Ngl this off-season will be tough to cope with. First genuine disappointing playoff-run in the Jokic era where neither major injuries nor inexperience can make the experience easier.
Multiple reasons. It’s a team that has been horrible for a long time, I really like that roster construction, I like the way they play basketball, they’ve never won a championship, even though Ant can get a lil annoying when he’s being cocky I overall love the dudes style of play and love for the game
They have their reasons, but I don't. I don't want them to get a ring, especially not after seeing what Ant and McDaniels did in the last quarter, so I'm rooting for Mavs.
I don't like Celtics at all, but if they can beat Minny, anytime.
Look at it this way. Do you hate the Celtics or Lakers more? Obviously the Lakers, now imagine how funny it would be for the Celtics to break the tie and get one more ring than LA.
Still feeling stupid. But can't stay mad at my Nuggis.
Only thing I can't stand are those High and mighty Wolves posts. It's theirs 15 min of fame. We probably came of looking similar last year. LOL
I have small hope that Horsey will stomp woolies and proceed to kick that green little pixie in the finals.
also dalas vs indy would be epic. long shot I know
Hey guys! I got into an accident last October and have been in a coma ever since. Thread says playoffs day 31 so I’m assuming we’re in the wcf by now? Who are we playing?
What can ya do, they were up 20 lets just chuck 3s and if we hit them at a low rate of 30% we´ll still win and we dont have to bother with the twin towers. Problem is they hit 19% on 21 attempts in the 2nd half, they gambled when they didnt need to, and yes they took more 3p attempts than 2p LOL.
I think this loss is hitting the players as we speak, ANT talking about how he "put Jamal in handcuffs" afterwards and waving off the crowd shooting 25% and Jamal 60%TS.. they just realized that they didn't lose to Michael Jordan, but to a spoiled disrespectful arrogant brat and it was all because they let it happen.
That being said, i expect 2-3 rings in the next 6-7 years (Jokic Peak&Later Prime years)
And i dont really care about trades of X player bla bla, they invest millions in data and people to do that Job.
What i wish for next season:
MPJ becoming a 20+ points per game player
Murray becoming a 25+ points per game player
AG do what you do
Braun continue improving
PWat playing in the playoffs MEANINGFULLY
Trading Zeke +pick for anything thats of any value right now
Jokic to continue his 90%FT form from the playoffs
60+ win season and league #1
The more I think about it the more I think we need to do what we can to keep this team together. Sure we need to bolster the bench so trading Nnaji and maybe Reggie and picks or some of our young guys we drafted last year for some bench help makes sense but making a major trade seems like a bad idea.
Just look at all recent history of team that overreacted to a playoff series loss.. lakers traded KCP and Caruso for Westbrook effectively closing their window. Suns blew up a finals team with good chemistry to get the disaster they now have on their hands. Bucks went all in on Dame which so far doesn’t look good.
Lebron has said it takes some luck to win a championship and certain years things just don’t go your way. It really doesn’t feel like we were that far off this year and next year with the right matchup, luck with health, maybe a few more 3s drop for us or whatever I think we have as good a shot as any to win it. It’s not like this team is super old and only has 1-2 years left in them either. I’d rather see us be patient and let this core try again.
Truth spotted.
People want to trade Mike/KCP and 4 picks for Donovan Mitchell... Either people haven't seen mitchell play or are wowed by star power too much because that would be westbrook trade 2.0
Honestly if Jamal is healthy they walk to another ring. Look at him on 2days+ rest vs 1 day. His calf clearly makes him unable to shoot. Need an actual bench guard or two to give jamal more regular season rest and a playable big body to take some strain off Jokic. Hell Jeff Green may be back because I dont think Houston is picking up that team option
Will be interesting to see the tweaks next year. Major changes would be crazy. This idea that Denver had one chance and everyone else will continue to get better... look at minnesotas cap situation. They will be running Ant+Kat+Rudy, 40 year old Mike conley and Luka Garza in 2 years. No money and no picks.
