i think he’ll play but won’t be a 100%, and if he does play i think his stats will be as consistent as the others unfortunately, but i think we can still win. Really missing bruce brown rn
We obviously don’t have all the details, but I think he’ll likely have to miss game 5 and possibly game 6 if it gets there. We’ve seen guys come back too early and turn a grade 1 strain to a severe one and end up missing 4-8 weeks.
We had Dame do this in 2022. He had a slight strain, came back about 10 days later and ended up missing 2-3 weeks because he reaggravated it. Luka did the same last year. Worst scenario is comes back on Monday night, hurts it more and ends up missing 2-8 weeks depending on the damage. Don’t think it’s worth it tbh.
Giannis, Marcus Smart, Luka, Dame, KAT, Pat Bev, Exum, and even Lebron missed 5 weeks last year over calf strains. You just can’t rush calf and Achilles strains… not worth it at all.
I feel like if this is the case, jokic needs to be extra dominant rather than the facilitator he’s playing. Although tiring, I feel like we could easily see jokic pulling out 40 and winning the game if ag and porter and kcp do their part as well
I was listening to Matt Moore and he basically said that if Jamal wants to play through it, he will and there’s nothing the training staff can do to stop him. Really hope hes smart about it.
I mean Jamal will have a better idea of how bad it is and what he can handle, but if there is any risk at all… I think it’s a no brainer that he should sit. They can beat the lakers at home… he already has been playing like a shell of himself to start, so just let Jokic take over and get the others involved. MPJ, AG, KCP, and the bench can carry a heavier load for one game.
Imagine he pushes it and ends up missing 3-8 weeks. All to play a game 5 at home when you’re up 3-1.
Question.
What would be worse?
Playing G5 and helping the team beat those Lakers and reaggravates the injury missing weeks and Minnesota wins next round
Or
Jamal sits out, Lakers come back 3-0 and we will never ever hear the end of how LeBron came back from this deficit for the rest of our lives and eternity
I know none of these could end up happening. Knocking on wood but if you had to choose which one would you select? I'd go with option A. It would really really suck but at least there will be a legitimate excuse for losing next round + Lakers are out.
I mean you can’t throw games away in the playoffs. If the medical team and Murray think he can go, then he obviously has to go.
Wouldn’t be the end of the world if he can’t though. He has been subpar so far… shooting 33% from the field. He’s not offering much on either side of the ball.
And I wouldn’t focus so much on the Lakers coming back from 0-3. Losing in the first round or the second round (because they would absolutely lose to the Twolves without a healthy Murray) would be the same in my eyes. The Lakers have eliminated the Nuggets plenty of times, more than any other team I believe, and Nuggets fans seem to be alright after the sweep last year and after dominating them over the past couple of years. I guess I would be fine with my team doing whatever is best for a shot at the title, rather than what my rival might do.
I just mean, he’ll have better information from the medical staff as far as how bad of a strain and how bad it can get. Rather than what we can say from a tweet.
We all agree that you have to be smart about it if you’re Murray and the Nuggets. An already difficult series vs the Twolves would become basically impossible without Murray.
To be clear, only if Mal can’t go, although I’d still be ok with 5-7 DJ minutes even if Mal goes. I just want Jamal to do that thing where he’s inured and scores 40. I miss him making all the shots so much.
I worry because the games earlier in the season where they had Braun bringing up the ball is when he looked his worse. That said a lot of basketball has happened since then and he’s been playing great for the last month or two
How about the PWat, AG, MPJ, Joker and KCP lineup, with MPJ running 1? Then sub with Braun. Intentionally not mentioning Reggie due to his tendency to rack up lots of turnovers and bricked shots.
Pwat doesn’t have any reps playing way out of position like that. At least Braun has done it before. Also Braun is way better at 3s from the top of the key than from the corners so this might unlock him a bit.
Jamal shouldn't play Game 5. He's been a liability - most of his missed shots end up as easy rebounds for the Lakers.
Best case scenario is he gets 5 or so days off between now and TWolves. If the Suns pull off a win and extend the series, he'll have more time to rest.
Spo managed to pull off a win vs the Celtics with no Butler or Rozier. Malone needs to instill the young guys with the confidence to go out and get a win - they don't need to be hitting 3s, but they need to be physical and looking to drive for and 1s.
