd Q: +2.2 net rating (previous: -6.4) | Ranked 11th (previous: 26th)
3rd Q: +3.9 net rating (previous: -4.2) | Ranked 6th (previous: 21st)
4th Q: -2.3 net rating (previous: +0.1) | Ranked 24th (previous: 14th)
Clutch: +19.5 net rating (previous: +20.6) | Ranked 1st (previous: 5th) | 26 games (17-9) (Previous: 12 games, 8-4)

(from zach harper’s recent power rankings column) here’s what makes me optimistic about the nuggets prospects for the playoffs…their best lineups just run teams off the floor, both to start the game and then, if needed, in crunch time (including on defense). the non-jokic minutes of course have been a disaster for years now but the bench really seems to be turning a corner lately

feel like they need murray to really ball out while jokic sits cause even if the bench is playing better now the playoffs has a way of taking stuff like that away, any shaky stuff

also is joker in big minutes a question mark does he get tired

jokic I’m not worried about, he’s an ironman, 6th in minutes played overall over the last 6 seasons, and in 4th quarters in the playoffs since 2020 he’s averaging 29.0 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per 36 on .533/.457/.903 shooting in 211 minutes, +38 in those minutes, and the majority of those minutes are against better teams. for sure malone will need to figure out the best staggers for the playoffs and that’s something I’m keeping an eye on. murray has been playing great lately.

the bench minutes’ floor just has to be somewhere resembling average, and so much of their struggles can be traced to bones and deandre jordan, both of whom will be out of the playoff rotation. jordan/bones lineups have been an insanely bad 15.5 per 100 possession in 271 minutes, something that seems impossible for reggie jackson and thomas bryant not to improve upon. jeff green also seems likely to be squeezed out of the rotation pretty soon

since 12/30, jokic is shooting .655/.553/.865 (which is good)

hmm he should shoot more then

he shoots a perfect amount, shooting too much is selfish

tricking people into thinking aaron gordon is good is dishonest

lol Jokic pic.twitter.com/vrmSHJpRwI

— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) February 27, 2023

sombor shuffle baby

jokic is leading the league in true shooting percentage, defensive rebound percentage, and in a virtual tie for first in assist percentage

AG and Bruce are ready for the Sombor life pic.twitter.com/49etjqSueg

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) March 4, 2023

the nuggets continue to set league records for vibes

answer the question, all the celtics wouldve just said grant

Don't jump with Unc pic.twitter.com/1nzLzxsUfD

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) March 7, 2023

jeff green does this like once a week and it’s breathtaking every time

feel like the thread title should be "big honey and the nuggs"

mods

FINE

btw can I just say it is so amazing to be a fan of this team right now, best player, vibes continue to set record highs, window open for another few years…extremely good

theyre a cool nice team for sure

I just have to chuckle sometimes when I think about what jokic’s stats would look like if he tried to do as much as embiid, giannis, luka, other guys who are desperate for the MVP but won’t win. sad for them!!

jokic literally doesn’t care, he’ll take 8 shots a night and be a +15 in a W, these other fools are out there with a 40% usage trying to prove something or whatever

just remembering earlier in the season when j0rdan was suggesting tatum should be the MVP, yikes!

or maybe jokic cares so much about his stats that he only takes primo shots to keep his TS% sky high makes you think

yeah that’d be something to think about for sure if he didn’t lap the league in +/-

he’s just on a different level than these guys, 3x MVP is a tough club to join. no disrespect to guys with 35+ usage trying their best to help their teams!

just silly looking at his numbers, +/-, team results, etc. a one of one situation

curry-esque actually in the way he can just be out there and change the gravity of the game in a way that leads to wins even if he doesn’t shoot

Otm

as I was saying, being a fan of this team is excruciating

no shame being eviscerated by sandro mamukelashvili, happens to the best of us

we all know about big sandro

haircut jokic, it’s over for these hoes

I love christian braun

Nuggets 3-guard lineups off the bench this season:

Jamal Murray, Bones Hyland, Bruce Brown: -57 in 179 minutes (109.3 ORtg, 124.8 DRtg, -15.5 NetRtg)

Jamal Murray, Reggie Jackson, Bruce Brown: -39 in 69 minutes (95.8 ORtg, 126.4 DRtg, -30.6 NetRtg)

It's still not working.

— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) March 13, 2023

is there some reason they need to be playing these lineups

malone is clueless man

he’s a “culture guy” and you can’t discount how important he’s been to the development of the team in the jokic era. but as an in-game maneuverer and rotation guy he’s average at best. if they don’t make the finals this year I really think it’s time for a change

i didn’t get the sense watching them vs toronto tonight that they’re falling apart or anything. something similar happened to the heat last year and then they stomped their first two opponents in the playoffs

both teams were fully healthy tonight so it was interesting to see how the raptors attacked denver’s defense. they tried to put murray on the ball repeatedly especially against siakam in the mid post. i thought they also tested denver’s communication and that’s where you saw some exasperated looks from jokic in the direction of MPJ and murray. i assume they’ll play a hefty amount of crunch time minutes with brown in over MPJ. lastly we saw some steph kinda stuff from FVV taking advantage of the space you get from jokic in high pick and roll. 8-12 from three tonight & a lot of them were deep but clean looks.

i think these playoffs will give us a final read on malone. sorta feels like a few years ago with coach bud. to me they’re gonna have be both very schematically sound on defense & a bit creative in how they cover up some of their weaker spots i.e. can they get murray off of disadvantageous switches without scrambling their defense and blowing rotations? one of the things i’m most eager to see in the playoffs is denver in a high level series where they need to rise to the occasion defensively. will be fascinating stuff

murray is pretty banged up, and somehow played 40 minutes? (I missed most of the game.)

my concern level is starting to rise, mostly because the weaknesses of the team (the bench) haven’t improved at all, and in some ways may have gotten even worse. there’s a team-wide funk right now and I think they’ve taken their foot off the gas a bit since that grizzlies win, but jamal has looked extremely concerningly slow for about 10 games now, and there’s just no way they hit their ceiling if he’s not right

I trust your eye on porter’s defense, he’s not a full-time plus defender for sure and malone can get on him about his focus from time to time (including a second half benching two games ago, which was extremely unpopular among the nuggets beat writers and fans), BUT he has definitely leveled up defensively overall this year which has been a huge bright spot and is definitely crucial to their success. I don’t think going away from him in big stretches is going to be tenable. he’s also been fantastic on offense lately and has seemed to be most of the way back athletically, couple of poster dunks the last couple of games, just generally taking it to the rim more, etc. I’m also just pretty low on bruce brown overall tbh — he plays well with jokic (everyone does) but doesn’t really give much otherwise

last night from what i saw murray was really being targeted in one on one defense where the MPJ issues were more about him being in the right places as a help defender. even tho he is stiff athletically i do buy that MPJ can move his feet well enough that w/ his size he can be a decent one on one defender

i could be wrong about him vs bruce brown & perhaps he just plays well enough to stay on the floor but i feel like in the crunchiest of playoff crunch time coaches tend to cling to guys they can trust to do the right things mentally on both ends but primarily on defense. he just strikes me as the kinda dirty work heady role player type that a coach will think he can trust. but his game has all kinda warts and if you look at how he was used in the 2021 nets-bucks series he averaged 25 mpg but he had games of 5 min and 13 min but also games of 38 and 52 mins

tough loss to the knicks today at the garden, definitely seemed like a game the nuggets should have won, KCP 0-5 from 3, all of which were wide open looks. aside from his individual offense jokic was bad by his standards, 6 turnovers several of which were pretty ugly, missed an open MPJ at least 3 times, got dominated on the glass, sigh

Michael Porter Jr. has a career three-point percentage of 49.7% in the month of March.