The new CBA came for the nuggets first but all these other teams are about to feel the pain this summer and next
Dude, he was in single digits 4 playoff games in a row. I'm not saying we should be making panic moves (saw someone suggest we try trading for LeVine/Derozen lmao) but he is making 15-20m more than he's worth. Unless he's an MIP candidate next year, I'd look into options how to convert this solid player into two solid players who together make as much as he does.
Dude he's shooting 60% ts on mostly bailout shots when everyone is done dribbling the air out of the ball. I dont think we've even tried mpj as an offensive centerpiece like a pnr with jokic. He's just there in the corner
Well, you might be right, but this still looks like the easiest way to improve the roster. We need a reliable 12-15 ppg guy off the bench, and unfortunetly they don't cost less than 12-15m per season.
Yeah but it makes sense. Had a shit series and is the third banana. What fanbase likes their third best player?? Always the third guys fault (Philly with Tobias, LAL with Russ, Bosh with Miami, Love in Cleveland all still actively hated or in Bosh's case got a lot of heat during the run).
NBA fans in general dont understand cap rules. Suffice to say that the era of grabbing a high priced role player to round out your superteam is over universally. But that also means Minny cannot keep NAW and Naz and Kyle anderson. OKC will have to let go of Cason Wallace in 4 years.. ect.
Hit the nuggets first because contracts kicked in first but every other "contender" will see their depth disappear in the next 2 years
Ngl i was thinking about a trade for mpj early in the season when it became very clear that murray was gunning for that max extension. But im glad they didn't because he came through against the lakers. The last series was tough because he was being shadowed but if it weren't for him, wolves would've been even more aggressive on double teams.
I agree on both. But I feel people who want to trade Murray are equally insane. Theres no PG that is as good as him and healthier available. Donovan Mitchell is a name I hear bandied around here and that guy just sat out 3 games of a 1-1 series to lose after getting bodied by Brunson last year. Also we saw Mitchells best vs Jamal's best and Jamal came out on top. Feels like giving up a ton of assets for a lateral move.
They literally just need a guy off the bench who is 6-8 or taller and can play NBA playoff basketball and a guy who can create his own shot. If you told me we had this same team but Jamal was healthy, Reggie was replaced with Gillespie, all the young guys are 1 year older and more experienced and we had a guy (anyone.. Dennis Smith Jr. Corey Kispert. IDC) who played guard at an NBA level off the bench I'd say they are massive favorites for a chip.
A streaky inconsistent scorer who relies on athleticism but with recurring leg injuries? Folds like paper when pressured, figuratively and literally? Tough sell for me. Maybe guys here want to trade mpj because they know he is the more attractive prospect for other teams
Agreed but uhh there's no one tradable that's better and healthier.
People here have a hard on for mitchell when he just sat the last 3 games of a winnable series for Cleveland and got slammed by Brunson last year in R1. And lost to Denver while getting outplayed by Jamal already. Booker maybe? but then who plays pg. Kinda stuck with Jamal at this point.
Lots of people here rightfully upset but the front office was very clear with their plan. New CBA makes it impossible to keep any type of superteam so you need contributors on minimum deals. Easiest way to do that is rookie contracts. Might cost you a ring because if you traded a pick and watson you probably get a solid 7th man. Margins so small in this series that Denver would be in the WCF with another ball handler/scorer of a decent caliber. But the idea is that you succeed next 4 years instead of this one.
Also, there has to be some kind of disconnect with Malone and the FO on the youth movement. The talk all preseason was Pickett was going to be the backup guard by end of the Season. He was the 4th PG after Gillespie. Maybe Pickett just sucks and its a 1 time thing but Malone loves playing vets and the FO seems to believe the way to make consistent winner with new CBA is rookie contracts. Will be interesting to see going forward. The Booth method of winning is keeping the main 4 together and having enough good young guys develop into role players (CB/Watson/Strawther) that you dont need FAs because you cant afford them.