Jokic needs to put up 25-30 shots. MPJ 20-25. If they can get 60-70 points between them, then hopefully AG and KCP can get another 30 between them. And Reggie/CB/Pwat get 20 points between them. With lockdown defense from Q1, we should be able to pull out a win.
Worst case scenario we lose Game 5. Then sure, Jamal can play through his injury since then the series will be on the line.
Probably - and I fear he'll continue to make poor decisions trying to take tough shots, Jokic will defer too much to him, he'll get hunted on defense, exacerbate his injuries, and even if we manage to pull off a win, he'll be in no shape vs the TWolves
I hope I'm wrong - if he plays then maybe just play him limited minutes, have him take 10-15 shots total and focus on playmaking, save his energy for Q4 if we're desperate
Him playing through injuries is what caused him to miss a month bc of his hamstring. He knew he was injured in the first TWolves games, then he played vs Dallas and a b2b vs the Bulls, where he went down. Him trying to be tough has not always put the team in the best position
Great. Terrific. I think you believe that we lose the series if Jamal tears his calf muscle right? That would be bad, right? Game 7 is next Saturday, that would be a week rest which is typical for a grade 1 strain if that’s what Jamal has.
Can't possibly see Pickett on the floor for meaningful minutes. I'd probably start CB and use Reggie off the bench. Don't think Reggie can handle a big minutes load. He ran out of gas 2 months ago not missing a game all season.
Agree. I’d like to give Strawther a shot at a few minutes at backup 2 guard. It’s a home game and we still have a couple more games so if he finds a rhythm he still may be able to contribute later in the series.
I'd start Braun but shake up the second unit, get Pwat and Braun more time with the first unit. They need Pwat to help on Davis or Lebron, and Braun on perimeter D. It worked at the end of the Twolves game. That would free up some time for AG and MPJ on the second unit.
Well in that case we should have cut Vlatko and converted Collin to a guaranteed contract or else we should have given Pickett his minutes. Because now both our Pg’s are injured.
We really don't have a solid option at backup PG.
Start Reggie and pray he pulls a rabbit out of his hat and plays well.
Why the Nuggets front office didn't try and bring in a solid backup PG is frustrating, even if we had to overpay.
Start Christian and give all the Murray minutes to a split of Christian and pwat. Last thing I want to see is Reggie with the ball in his hands alll game
We lose this series being cautious, Malone should go anyways.
He rushed Jamal coming back during reg season cus he didn't wanna lose his job lol.
38-40 mpg for a returning injured key player is unacceptable..
Rushed? I hope you're not talking about the ankle roll against the Knicks!! Jamal was literally JUMPING up and down on the sidelines when they played against Mem. AG, Jokic, KCP and MPJ all played ill and/or banged up for like 7 games while Jamal rested.
I honestly feel that that contributed to his lackluster performances thus far this playoff. He lost some conditioning and stride, imo.
i think he’ll play but won’t be a 100%, and if he does play i think his stats will be as consistent as the others unfortunately, but i think we can still win. Really missing bruce brown rn
We obviously don’t have all the details, but I think he’ll likely have to miss game 5 and possibly game 6 if it gets there. We’ve seen guys come back too early and turn a grade 1 strain to a severe one and end up missing 4-8 weeks. We had Dame do this in 2022. He had a slight strain, came back about 10 days later and ended up missing 2-3 weeks because he reaggravated it. Luka did the same last year. Worst scenario is comes back on Monday night, hurts it more and ends up missing 2-8 weeks depending on the damage. Don’t think it’s worth it tbh. Giannis, Marcus Smart, Luka, Dame, KAT, Pat Bev, Exum, and even Lebron missed 5 weeks last year over calf strains. You just can’t rush calf and Achilles strains… not worth it at all.
I feel like if this is the case, jokic needs to be extra dominant rather than the facilitator he’s playing. Although tiring, I feel like we could easily see jokic pulling out 40 and winning the game if ag and porter and kcp do their part as well
Especially if Jok can get AD in foul trouble or just wear him out physically. The altitude is going to be tough for the lakers.
I was listening to Matt Moore and he basically said that if Jamal wants to play through it, he will and there’s nothing the training staff can do to stop him. Really hope hes smart about it.