That is the highest career three-point percentage in any month by any player in NBA history (min. 150 3PA). pic.twitter.com/la2IrXvDhl

— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) March 24, 2023

had to read this a few times to understand it, but that’s cool I guess. MPJ has been so good this year, playing within the rhythm on offense, effort level much better on defense, super promising

nice win 4 the nugs i fell asleep but might screen the second half today

the second half was really good if you like watching the nuggets win

sure why not

peyton watson has been a revelation the past couple of games. he's still really raw, but pretty much exactly the kind of player the nuggets need off the bench: long, athletic wing with a motor who can make big plays on defense and finish on offense. he's still a work in progress but I'm extremely optimistic about his future with this team and his potential to play a few minutes in the playoffs, hopefully he can take a few of jeff green's minutes

MPJ's last 25 games: 19 points on .504/.415/.849 shooting (7.4 3PA/game) and improving defense, he's had such a great year

the nuggets playoff rotation seems to have taken form (asterisks denoting limited minutes):

guards: jamal, KCP, bruce, reggie jackson***
wings: MPJ, christian braun, watson***
bigs: jokic, gordon, jeff green*, zeke nnaji** thomas bryant**

watson was insane last night, dude was everywhere

Michael Malone says eight players are locked into his playoff rotation: The starters, and Bruce Brown, Christian Braun and Jeff Green. Who else he plays will be based on matchups, and Malone lists Zeke Nnaji, Peyton Watson or Reggie Jackson as possibilities in that scenario.

— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) April 9, 2023

I should know better, but of course jeff green is going to get a lot of playoff minutes

kind of an amazing career hes been disappointing for so long

25% of the 50% of me that expects the nuggets to go out in humiliating fashion is secretly rooting for it so we can fire malone tbh

cmon kevin what sort of attitude is that

it’s been very depressing watching them recently

well they havent had anything to play for

I know that’s what I’m trying to tell myself

obviously youd rather them be rolling and there so much parity in the west this year so anything can happen but i still like the nuggs chances i wanna see joker rip shit up

the thing about jokic is that if there are no stakes he simply cannot be bothered to try. he took a total of 8 shots this preseason and we’ve all seen how he treats the all star game. it’s fine for him because he’s a killer when the time comes and he’s been fantastic in the playoffs, I just worry that the team hasn’t been able to find a rhythm the last couple of months with him checked out.

one of the nuggets podcast guys compared jokic to a college student who tries to see how low of a score they can get on the final and still pass the class and it was just so otm. like after the nuggets beat the grizz right after the all star break and took an 8 game lead or whatever jokic was probably thinking, awesome, now I don’t have to try for the next 2 months

my beautiful boy

HE BACKhttps://t.co/3XdtUIKkbf pic.twitter.com/LRNjAkVjHd

— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) April 17, 2023

my thoughts on the Minnesota Timberwolves season, through the lens of a Ross Gay poem pic.twitter.com/aQLSNnqcWC

— Hanif Abdurraqib (@NifMuhammad) April 24, 2023

Nuggets Twitter when Joker goes 2/9 vs when Jamal goes 1/6 pic.twitter.com/soaLkupCSS

— Ryan Blackburn (@NBABlackburn) May 10, 2023

https://t.co/Wg37MAD83Y pic.twitter.com/KPfu63Kh6o

— Gonzalo Vázquez (@GVazquezNY) May 10, 2023

the entry pass from KCP I was talking about…

Gorgeous pass by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in transition. He threads it with four Suns defenders around. pic.twitter.com/VAoVmRcEwL

— Positive Residual (@presidual) May 10, 2023

The TNT crew can't get enough of Nikola Jokic...

They tell him he passed Wilt Chamberlain in all-time playoff triple-doubles for centers, he says:

"Where is Shaq? Is Shaq in that list?"

Shaq: "No, cause I never passed, Big Honey."

--
"Is he the best?"

"He's the best." pic.twitter.com/b4DJo80LlT

— Joel Rush (@JoelRushNBA) May 10, 2023

talking point agenda update for those who celebrate:
- jokic western conference finals appearances: 2
- jokic first round exits: 1

With the NBA awards wrapped up, Nikola Jokic remains the only MVP ever to have zero teammates on All-NBA, All-Defense or All-Star in his first 8 seasons in the league.

Big Honey is four wins away from reaching his first NBA Finals. pic.twitter.com/bEk1Kz9BK5

— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) May 12, 2023

the lebron parallels continue…

just fyi im mentally prepared to fully jump on the nuggets wagon, could be buying a train ticket tonight

We kept receipts. #MileHighBasketball @DNVR_Nuggets @Adam_Mares @DLineCo pic.twitter.com/MZEYSFxlPe

— Elias Martinez Ⓜ️ (@mtzcreative) May 12, 2023

the DNVR podcast guys were in their bag last night lmao

I'm rooting for the Nuggets. really had a blast getting to see a Wolves game there a little over a year ago.

just can't beat "Ball Arena"

That ESPN prediction was something like 13-4 for the Suns, just nuts. Nuggets must have been the pre-series betting favorites, right?

suns were a slight favorite

ah well lol

Suns had so much trouble with a Clippers team that was missing its stars, nuggets looked so much better in the first round

there was just no evidence to be found that the suns were good

perk is a goddamned terrorist

“We have a new sheriff in town. And that means the Best Player in the world…and that is Jokic.”

We are witnessing an all-time heel turn from the NBA Big Media. pic.twitter.com/AoeIe1Trkj

— Swipa (@SwipaCam) May 12, 2023

its very funny that so many of these guys have been dismissing obviously one of the best offensive players ever and now he beats two bad teams in the offs and theyre over reacting, classic sportsman brain

friendship ended with kd now joker is by best friend

Joker dishin' out dimes left and right at Ball Arena 🪙 pic.twitter.com/BqNRnCsgn8

— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) May 17, 2023

reader I screamed

Mike Malone goes off on the narratives surrounding the Lakers and Nikola Jokic

“The national narrative [after Game 1] was that the Lakers were fine. No one talked about Nikola having a historic performance. The narrative wasn’t about the Nuggets.”
pic.twitter.com/3beMDQfb4f

— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) May 19, 2023

malone has really leaned into this persona recently and I love it

"no one believes in us" is evergreen. play the hits coach

(let's just keep that narrative in the western conference pls)

from the author of “take that L on the way out”

What people say "best two-way player" what they most often mean is "best defender among guys who are good at offense." It's why you had people saying Klay was the best two-way SG when Harden was obviously a better player. "Best two-way player" is just... best player.