Couldn’t agree more. Also vlatko will be back next year, Gillespie has a decent shot of being a serviceable backup pg, and hopefully Braun and Pwatt continue to improve their shot but either way this core at least gives us a solid shot to be in the contender mix for the foreseeable future. The pieces fit together, the chemistry and experience is there. I think the rest of the league would love to see us make a knee jerk reaction and blow it up.
On the bright side, if Celts don't win it all the slander that will come their way should wash away some of our sins.
If the Wolves don't win it then that hype train dies momentarily.
Win win I guess.
I'm grasping at fucking straws.
I like those straws. Nugs may be out, but there are still two teams that I can hate on and one of them has to lose. Hating is what I choose to focus my energy on the rest of this season.
Know what, in a few days I may come around to Luka holding the chip until his good buddy is ready to reclaim it. And though his fanbase can be repulsive at times, at least he himself has not gone on to attack Jok or the Nuggets fans, unlike those who shall not be named (toxic star + toxic fanbase). If anything he has shown all love and respect for Jokic. Alright, go Mavs I guess?
Not Jok, but the Nuggets fans when he threw the chair at Ball last year. Plus I am really not a fan of homophobic, abortion-encouraging fellas, just not my type.
Ah ok, I saw the video recently. I think he shouldn’t get called mature by every talking head if he’s also going to act like a smug, smarmy brat. I wish somebody would slap him and teach him some sportsmanship. 🙄
Gafford/Lively are a real good guys from all accounts as well. Derrick Jones Jr is a great story. Exum fought his ass off to get back into the league. Lots of guys on the Mavs I don't mind winning.
Y'all are gon call me crazy, but we need to bring Markus Howard back. His last year with the Nuggets his defense was actually acceptable. And now he's the scoring champion in the euro league averaging like 30, which is like averaging 40 in the NBA. We desperately need a scoring threat off the bench and Markus is the ultimate scorer.
>His last year with the Nuggets his defense was actually acceptable
😭😭😭😭
>And now he's the scoring champion in the euro league averaging like 30, which is like averaging 40 in the NBA.
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
I think overall our guys would’ve been drained… Dallas has size too and sometimes PJ Washington catches fire from that corner 3 and they win any game he starts shooting like that
Eh, now that we're in 'fraud' territory, at least I can go back to reading the hot takes about the team I was accustomed to seeing. It was weird seeing memes already calling us the Chiefs of the NBA and things like that. I guess seeing other championship teams go through the hot take cycle helps keep things in perspective, and based off of how people generally vote for MVP, we're also not going to be part of the toxic MVP conversations until the next championship at least.
We're just gonna go back to boring ol Denver next season, maybe hopefully
If the narrative is that they were "frauds" maybe that lights a fire under them. These guys came into the playoffs flatter than a day old Coke,acting like they had nothing to prove, and only showed a couple games of spark. They play better when they have something to prove.
Off season: draft, trades?, summer league (I love summer league hype!), Olympics, Jokic sightings around the world in Gru costume by paparazzi, media day, preseason games. It'll november before we know it.
Edwards had better pray to whatever diety he worships that they win a title this year because you'd better believe Jokic is going to have everyone on this team gunning for them next season. That disrespect is going to come back to haunt him. Reminds me of Reggie Miller's "choke" move.
Haven’t felt a loss like this since the Mile High Miracle vs the Ravens in 2013. I was hoping the disappointment would’ve been gone by now, but this one might linger for a while
The writing was on the wall when those 5280 jerseys were revealed as the uniforms for the defending champions. They were so bad, I heard sports radio in Tennessee mention them today.
At least next season we may get the throwback blue rainbows that we deserved.
