Game 1 tonight in Denver. Most of the predictions I'm seeing-Nuggets in 5 or 6-align with how I feel about this series. I just think Denver is flat-out better with the world's best baller in Jokic, Nuggets have home court advantage, & Denver will be well rested. Miami might make them sweat, but I think this is where it hits midnight for the Cinderella '22-'23 Heat. I sure AF hope it does. I don't want to see Riles get another ring, regardless of how much I respect Spo & Buckets.
Your predictions?
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Is a Seton Hall Prep guy which is cool. He goes unsung with the Nuggets, he is a very good coach evidenced by his job in Sac Town.
Jokic is so consistently unselfish you forget that he could easily score 30-40 points a night. He understands that he is the engine that makes the team go.
Obviously his stat lines are incredible, I say the above because he will go a full quarter or more sometimes not even attempting to score in order to facilitate - and he'll still score 25.
When Denver drafted MP Jr. I thought they had dynasty potential - if he stayed healthy. And that remains to be seen. But he was a legit top 5 talent. He's a 6'10 wing that can shoot over anyone and has a totally sweet stroke. Seeing Murray come back so elite from the ACL tear is awesome.
Also unsung is Brown off the bench, great role player. The Nuggets are relatively thin depth wise which is why the sweep last round was so crucial - and the Heat having to go 7 made me a firm believer Denver was winning the championship.
Denver is going to be a problem for a long time.
Denver is a great team but they have to win it this year because there is no guarantee they will get to the Finals again, even with Jokic. The West isn't easy to begin with and there will be young teams like OKC with SGA, Giddey, Dort, Holmgren, etc. and San Antonio with Wembanyama challenging Denver in the near future (OKC possibly next year, San Antonio in 2 years or so)
Both of those teams have promising futures but like Denver will need 3-4 years to grow into title teams. Wemby looks great but his body frame, like Holmgren, is a bit concerning. Neither team poses a threat to Denver in the next 2 years, I think the Clippers and Suns could with full health and some roster revamping.
Denver can also get better too though. Aside from Brown their bench is extremely thin.
Unfortunately not surprised to see Zion have injury problems, he’s kind of too explosive for his own good.
Its discouraging to see Ja has become stagnant at 33, he’s sat at 30% the last two years. Not good enough.
His antics have turned me off from being a fan, I do hope he figures it out. Love Jaren Jackson Jr., silent stud.
Unfortunately not surprised to see Zion have injury problems, he’s kind of too explosive for his own good.
Its discouraging to see Ja has become stagnant at 33, he’s sat at 30% the last two years. Not good enough.
His antics have turned me off from being a fan, I do hope he figures it out. Love Jaren Jackson Jr., silent stud.
I really liked both guys at the time. I thought Zion was the real deal and Morant would be a star. I did think Zion should've been the #1 pick.
Shaq, Giannis, LeBron. Those are the 3 guys since they started tracking data in '97 that stand out above all the others in terms of "Points in the Pain/Restricted Area" as measured by volume and efficiency. Certain guys like Blake Griffin/Dwight Howard peaked in that range as well but especially Blake didn't last long enough.
Zion in his first couple years despite being constantly banged up and overweight still looks like he would be the next in that Shaq/LeBron/Giannis line of interior dominators. His paint scoring efficiency isn't quite at the level of those 3 legends, but his volume is right there if not more. He's just impossible to keep away from the rim.
I mentioned Blake earlier and that's always been a good Zion comp. The fact that Blake fell apart relatively early and Zion is already falling apart is a scary sign for Zion's future. But Blake felt a lot more like a "trained athlete" who relied so much on an insane vertical that he no longer has. Zion relies more on physicality and not necessarilty a crazy vert so I'm hoping his interior scoring skillset has more longevity.
It would be a shame if the NBA world didn't get to see Zion at his peak.
Morant's an idiot. His path was pretty much set. He was going to be a Top 10 player for a decade with Top 3/5 popularity due to his style. His team was/is set-up for a really solid 3-5 year run. He was gonna have a handful of 3rd/4th/5th place MVP finishes over these next 5 years with a chance to "own" one year and be the MVP like Rose in '11. But the way Silver is talking, we can forget about MVP contention next year. Shit, Ja might be suspended 40+ games the way it sounded.