— Yaya Dubin (@JADubin5) May 21, 2023

“two way player” is a casual term that should be retired

ehh i think denoting that a player is plus on both offense and defense is useful

most centers are plus on defense though, jokic no exception. thats why you put a big guy out there in the first place instead of playing 5 wings

Lisa Salters: “What does this trophy mean to you?”

Nikola Jokic: “Nothing.”

— Jimmy Traina (@JimmyTraina) May 23, 2023

hahahhahahah protect this man

Jamal Murray’s dad and Nikola Jokic’s brothers. pic.twitter.com/vHxvXeAlVr

— Mike Singer (@msinger) May 23, 2023

That is amazing!!!! Congratulations to DENVER 🙏🙏🙏🔒🔒🔒

— Monte Morris (@BigGameTae) May 23, 2023

monte <3

LOL @Lisa Salters saying she had never seen Jokic play before this year's playoffs.

I wish I could say that salters interview was more shocking, but it’s not

I grew up in Denver, I know it's a backwater, but c'mon.

tbf you cant even watch the nugs on tv in colorado

Rookie Jokic was so tough pic.twitter.com/P3q9KEm7JZ

— Teg🚨 (@IQfor3) May 23, 2023

Nugs have had some rough unis.

the powder blue ones are good what happened to those. it really feels like some sort of sabotage is going on with uniforms across the league in general, every team only wears their most iconic colors like 1 game out of 10

it's almost as if marketing people don't really understand what fans identify with or liked in the first place hard to believe i know

I never liked the powder blue ones. I identified most with the old "Lego" design, but I really do like the "Mile High City" ones now.

More "rainbow" than "Lego," but I always see Lego in my mind.

https://content.sportslogos.net/logos/6/229/full/hfu7u991sxhrejgblgwlvejwb.gif

man that highlight vid brought some memories. that was the bridge between the post-melo era and the jokic era

When Woody Paige was asked yesterday to name his all-time Nugget, he instantly named (not surprisingly) this man

https://media.bleacherreport.com/w_800,h_533,c_fill/br-img-images/002/619/776/hi-res-89746937-david-thompson-of-the-denver-nuggets-looks-on-against_crop_north.jpg

(I thought the original jerseys had the prospector on them, but from this photo, which I think is from 1977, shows otherwise).

doing some research today

nurkics the ones whos got to go cause he looks like gallo and sounds like jokic if u remove him the confusion is alleviated

― lag∞n, Wednesday, November 23, 2016 3:02 PM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lmao this is so true

― k3vin k., Wednesday, November 23, 2016 4:25 PM (six years ago) bookmarkflaglink

that nuggs jersey is hot stuff

the first jokic posts

Matt Armstrong wrote this on thread 2015 NBA OFFS(EASON) on board I Love Hoops on Oct 9, 2015

Denver looks pretty damn good to me. Jokic probably deserves to start, whether over Faried or Nurkic. And they're really pretty damn deep.

If Gallo somehow made it a full season they might flirt with the playoffs.

J0rdan S. wrote this on thread 2015-16 NBA Regular Season (part 1) — I’ve got my ring fitted for my middle finger on board I Love Hoops on Nov 23, 2015

wait so the nuggets have a jokic and a jurkic?

J0rdan S. wrote this on thread 2015-16 NBA Regular Season (part 1) — I’ve got my ring fitted for my middle finger on board I Love Hoops on Nov 23, 2015

nikola jokic and jusuf nurkic

Matt Armstrong wrote this on thread 2015-16 NBA Regular Season (part 1) — I’ve got my ring fitted for my middle finger on board I Love Hoops on Dec 30, 2015

Who of the three nugs centers is emerging as the best?

― Spottie, Wednesday, December 30, 2015 9:57 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Jokic, unless Nurkic had a great offseason skillwise

lag∞n wrote this on thread 2015-16 NBA Regular Season (part 1) — I’ve got my ring fitted for my middle finger on board I Love Hoops on Dec 30, 2015

Jokic, unless Nurkic had a great offseason skillwise

― Matt Armstrong, Wednesday, December 30, 2015 5:05 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

p sure thats just one guy jokic nurkic

first big jokic talk happens itt billionaire techbros club - 2016-17 NBA regular-ass season thread (the first of a series)

if the nuggets beat the heat in the finals, nikola jovic has to go back to euroland

wait so the nuggets have a jokic and a jurkic?

evil twin

I basically just watch Jokic now. The Jokic Basketball Association.

― Matt Armstrong, Friday, February 3, 2017 9:50 PM (six years ago)

i think picking up an undrafted jokic early in the 2016-17 season was my greatest ever fantasy hoops move b/c he immediately started averaging 16/10/5

ah well nevertheless

Report: Clippers Offer Blake Griffin To Nuggets For Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth Faried, Will Barton, Nikola Jokic: https://t.co/xfw7TWpLTd

— RealGM (@RealGM) February 15, 2016

this seems specious but please bring the chaos

― Clay, Monday, February 15, 2016 6:20 PM (seven years ago) bookmarkflaglink

those jokic passing highlights are excellent

― call all destroyer, Thursday, February 25, 2016 10:28 PM (seven years ago) bookmarkflaglink

true

jokic is the fuckin man, mudiay has looked better, hopefully Gallo won't lose his prime to injuries, and the nuggs should have 3 first round picks next year, including the knicks pick, which looks better every day

― k3vin k., Friday, March 11, 2016 12:59 PM (seven years ago) bookmarkflaglink

one out of three aint bad

just got PTSD seeing mudiay's name

lol really one of the worst players

Asked Jokic how he felt after the game: "I hugged (coach). I was naked and I hugged him.

― Matt Armstrong, Saturday, February 4, 2017 12:31 AM (six years ago) bookmarkflaglink

thx for posting spottie. jokic used to be fat!

