Originally Posted by
Pelicanidae
Okay, so we won last time. I still wish we hadn't, but in the end, the force of the Phoenix Suns tank was just too strong. They're very good at tanking, they have had a lot of practise. Six years of practise. At this point, the Suns know how to tank like Golden State knows how to win. Masterful.
Tonight, however, we face a team that is very much not tanking: the Denver Nuggets. 42-19, the Nuggets are currently second in the West. They have been extremely impressive this year. I can't even remember if I had them as a playoff team before the season started, but if I did, I definitely didn't have them top 4. However, behind the league's 3rd best offense and the league's 11th best defense, led by Nikola Jokic and a team that goes deep in quality players, the Nuggets have had a great season.
The Nuggets have gone 5-1 over their last 6 games. They are top 15 in Rebounds and Steals, and top 5 in assists. They make the 5th fewest turnovers in the league, and the 7th fewest fouls. They are 11th in 3pt%, and 10th in 2pt%. They're just really good.
Jokic is having a career year. He's averaging 20.1/10.8/7.7 per game. That's amazing. To put that into context, here is the full list of players who have ever averaged 20/10/7 in a season:
Wilt Chamberlain x 2
Oscar Robertson x 2
Russell Westbrook x 3
Nikola Jokic - this season.
What about the players to put up those stats while shooting at least 50% from the floor?
Well, it's Wilt Chamberlain x 2, Oscar Robertson x 1, Nikola Jokic - this season.
He's been really, really, really good. Given that, plus the fact that Denver has 7 different players averaging double digit scoring, 4 of which are shooting above league average from 3, and that goes some way to explaining why they're so good. Luckily for us, that means that when we lose tonight it will be a good thing for the tank!
AD and E'twaun are not playing, and Bertans is scheduled to make his appearance at some point next week, so for tonight it's going to be the Jrue and Co. Show. I'm hoping that means we get fun, productive minutes from Okafor and Diallo, but unfortunately with the way Gentry is playing right now, I'll be surprised if Diallo gets more than 15 minutes and if Okafor gets more than 5. It's a shame, but Gentry seems to be taken with gluing Okafor to the bench.
Otherwise, let's go and #DoItBig!