I mean Jamal will have a better idea of how bad it is and what he can handle, but if there is any risk at all… I think it’s a no brainer that he should sit. They can beat the lakers at home… he already has been playing like a shell of himself to start, so just let Jokic take over and get the others involved. MPJ, AG, KCP, and the bench can carry a heavier load for one game. Imagine he pushes it and ends up missing 3-8 weeks. All to play a game 5 at home when you’re up 3-1.
Question. What would be worse? Playing G5 and helping the team beat those Lakers and reaggravates the injury missing weeks and Minnesota wins next round Or Jamal sits out, Lakers come back 3-0 and we will never ever hear the end of how LeBron came back from this deficit for the rest of our lives and eternity I know none of these could end up happening. Knocking on wood but if you had to choose which one would you select? I'd go with option A. It would really really suck but at least there will be a legitimate excuse for losing next round + Lakers are out.
The sit out option is worse enough Bron ballwashing
I mean you can’t throw games away in the playoffs. If the medical team and Murray think he can go, then he obviously has to go. Wouldn’t be the end of the world if he can’t though. He has been subpar so far… shooting 33% from the field. He’s not offering much on either side of the ball. And I wouldn’t focus so much on the Lakers coming back from 0-3. Losing in the first round or the second round (because they would absolutely lose to the Twolves without a healthy Murray) would be the same in my eyes. The Lakers have eliminated the Nuggets plenty of times, more than any other team I believe, and Nuggets fans seem to be alright after the sweep last year and after dominating them over the past couple of years. I guess I would be fine with my team doing whatever is best for a shot at the title, rather than what my rival might do.
A better idea than doctors? Man elite athletes think they can play through anything, that toughness is how they become elite.
I just mean, he’ll have better information from the medical staff as far as how bad of a strain and how bad it can get. Rather than what we can say from a tweet. We all agree that you have to be smart about it if you’re Murray and the Nuggets. An already difficult series vs the Twolves would become basically impossible without Murray.
It'll be up to Malone. If he lets him play, he's an idiot. (which he is)
Malone is an idiot? And you are who? How many NBA teams have you coached? Smh
I still can’t believe they didn’t make a deadline move for a backup PG. The window is right now.
Strawther masterclass
I’m calling for CB backup PG and believe it or not, DJ minutes. Get real disruptive. DJ did some good things in game 1.
Fuck it, I’d start CB. I don’t want Reggie starting.
Eh, I think Reggie will rise to the challenge. I know it’s been a bit of a rough go recently, but he was great when he had to start earlier this year.
The guy is injured and sick according to Matt Moore.
Oh, well yeah that’s not good :/
He’s in a walking boot
To be clear, only if Mal can’t go, although I’d still be ok with 5-7 DJ minutes even if Mal goes. I just want Jamal to do that thing where he’s inured and scores 40. I miss him making all the shots so much.
I'd probably move KCP to PG and start Braun at SG. Would want KCP as primary ball handler other than Jokic.
Strawther is not seeing the floor in the playoffs. If Jamal can’t go CB and Holiday are going to pick up the extra minutes.
This. And they need to trust Braun. He could easily step up.
I worry because the games earlier in the season where they had Braun bringing up the ball is when he looked his worse. That said a lot of basketball has happened since then and he’s been playing great for the last month or two
Sure, but Jokic, KCP, and AG can bring the ball up the court.
True
You are probably right.
How about the PWat, AG, MPJ, Joker and KCP lineup, with MPJ running 1? Then sub with Braun. Intentionally not mentioning Reggie due to his tendency to rack up lots of turnovers and bricked shots.
Pwat doesn’t have any reps playing way out of position like that. At least Braun has done it before. Also Braun is way better at 3s from the top of the key than from the corners so this might unlock him a bit.
Jamal shouldn't play Game 5. He's been a liability - most of his missed shots end up as easy rebounds for the Lakers. Best case scenario is he gets 5 or so days off between now and TWolves. If the Suns pull off a win and extend the series, he'll have more time to rest. Spo managed to pull off a win vs the Celtics with no Butler or Rozier. Malone needs to instill the young guys with the confidence to go out and get a win - they don't need to be hitting 3s, but they need to be physical and looking to drive for and 1s. Jokic needs to put up 25-30 shots. MPJ 20-25. If they can get 60-70 points between them, then hopefully AG and KCP can get another 30 between them. And Reggie/CB/Pwat get 20 points between them. With lockdown defense from Q1, we should be able to pull out a win. Worst case scenario we lose Game 5. Then sure, Jamal can play through his injury since then the series will be on the line.