― k3vin k., Thursday, February 9, 2017 10:12 AM (six years ago) bookmarkflaglink

not that there's anything wrong with that

in life no, in basketball yes

not finding any embarrassing anti joker posts, good job team, matt a does try to trade him at one point but tbf it was for an unnamed hypothetical star, and he was otherwise first on the joker bandwagon

guys can we talk about how i'm 100% all in on jokic being an MVP candidate in the near future

― k3vin k., Friday, February 10, 2017 11:02 PM (six years ago) bookmarkflaglink

be serious

the chance that jokic has a better career than melo is still small

― J0rdan S., Friday, February 10, 2017 11:08 PM (six years ago) bookmarkflaglink

smh

its weird that you guys wont let me celebrate how crazy this jokic season is

― lag∞n, Friday, February 10, 2017 11:43 PM (six years ago) bookmarkflaglink

so many haters

well matt is a nuggs fan who loves euro 7 footers who also was leaning nurkic earlier this season

― lag∞n, Friday, February 10, 2017 11:41 PM (one minute ago)

lmao i love matt but this is a very factual post

― k3vin k., Friday, February 10, 2017 11:43 PM (six years ago) bookmarkflaglink

theres a whole discussion on what type of second big would be best to pair with joker, the league has really changed

pretty funny lil pile on where matt tries to defend mason plumlee

the matt era of ILH was fun I wish they'd come back

rip big man enthusiast

I remember when their big man was Danny Schayes.

I had tickets to nuggets/lakers game 5, but I’m at a rockies game instead and bruce brown is sitting about 15 rows up from me. they just showed him on the jumbotron and now there’s a huge crowd of kids around him

Jokic is a genius.

He's absolutely exhausted, yet he still picks up on the fact that the sideline is signaling for a Pistol action (this variation is called "21 Keep").

He notifies his teammates, they are on top of it, and it leads to a back-breaking turnover for Miami. pic.twitter.com/hvRmshmRNV

— Mat Issa (@matissa15) June 2, 2023

I would have never noticed this during the game.

nice

Mood as the Nuggets take a 1-0 lead in The Finals. pic.twitter.com/8TKCiVQCW7

— Duvalier Johnson (@DuvalierJohnson) June 2, 2023

damn, that pistol video was pretty cool.

Dan LeBatard believes Nikola Jokic would be a larger star if he were American

“He's Magic and Bird and America hates him?”

(Via @LeBatardShow )

pic.twitter.com/HgHLuB5xxQ

— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) June 7, 2023

this was always my secret response to the whole perk nonsense so I’m glad le batard of all people just said it

i think that point is so obvious it is barely worth saying out loud but i don't get paid to talk about sports for a living

stugotz saying some powerful stuff right there

i think that point is so obvious it is barely worth saying out loud but i don't get paid to talk about sports for a living

― call all destroyer, Wednesday, June 7, 2023 10:17 PM (seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

ha I mean specifically as a response to anti-black racism being invoked, it may not have landed all that well in the moment

yeah i mean perk is not a serious person and nothing he says should be taken seriously, and it's true that jokic's foreignness is probably the biggest factor, but he also in control of his own destiny and has made it clear that he isn't interested in doing any of the things you have to do off the court to increase your profile.

for sure

Through Game 3 of the 2023 NBA Finals, here's how every player has fared on both ends of the court during the 2023 postseason, per TPA. pic.twitter.com/x2LhEVVESf

— NBA Math (@NBA_Math) June 8, 2023

the land of big and honey

heh

whyd they put schroder in a celtics jersey

On @bballilluminati this week, Marcus Elliott of @P3sportscience joined us to talk player health, "load management" and this gem about Nikola Jokic. @DarthAmin @CornPuzzle

Full episode on @LeBatardShow: https://t.co/xt4ShY1yza pic.twitter.com/TmN5MDfs46

— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) January 27, 2023

lowest vertical jump in their database! that’s my MVP

damn wow actually i had those assessments too crazy how that works out

Jokic throws Jamal Murray into the pool 😭 pic.twitter.com/h75zpzEgHm

— NBA (@NBA) June 13, 2023

Beautiful joy!
Congrats nuggs fans! You've won the NBA playoffs

In case anyone needs it here is a video of All-Star center Nikola Jokic being asked what he'd get Michael Jordan for his birthday and responding with only the word "Horse" pic.twitter.com/CDO1zTclFj

— Zach Dunn (@zachbdunn) February 17, 2019

lmao I've never seen that one

finally more news on aaron gordons weird house

Aaron Gordon's basketball 'sanctuary' helped the #Denver #Nuggets to an #NBA championship. The veteran forward's journey to a title wouldn't be complete without the warehouse home/gym he built for focus and motivation https://t.co/IfeELaY5BA @andscape #NBAFinals

— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) June 13, 2023

haha he’s so proud of the house let him have it

just a few of my personal heroes

https://i.imgur.com/q8aykKC.png

Prince, Stu Scott, Biggie, Maya Angelou

Aaron is nothing if not eclectic.

https://andscape.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/IMG-0502.jpg?w=700

should we poll aaron gordon's heroes gallery

A young Obama smoking marijuana. Einstein. Athletes including Serena Williams, Muhammad Ali, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Tony Hawk, Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Pele, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Jackie Robinson. Dancer Josephine Baker. Actor and martial arts legend Bruce Lee. Musicians Billie Holliday, Prince, Lauryn Hill, Miles Davis, Bob Marley, Jimmy Hendrix, B.B. King, Notorious B.I.G., Nipsey Hussle, Michael Jackson and Mac Miller. Olympic activists John Carlos and Tommie Smith. Comedian Richard Pryor. Actor Heath Ledger. Civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. Civil rights activist and Muslim minister Malcolm X. Filmmaker Spike Lee. Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Antiapartheid activist Nelson Mandela. Legendary sports journalist Stuart Scott. Poet Maya Angelou.

aaron gordon did well, except that pic of Heath Ledger as The Joker strikes a discordant note.

I mean, he does work/live in Colorado, home of the Aurora mass shooting.

On tv watching local parade—i'm actually enjoying this more than any of the broncos or avs parades-- everyone is convincingly kind and joyous.

AG covering his mouth w embarrassment while talking/dribbling/laughing because ~manners~ was classic and sweet. KCP was interviewing from firetruck, actual lol

pic.twitter.com/gCFChkekPi

— keith fujimoto (@oakleyandallen) June 15, 2023

lol just came to post that!

a worthy punchline to all his ho-humming lol

every clip of mike malone from today us hilarious. dude is livin

he's like someones fun uncle that was really into Cypress Hill

lmao otm

just the best "is brucie b goin' anywhere? hell no!"

you work your entire life for this moment go ham i say

yup

malone was totally unhinged man

I love this team so much

i remember listening to an interview with malone years ago, it was probably on zach lowe's podcast, where he revealed that for musical preference he was a rap guy, which seemed slightly out of character until i saw the clips from today lol

he’s very new york

I've seen photos of him wearing a Grateful Dead t-shirt as well.