I am so pissed off at him, his family, and his friends. His dad gets made fun of but his mom sounds like the worst. And obviously his friends suck. I know "guns" will be the reason for his suspension, but he needs to get his substance abuse stuff in check. He is costing himself so much money and respect by acting like this clown.
As for Ja, what an idiot. As Osi said, Morant was set up for a nice run as a star in this league with kids all wanting to be him. The next Steph in terms of people looking @ him & seeing themselves unlike a physical specimens like a Shaq or Giannis. And he's pissing it down the drain.
As for Ja, what an idiot. As Osi said, Morant was set up for a nice run as a star in this league with kids all wanting to be him. The next Steph in terms of people looking @ him & seeing themselves unlike a physical specimens like a Shaq or Giannis. And he's pissing it down the drain.
+1
Its Spoelstra, they have a team full of ubdrsfted free agents and aging vets and a star in Butler..its Spoelstra, its not zriley, Spoelstra is the best coach in the NBA, if he became free id give him 20 million
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Remember all the bashing about “culture”? Man, Heat Culture is a real thing. So impressive.
Its Spoelstra, they have a team full of ubdrsfted free agents and aging vets and a star in Butler..its Spoelstra, its not zriley, Spoelstra is the best coach in the NBA, if he became free id give him 20 million
Yeah Coach Spo is that dude.
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Remember all the bashing about “culture”? Man, Heat Culture is a real thing. So impressive.
Its Spoelstra, they have a team full of ubdrsfted free agents and aging vets and a star in Butler..its Spoelstra, its not zriley, Spoelstra is the best coach in the NBA, if he became free id give him 20 million
Come on. Riley sets the tone for the culture. It’s the same type of team as the 90’s Knicks. Not super talented but very scrappy. They will outwork you.
Riley isn't doing that by himself. Other teams have been after Andy Simon, who is nominally the assistant to GM Andy Elisburg, who has been there forever.
Riley is rightly due the credit as conductor of the orchestra.
Riley isn't doing that by himself. Other teams have been after Andy Simon, who is nominally the assistant to GM Andy Elisburg, who has been there forever.
Riley is rightly due the credit as conductor of the orchestra.
Riley has given Spoelstra time. He’s great because Riley has allowed him to be great. Other owners are firing coaches shortly after winning titles.
When players tried to go over Spoelstra’s head directly to Riley, he addressed the team and told them to never go over the coaches head again. Riley gets it.
They're certainly letting them play.
They're certainly letting them play.
The 2nd quarter was a whistle fest, I guess they got the memo at halftime to chill the fuck out and actually let them play some basketball.
More "star" players need to understsnd that
Very impressive all around. If Murray can play this well, they’ll be tough to beat.
Jokic is an all time great and Murray reminds me a lot of Brunson with his toughness
This sounds about right to me.
Once again, I really like OKC as a future rival for Denver. SGA, Giddey, Dort, Chet Holmgren are really good and incredibly young
Jokic has to be the best second round pick in NBA history. He's just amazing.
After a timeout, they could've drawn up a higher percentage play.
After a timeout, they could've drawn up a higher percentage play.
Frankly Butler was pretty much crap after the Milwaukee series. Maybe turning his ankle vs the Knicks in game 1 was worse than he let on? He shot basically about 40% from the 2nd rd on. Kudos and a big thanks to Denver for taking out the Lakers and the Heat in the last 2 rds. They are a very good worthy and likeable champion. They are fun to watch play and they saved us from watching the Lakers win like their 100th championship or Pat the Rat winning another one. On to the off season and hopefully some good Knicks moves!
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for that awful contested 3 pointer, with plenty of time remaining in the 24 shot clock.
After a timeout, they could've drawn up a higher percentage play.
Frankly Butler was pretty much crap after the Milwaukee series. Maybe turning his ankle vs the Knicks in game 1 was worse than he let on? He shot basically about 40% from the 2nd rd on. Kudos and a big thanks to Denver for taking out the Lakers and the Heat in the last 2 rds. They are a very good worthy and likeable champion. They are fun to watch play and they saved us from watching the Lakers win like their 100th championship or Pat the Rat winning another one. On to the off season and hopefully some good Knicks moves!
It is nice to see a franchise winning their first ever championship (since 1967). I hope we see a new dynasty being made here.