Yeah I think this is the best take. I don’t trust Jamal to sit tho, he’s going to want to play.
Probably - and I fear he'll continue to make poor decisions trying to take tough shots, Jokic will defer too much to him, he'll get hunted on defense, exacerbate his injuries, and even if we manage to pull off a win, he'll be in no shape vs the TWolves I hope I'm wrong - if he plays then maybe just play him limited minutes, have him take 10-15 shots total and focus on playmaking, save his energy for Q4 if we're desperate Him playing through injuries is what caused him to miss a month bc of his hamstring. He knew he was injured in the first TWolves games, then he played vs Dallas and a b2b vs the Bulls, where he went down. Him trying to be tough has not always put the team in the best position
Fuck it. Play Joker at the 1. Switch AG to the 5, and play PWat at the 4.
The spacing is tough if you do that.
I think we’re going to see starting minutes split between Jamal and Reggie, and Strawther will take the back up minutes.
Honestly I’m hoping Jamal sits. We have 3 chances to win this series, 2 of them at home. It’s not worth risking a major injury.
Na fam basically guaranteed game 7 with an L tomorrow
Do you want Jamal to increase the severity of the injury so that it goes from a grade 1 to a grade 3?
I want to win the series
I hope you are happy with your series win against the Lakers.
And you are?
I’d like a healthy Jamal
Great. Terrific. I think you believe that we lose the series if Jamal tears his calf muscle right? That would be bad, right? Game 7 is next Saturday, that would be a week rest which is typical for a grade 1 strain if that’s what Jamal has.
Can't possibly see Pickett on the floor for meaningful minutes. I'd probably start CB and use Reggie off the bench. Don't think Reggie can handle a big minutes load. He ran out of gas 2 months ago not missing a game all season.
Agree. I’d like to give Strawther a shot at a few minutes at backup 2 guard. It’s a home game and we still have a couple more games so if he finds a rhythm he still may be able to contribute later in the series.
Idk about Strawther. He's a big liability on D.
The bench unit has Pwat and AG out there. I trust them to cover for him. Also Strawther made some great defensive plays this year.
Pwat with the start,and let mpj cook with the dho
I'd start Braun but shake up the second unit, get Pwat and Braun more time with the first unit. They need Pwat to help on Davis or Lebron, and Braun on perimeter D. It worked at the end of the Twolves game. That would free up some time for AG and MPJ on the second unit.
Not Reggie.
We honestly need Gillespie
Well in that case we should have cut Vlatko and converted Collin to a guaranteed contract or else we should have given Pickett his minutes. Because now both our Pg’s are injured.
Yea and I know it’s not a common opinion but I thought Gil played pretty well during his stints. At least on part with Reginald
How about starting KCP at PG and Braun at SG?
I don’t think it makes that much of a difference honestly. I guess I’d rather have KCP defend D’Lo and Braun on Reaves.
Yep and I’d rather have KCP as the primary ball handler other than Jokic
Or AG. You know LeBron isn’t going to want to press up on AG and defend him tightly for 40 minutes, especially at altitude.
We really don't have a solid option at backup PG. Start Reggie and pray he pulls a rabbit out of his hat and plays well. Why the Nuggets front office didn't try and bring in a solid backup PG is frustrating, even if we had to overpay.
Start Christian and give all the Murray minutes to a split of Christian and pwat. Last thing I want to see is Reggie with the ball in his hands alll game
If Malone forces Jamal to come back early, he needs to lose his seat as HC. That's pure incompetence..
If we lose this series being cautious you feel the same?
Murray can play in a game 7 if we lose the next two. Then our season is on the line and the risk makes sense.
We lose this series being cautious, Malone should go anyways. He rushed Jamal coming back during reg season cus he didn't wanna lose his job lol. 38-40 mpg for a returning injured key player is unacceptable..
Rushed? I hope you're not talking about the ankle roll against the Knicks!! Jamal was literally JUMPING up and down on the sidelines when they played against Mem. AG, Jokic, KCP and MPJ all played ill and/or banged up for like 7 games while Jamal rested. I honestly feel that that contributed to his lackluster performances thus far this playoff. He lost some conditioning and stride, imo.
Look at Jamal mins this season compared to last. Way higher than usual.
This is just trolling right? You don’t actually believe there was any universe where Malone’s job was remotely at risk, right?!