When it comes to short middys, floaters, and push shots, Nikola Jokic is in a league of his own. pic.twitter.com/3Yu3xbQMvb

— Automatic (@automaticnba) June 16, 2023

thats crazy

no man is an island, except for the joker

this is my favorite nba clip of the year lmao i cant get enough malone

Mike Malone is putting up Wilt Chamberlain numbers at the nuggets parade 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/J5uI1MjU3y

— Bucketsquad (@BucketSQD) June 15, 2023

GET LOOOOOOOOOUD ... GET LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUD

the best part is that I bet he pulled out "Brucie B" from his subconscious because of the old time 80s NYC hip hop DJ

its just perfect

Here's the toss, it takes a team. @nuggets pic.twitter.com/JtiLGnhj75

— Graham (@GoldenGrahamH) June 18, 2023

lmao

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2023/6/13/23759134/nikola-jokic-denver-nuggets-nba-finals-2023

from not making the NBA 75 best players list less than a year ago to top 20

when teams learn to just put him in the pick and roll though..,might be curtains for this fraud

Doc Rivers on the Bill Simmons podcast is a really great interview

shit wrong thread

So Michael Malone continues to add to his legend as head coach of the @nuggets. He got a tattoo of Maxie the Miner holding the Larry O’Brien trophy. Shoutout to Mike Diaz from Triple W Tattoo who gave Malone his new ink. @DNVR_Nuggets @AltitudeSR #MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/6BGp95Iu5T

— Trent M. (@tmac_307) June 20, 2023

if she doesnt ride 4 u the way michael malone rides for the nugs, she aint the 1

that’s so amazing

I love this team so much

Same. Such a satisfying win.

That’s going to be awkward when he’s fired in 3 years. But flex while you can Michael.

it's no more awkward than wearing the championship ring after he's fired. why would he be shy about winning the big prize with a former team?

If Bruce Brown re-signs for his max $7.8M with Denver, next summer he’d be eligible to extend for about $55M/4. In total, that’d amount to roughly $12.6M per over 5 years, about equal to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception ($12.2M) that teams could offer him this summer. So… https://t.co/1kNCx11gw5

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) June 21, 2023

The Denver Nuggets are trading 2024 first-round pick and 2023 40th pick to the Indiana Pacers for No. 29 and 32 on Thursday, sources tell ESPN.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 21, 2023

I love this. braun and watson seem like guys ready to contribute next year. they need another innings eater and next years draft seems weak

meant to post this here

Calvin Booth might've gone 3/3 this draft class https://t.co/TdAsnSEsty

— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) July 16, 2023

hunter tyson has been really good. has an insane motor and a quick trigger. the other guys, pickett and stawther, I need to see more from. I’m a little low on stawther, kid is terrified of the rim. but he can stroke it

pickett is a cool player that I have questions about NBA translatability. he’s a back to the basket point guard without a ton of burst, super high IQ and can fill up the box score

strawther*

got the oconnor endorsement, very nice

Nikola Jokic is a horse racing champion 🔥 pic.twitter.com/ZXF8J20N3S

— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) July 24, 2023

The Joker earns the highest rating in #NBA2K24 🃏 #2KRatings pic.twitter.com/MM7dPezIkt

— NBA 2K (@NBA2K) August 9, 2023

big honey

Legacy points increased.

ESPN diagnose Embiid with the "Serbian Flu"#MileHighBasketball pic.twitter.com/gnE1Ae14W7

— n i k o l a e s t h e t i c (@nikolaesthetic) August 17, 2023

Adam Silver cooked with this schedule. https://t.co/SJQdkeRxAy

— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) August 18, 2023

wow

looks like about 15-20 games the clips will be punting next year

someone is going to write an article 10 years from now about how the leonard/george clippers never did anything consequential on the floor but were also the biggest driver of changes off the floor so far this century.

yup, I heard that adam silver sits down every year with a pot of coffee, a calendar, and a sharpie and draws up the nba regular season schedule. it's a scandal, but what can you do?

Heading to Ed Sheeran. pic.twitter.com/X6ZeXnTN3Q

— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) August 19, 2023

immensely enjoying the jokic/AG buddy serbia chronicles

This is partly why I will refuse to hear Nuggets comparisons for teams that don’t shoot 3’s.

If your best player has over a 70% TS% inside the arc and generates shots for others at the rim at the highest rate in the league, yeah, you probably don’t need to lead the NBA in 3PA. https://t.co/BSVqu93OTz

— NOLA Analytics (@NolaAnalytics) August 24, 2023

jokic is everything

it very funny he had haters as late as the first round of the playoffs and then everyone just gave up

remember when he didn't win mvp last year that's was great stuff from the narrative shapers

I’m a little mad about that still but he’s the fav to win next year

the voters who got duped by perk have to be feeling some sort of contrition

three years in a row is too much, wouldve been better to give it to embiid the year before tho

hell prob coast next year and maybe not get it

It’s his own fault he didn’t get it

Home court is important for them tho they should def gun for that top spot

it seems pretty obvious that he didn't want it!

Nikola Jokic was shown the below video of Anthony Davis’ comments and he had this to say in response to the Lakers’ power forward https://t.co/TPbjG9k7Fo pic.twitter.com/BW0YcqEtJH

— Kevin (Lifelong CU fan since 9/2/23) (@_Kevlar23_) October 2, 2023

serbian is a weird ass language

Jokic doesn't know who Deion Sanders is 😅 pic.twitter.com/6N8LcdWN65

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 2, 2023

I’d be worried if he did know who Deion is, tbh

haa

Nikola Jokic on if this was the most fun he’s ever had in a summer:

“Nah, I think it’s actually opposite… We played 2 and 1/2 extra months." 😂

(via @9NEWSSports)pic.twitter.com/UVMcKpaEwd

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 3, 2023

fuckin love this guy

His combination of frankness and archness and our inability to be sure because jokic owns, it is my new life model

hes def leaning into the schtick

https://x.com/nuggets/status/1711794420419334498?s=46&t=XlsbhgknQH65_CH00_uPqw

aw man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVGI1X6tBfQ

talking myself into julian strawther, playoff rotation player

is that even a real guy sounds like a name you make up under duress

https://x.com/bballbreakdown/status/1716968412407279792?s=46&t=XlsbhgknQH65_CH00_uPqw

if the bench guys can just tread water in the half court, it would be so huge.

Why’d someone clip that with their mouse in the center.

tough out there for a keyboard warrior smh

TY for that endorphin feel—the comment that LA wasn’t that far from making it work also true

https://x.com/swipacam/status/1718071065660837923?s=46&t=XlsbhgknQH65_CH00_uPqw

not possible to judge since the camera couldnt keep up

https://x.com/katywinge/status/1718094575435227319?s=46&t=XlsbhgknQH65_CH00_uPqw

4 the haters

This is the angle pic.twitter.com/G5LufJT7hB

— Katy Winge (@katywinge) October 28, 2023

how do you get it to embed??

change x.com in the url to twitter.com:

i.e. https://twitter.com/ katywinge/status /1718094575435227319

with no spaces

thx!

highlight reel

https://x.com/katywinge/status/1718782583302180878?s=46&t=XlsbhgknQH65_CH00_uPqw

pic.twitter.com/xdw7V4N1tM https://t.co/cS9bCIbQ58

— Katy Winge (@katywinge) October 30, 2023

initial thoughts through three games: obviously the returns have been pretty uniformly positive. it’s actually a pretty surreal feeling to look at the schedule and just feel like the team should win every game, something I’ve never experienced as a nuggets fan in 21 years watching the team. even stranger is the way everyone talks about them, the skepticism has almost completely evaporated across the spectrum from casual to national reporter. the tone reflecting on the win over the thunder yesterday is a perfect encapsulation of this: a lot of talk about how great the thunder look, how much potential they have, and almost an air of indifference to the fact that they lost by 28: you can’t really blame them, they were playing the nuggets, after all. just things you don’t usually hear

the starting lineup as expected has been fantastic: these guys can just read each other’s thoughts at this point. every jokic-based lineup is just murdering. most encouraging is that different combinations of 3- and 4-starter lineups have been more than holding their own, obviously a small sample so far but all the indicators look really good. michael porter has been playing on a bud ankle and is grabbing 11 rebounds a game.

the bench has been really, really encouraging. there is still no can’t-miss “fifth starter” type a la brucie B, but christian braun has been as good as one can hope so far given his experience level. he had 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and zero turnovers yesterday. peyton watson has shown real promise as a prospect, particularly defensively. if his decision-making and execution on offense can just be good enough, he gives the nuggets amazing defensive lineup flexibility with braun alongside KCP and aaron gordon. zeke nnaji and reggie jackson have also done more than enough so far to justify legitimate rotation minutes. and I still think julian strawther will emerge as a 8-10 min a game guy by the end of the year. dude can really stroke it

aside from interior rim protection there’s basically nothing this team doesn’t do well. they can defend/switch multiple positions while putting 5 shooters on the floor, they’re bigger than anyone and completely dominate he glass (which makes up for their lack of rim protection), and most crucially they have utterly insane chemistry.

there doesn’t really seem like there is a team in the west who is anywhere near their level at the moment, but of course it’s a long season and they’re always a key injury away from being mortal. I’m just lucky to be a fan of this team at this moment, really seems like something organic and beautiful that comes along every 15-20 year or so

nuggets fans and media are also just in this insane delirious state, we don’t know how to act fuck all yall

It's kind of reminiscent of when the Broncos first got good in the mid-70s.

Jon Keyworth - Make Those Miracles Happen

Of course, it took the Broncos a couple decades after that to actually win a championship.

i hope colorado goes nuggets i encountered one serious nuggs fan the whole time i lived there

nikola’s shooting 70% on twos and 43% on threes through 4 games

this is also obv a small sample but according to the crude shot distance tracking on basketball-reference: 75% from 0-3 feet, 67% from 3-10 feet, 80% from 10-16 feet, and 67% from 16-23 feet. how are you supposed to guard that lol

having an unstoppable guy is a big advantage

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/38796077/beethoven-how-nikola-jokic-became-best-passer-nba-history

jokic getting his close-up this year

"Listen, I don't want to take credit," Vicentic said. "Some (people) ask me, 'Hey, you create Nikola Jokic?' I don't know how to make Nikola Jokic. I was blessed to have him on my team."

some ask me hey you create jokic too

I actually created him tbh

hey you create jokic

I loved this in that ESPN profile:

On the first day of his evaluation in August 2014, the readings were historically disappointing. Jokic recorded what was then -- and still is -- the lowest standing vertical leap of any NBA player they had ever assessed, a group that is now more than 1,000 players. Seventeen inches.

it’s true he doesn’t really do jumping

quoting a euro scout who evaluated joker in his teens and wasn't impressed, "i fell into the trap of looking for athleticism".

Victory of Socialist Basketball

in jokic’s first yrs manning was here and i told a coworker jokic’s court awareness and ball movement was as good as peyton’s and got eyerolled so now i share that story every time i drink two beers really

I’m struggling to remember the last player who was such a joy to watch. Magic, maybe?

Jokics floaters are so wet Im going call them soakers.

— D-Line (Denver Man) ((Eric Wedum)) (@DLineCo) November 4, 2023

remind me to find a highlight reel of all of jokic’s buckets from tonight, all shots the league shoots 39% ok and he’s 11/12

Nikola Jokic vs Dallas Mavericks

33 PTS
14 REB
9 AST
1 STL
1 BLK
14/16 FG
+17 in 35 minutes#MileHighBasketball W pic.twitter.com/WZ7ZA9TGS3

— A Walking Highlight (@11AWH) November 4, 2023

shooting 71% from floater ranger this year

christian braun guarding alex caruso *spiderman pointing meme*

The numbers are great but 28-16-9 doesn’t even do it justice.

+30 in 33 minutes doesn’t even do it justice. https://t.co/SzwTkGO1Z1

— Adam Mares (@Adam_Mares) November 5, 2023

shooting 71% from floater ranger this year

― k3vin k., Saturday, November 4, 2023 8:48 AM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

noticed when hes taking a floater he really does it intentionally and therefor gets good looks, like a lot of guys will be driving get stoped and decide to flip up a floater which ends up being a really tough shot but jokic in accordance with his general world best anticipation looks like hes often driving to take floaters, he gets close and all squared up with his defender backpedaling and just flips it in, then he has all sort of other floater range shots hooks and where his touch really come into play all the insane lil flip shots that are more improvisational and really have no business going in but do

yeah he’s really got it down to a science

jokic fg% by distance through 7 games

0-3ft: .692
3-10ft: .707
10-16ft: .636
16-23ft: .667
3pt: .400

Need to get 3pt over 60. You can do it.

lol

jokic is the rare player rn where taking long 2s is actually a better shot (for points per shot) than his 3 (which is v good), just insane

I just feel like his scoring isn’t enough of a focus of conversation, like I’m happy that everyone understands what a passing savant he is, but he’s *also* possibly the most unguardable complete three-level scorer in the league, the splits he puts up are truly silly

one of the reasons his scoring is so good is hes impossible to double because of his passing

also if he wants to be recognized as one of the best scorers, hes doesnt care, if kevin wants him to be recognized as one of the best scorers he should shoot more

high level one of the things that makes him so great is his decision making, he makes the right play consistently, which naturally leads to shooting less than the very top scorers, if he shot more his percentages would come down cause he wouldnt be making perfect decisions, however he has so much wiggle room he could probably lead the league in scoring and still be the most efficient high usage guy, tho steph maybe could beat him there

I just feel like his scoring isn’t enough of a focus of conversation

the conversation around here is comfortably unfocused and that's how I like it

i for one would like to see a shooting more joker and in fact have been a long time supporter of said concept

also worth considering that moving a 7th 300lb body around is a lot of work and scoring more involves more moving than not scoring

all I was saying was that for a guy who scores 27 points a game his shot appetite is quite varied and equally impossible to stop! his passing opens up plenty for sure, but it’s still pretty hard to score as consistently from so many different places on the court, it’s just a cool thing that should be talked about more

jokic has zero (0) dunks so far this year btw

why does he hate the famous shot

jumping takes a lot of energy

hollinger:

Jokić’s start, in particular, has been a revelation. If you thought he’d spend his post-championship offseason resting on his laurels and blow off basketball for more enjoyable pursuits like mucking stables, think again. Through seven games, he leads the league in PER with a 33.1 mark, one that would be a record if he kept it up for a full season.

Dig deeper, and the numbers get more hilarious. After mostly abandoning 3-point shots last season, he’s actually taking them again and making 40 percent thus far. He surprised Chicago’s Nikola Vučević by letting it rip on an early-clock pull-up 3 on Saturday. He’s eighth in the league in assists; he’s a 6-foot-11 center, and everyone else in the top 15 is a point guard. Already one of the league’s most dangerous offensive rebounders, his 11.0 percent offensive rebound rate this season would be his first time in double digits in seven years.

Most notably, he’s shooting 69.4 percent on 2s despite the fact that barely one in five of those attempts come at the rim. I’m sorry but … what?!?!? That doesn’t even seem real.

The skill level on some of his shots is simply preposterous. He makes this slow-mo Euro step into a floater over Andre Drummond look like the most casually easy shot attempt; in reality, having the touch for this shot both while taking a shot and decelerating to avoid the charge is something few guards could emulate consistently. It’s just that Jokić makes complicated footwork seem about as challenging as the recipe for ice cubes. This shot also is part of a massive larger pattern: He makes one-handed, on the move, non-rim paint shots like this over and over and over again

Coach Malone said the Jamal Murray hamstring injury is not a “one or two game injury.”

Said this is something that will “be longer than we like” but the Nuggets “need to have big picture in mind.”

Malone said they don’t want it to linger.

— Katy Winge (@katywinge) November 7, 2023

not great

just as long as hes healthy for the offs, seems like hes maybe not a super durable guy, might be good to not play a whole season

plus maybe joker will shoot more

malone is right too with those hammys you really want them fully healed

yah some aren’t meant to be great in the regular

would be good for murray to make the all star team tho

doesnt look that bad

Jamal Murray will miss tonight’s game against New Orleans with a hamstring strain.

Here he is chopping it up with the coaching staff. pic.twitter.com/trpHDQ128E

— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) November 6, 2023

yeah should hopefully be a 3-4 game thing

jokic already has a behind the back pass to a wide open layup and a through the legs backward pass tonight, neither of them led to buckets tho

2021 jokic out there tonight with murray out. this is the future lagoon wants smh

hell yeah lets do this

the pels shot like 75% on jumpers in the first half it was not too cool to watch

you know what they say its a shooting league

jokic first dunk of the season!

julian strawther!! love this kid

jordan hawkins from uconn (the best college) is having an insane game this guy is steph curry

hard to even describe what’s going on right now, jokic is out and the nuggets rookies are like the harlem globetrotters now, what an insane run

jokic finishes with 35-14-12. nuggs out score the pels 75-45 in the second half. sick game

Sequence of the Year. pic.twitter.com/uUWA81MouT

— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) November 7, 2023

sick

wed night espn nugs v dubs baby

Most 2-pointers from 5 feet and out (plus FG% on those shots)

Nikola Jokić (45 2P, 75.0 FG%)

Kevin Durant (43 2P, 47.3 FG%)

Cam Thomas (34 2P, 50.0 FG%)

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (30 2P, 49.2 FG%)

DeMar DeRozan (30 2P, 36.6 FG%)

— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) November 7, 2023

Bench guys stepped up last night.

it was incredible to watch

jokic already has a behind the back pass to a wide open layup and a through the legs backward pass tonight, neither of them led to buckets tho

― k3vin k., Monday, November 6, 2023 9:32 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Nikola Jokic made these two passes in a four-minute span. pic.twitter.com/oR6IKrsAlY

— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) November 8, 2023

murray out a month :/

ESPN Sources: Denver Nuggets star Jamal Murray will be likely sidelined for the remainder of the month because of his right hamstring strain. pic.twitter.com/yfdxUZ5bkK

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 8, 2023

ban legs

remainder of the month is better than a month

three weeks honestly not that bad

my 9 year old shook me to wake me up this morning and when i came to... "dad.... warriors play the nuggets tonight, should i wear my curry jersey to school?"

best alarm clock ever

DeAndre Jordan was on The Great American Baking Show (Celebrity Holiday Edition)

𝐄𝐩𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐝𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐩:

Jordan was one of six contestants along with Arturo Castro (Broad City), Ego Nwodim (Saturday Night Live), Joel McHale (Animal Control), Heather McMahan (Everything's… pic.twitter.com/hlbM7bNwRR

— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) November 12, 2023

heh

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F-tw-m6WsAALs25?format=jpg&name=medium

I’m sorry was that random shot in the middle…lefty?!?!? pic.twitter.com/YxStTZYfaF

— Katy Winge (@katywinge) November 12, 2023

that lefty three looks pretty good…

https://stathead.com/basketball/versus-finder.cgi?request=1&seasons_type=perchoice&player_id1=jokicni01&p1yrfrom=2021&p1yrto=2024&player_id2=jordami01&p2yrfrom=1990&p2yrto=1993

just something I’m keeping an eye on…

ESPN Sources: The Denver Nuggets’ Michael Malone — who led the franchise to the 2023 NBA championship — has agreed on a contract extension that’ll make him one of the league’s highest paid coaches. pic.twitter.com/klyGsLSYKO

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 13, 2023

malone extended

riding the gravy big honey train

local sportstalk is all “props” vs “wt actual fuck” as u might guess.

mostly props tho.

lol i think he gets a lotta love from “lol impaired parade malone” feels, which tbf is also pretty great.

idgi why wouldnt they want him extended

he wasn’t the most popular coach before last year, he’s not like a pop or spo level genius or anything, can be very stubborn…the players like him tho mostly

i mean they won the chip theres nothing else to talk about

who's the worst coach to win a title? is there anyone worse than Bud?

why is no one engaging with my jokic vs MJ post I know u read it, don’t be rude

jordan is better imo

saw a stat today in reference to harden being too ball dominant to ever win a title it was something like no player who was top three in the league in usage has ever won a title in that season, except for jordan who did it six times

this is why you say jokic should shoot more

no i say that just because i want to see what happens, like an experiment

malone's personality and stubbornness is probably a bug not a feature, that team is full of chill guys so it makes sense to have a coach who's willing to rock the boat sometimes

oops a feature not a bug, i'm tired

Jamal Murray went through a somewhat routine pregame shooting workout just now. Don’t know if he was going 100%, but he was moving around well. Murray will be sidelined for a fourth-straight game tonight with a strained right hamstring. pic.twitter.com/mHEiS5nllO

— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) November 15, 2023

looks good seems like they’re being extra cautious which is ok

I got a wonderful happy birthday at shootaround this morning 🥹🥰 this team rocks pic.twitter.com/TLKEdMF3iM

— Katy Winge (@katywinge) November 15, 2023

just monitoring the vibe-o-meter, still 10.0/10

Nuggets without Jamal = the Sluggets

— D-Line (Denver Man) ((Eric Wedum)) (@DLineCo) November 20, 2023

they really miss his size/shooting/playmaking, him being out just throws the rotation into total disarray, malone should start one of the bench PGs and let reggie run the second unit, he’s the only one who can playmake consistently outside the starters

jokic is about to foul out thank you kanye very cool

what did kanye do

ha I was doing a the 1975 reference

i dont know anything about that

Last night's game was embarrassing. Did Gordon make a single FG?

Chalk it up to fatigue and missing Murray, I guess.

it’s been an extremely frustrating last couple weeks. feels a lot like the jamal/MPJ-less 2021/2022 seasons where jokic just had to do everything, which to his eternal credit he’s been doing. he’s a miracle. I’m not sure what stat this is specifically referring to but the gist is spot-on: jokic has been incredible, head and shoulders the best player in the league, and the rest of the roster has been trash:

Nikola Jokić has an NBA-leading 6.5 wins over replacement player.

Every other Denver Nugget has combined for 1.1.

— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) November 25, 2023

the thing about the nuggets is that they’re so interconnected that losing a guy like murray is more harmful to their bottom line than you’d think: it throws their rotations completely out of whack and the lack of playmaking, particularly when jokic sits, is glaring. their secondary guys have been very bad recently because everyone is forced into a role that is just that much more demanding than what they’re ideally suited for.

on the bright side:

Nuggets through 16 games:

10-6
9th best offense
10th best defense
9th best NetRtg
-8.6 NetRtg with Nikola Jokic off the floor

Nuggets through 16 games last season:

10-6
7th best offense
26th best defense
16th best NetRtg
-14.5 NetRtg with Nikola Jokic off the floor

— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) November 25, 2023

in the end the truth for essentially any team is that losing one of your top 2 guys means you’re just not a serious contender. murray will be back soon and the pecking order will be restored, and the way they looked prior to his injury is reassuring that this is still a championship caliber team at full strength. but the vicissitudes of injury luck are just a cruel reality of the NBA

the one guy I’m keeping my eye on is aaron gordon. he’s had a disastrous past few weeks, his shot has completely abandoned him, and is basically afraid to get fouled at this point. again, his natural role is one with a little less offensive responsibility…but the way his shot has completely abandoned him this year is extremely concerning and has serious implications for the team’s ceiling

gotta say though the hilarious thing about nikola is that he’s breaking the scales on basically all the advanced stats and yet is in the middle of a shooting slump

he should do well tonight vs sa who are in fact trying to break the record for most dysfunctional start for a world class rookie

Free big man clinic courtesy of Nikola Jokić. Take notes. pic.twitter.com/DwurKW6shV

— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) November 26, 2023

I wish my job could be to let jokic get as many buckets on me as he wants

interesting matchup tonight vs the clippers, who they completely own, without jokic murray and AG. incidentally the nuggets are running the ‘20bench unit clippers offense with reggie jackson-deandre jordan lobs

trade jokic and jamal, the DAJ/reggie give and go is unstoppable

Just in: Jamal Murray has been upgraded to questionable for tomorrow vs. the Rockets. There’s a good chance he makes his return to the lineup.

— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) November 28, 2023

Nikola Jokic draws up the play in real time.

Bucket. pic.twitter.com/y1cI61tUkH

— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) November 29, 2023

coach jok

ha thats great

that is good. what stellar defense by #54. i have zero clue who any of those spurs are on the floor

Nuggets star Jamal Murray (hamstring) will make his return vs. the Rockets tonight, sources tell ESPN. Murray has missed nearly a month with the injury. Defending champs are 6-5 without Murray, but won six of seven to start season with him.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 30, 2023

murray back baby. jokic should play but AG is out again though according to the DNVR beat guys

Henry Kissinger

Wrong thread, lol

and this is how I heard the news

You're welcome

great news in any thread

lmao thanking you moodles

damn that’s sort of ominous. anyway the nuggets look great with jamal back

they need him hes good

what no one needs tho is henry kissinger

jokic has 8 assists in 9 minutes. kissinger was holding him back

figured as much

jokic has 15 asts no turnovers

from what I can tell a team has turned it over two or fewer times in a game only 10x in history, nuggets have a chance to join them with 3 mins to play

immediate 2 turnovers in garbage time smh

nuggets with jokic and jamal (the jays as I call them) = good

The Suns put up a 131 ORTG and are down 7 at home.
The Nuggets put up a 145.8 ORTG and are only up 7.

Whichever way you want to phrase it. https://t.co/eVwcZ4eqv6 pic.twitter.com/cEkKwkW9lZ

— Adam Mares (@Adam_Mares) December 2, 2023

filing away “teams with a 148 offensive rating in a half they made zero free throws” for later research…

145*

jokic had 36-13-14-2-1 in a tough loss on a road back to back last night

now leads the nba in points, rebounds, and assists

leading points, rebounds, and assists is nuts, one guy shouldn't be able to do them all at once

yeah thats crazy he should chill out

i wonder sometimes now for how long jokic will have to play at this level and how many chips the nugs need to win b4 we start talking about him as a top 10 all-timer

people are already starting to talk about it tho obvs were not close to actually being there, youd like to see his peak extend into his mid thirties for top ten consideration so another five six years, if he declined a lil earlier at like 31 or 32 i think youd still have an argument but he prob wouldnt reach consensus

and then i think one ring is fine but if he got more itd be better

if he another couple rings on similarly dominant playoff runs it would supercharge the process

he already has 2 mvps could def get another, id say his chances of ending up as a widely acknowledged top ten guy are really good, injuries aside hes clearly on the trajectory

his floor is prob moses malone who had three mvps and a ring level

the list of guys since the merger with at least 2 regular season MVPs and at least one finals MVP:

kareem
michael jordan
wilt
lebron
moses malone
bird
magic
duncan
curry
giannis
jokic

that’s 11 guys, you can certainly make the argument for some others to be ahead of him (kobe, hakeem, shaq, russell), then — but assuming another 5 years of elite production I think he’s going to have a great argument. winning another title will obviously help

that’s since they started doing finals MVP btw not the merger

the amount of realized talent required to lead the modern nba in points, rebounds and assists is beyond my ability to understand

the denver nuggets starters are back together…and it’s awesome baby

How the fuck are they suddenly down by 4

the way I heard it the ball don't lie