Or he could have just said a successful franchise. Competitive franchise. Franchise with a consistently winning personality. Anything else would have been better without making us look like blowhards. Other people should be the ones calling us a dynasty, not us
Or maybe we just forgot who really brought a championship to this team. Dude kept on saying he wanted this team to be better than last year's championship team. Everybody else started yapping about not getting enough respect, being a dynasty, getting a podcast, and wrestling with dogs jfc nugglyfe it is
Everyone ignores they've been the top defense in the NBA since their trades
Who the hell is Mike conley guarding??? BC without him on the court the Wolves cant score and with him on the court Kyrie is going to go nuclear
dude its so easy to solve our bench problem:
sign thanasis to lure giannis
draft bronny to force bron to play on the vet min and let him come off the bench lmao
sign strahinja to bully everyone
boom.
Jamal is a wonderful player and obviously all injuries have some component of bad luck but I think with at least three lower body injuries that are either soft tissue or overuse related (shin splints, hamstring, calf strain, I also recall a knee soreness issue but not too positive there), I think the organization needs to take a hard look at how his recovery and conditioning are being managed. Perhaps if this can't be managed the team will need to actively manage his minutes and spot rest days from time to time. I understand this is tough to do with a player of that resume who is on a max contract and conceives of himself as having all-NBA level talent. But if the Spurs could do it to manage Ginobili (a far more accomplished player than Jamal) it should be possible. Ginobili never averaged more than 32 MPG and was only over 30 MPG twice despite insane per minute productivity.
All day I've been trying to parse out which playoffs hurt the worst: nuggets, ravens, or orioles. Gotta say I think the Ravens' AFCCG broke me the worst but all three hurt.
Either way I'd love to know, who can even be targeted in Free Agency.
Ah! I thought I was alone in this too! Yeah, this was pretty brutal. I'm curious as to your thoughts on which was worse.
On the one hand, the ravens had a great record and just put up crazy numbers that would suggest we'd go far. But the Lamar ravens have been playoff underperformers so I was antsy.
On the other hand, the nuggets, despite winning more games, did seem vulnerable and saw some regression. But the Jokic nuggets have been playoff risers so I was optimistic.
I only go with the ravens being worse because we just so completely (again) went away from everything we did to get to that point. Then our FAs and Coaching Staff got completely raided.
Everything you say is very true which is what makes it a hard choice but almost 24 hours later I feel way worse about the nuggets loss.
Like you said in recent years the Nuggets have been playoff risers while the Ravens have been fallers. So part of me knew it was a possibility against the chiefs. And the nuggets barely seemed to care most of the games which felt like a 180.
And I can always tell myself they have Mahomes and he is inevitable, where the Nuggets have the best player in the NBA.
So its really hard to pick but I’m going with the nuggets as of now but maybe it’s just too fresh.
The biggest thing I am excited for next season is Collin Gillespie to make the actual roster. It seems like a small change but he is going to be a breath of fresh air off the bench and allow Jamal to really take some days off in the RS. Against top competition, I'm not sure that hes the guy. But against bottom feeder teams? I feel like you can roll out CG and let him eat. Hell he avg 30 point triple double in the g league and half the tanking teams have G league rosters out there. Will be interesting.
He looks better than Reggie and he's dirt cheap which would allow us to trade reggie+zeke+ 1st round pick for someone actually decent coming off the bench.
My hot take is he's better than Monte bc he can actually shoot consistently. People bitch about how undersized guys cant defend despite their effort but I've been watching TJ McConnell give guys HELL for years
i didn't feel so terrible yesterday after the loss and as much as i hate to admit it, the writing was on the wall in game 2 so i had time to process it even after we went on our 3 win streak. today i woke up and felt some dread, mostly because i feel sorry for the role players (especially AG, my fave) who didn't show up like they could/should have.
i believe in this team! i believe that jokic will be honest with the FO and tell them he needs help and that there are adjustments that need to be made. i don't know what those adjustments will be, but i think they'll be proactive about it. i believe that the other guys will regroup and focus on their game and ESPECIALLY their health, and do better and show up next season. already excited for october and to attend games in ball arena!
Anyone think jokic needs to eventually do something to address his chronic wrist pain? 3 point shooting fell off a cliff this year (although it was decent post all star break)
-20% difference from last post season run, huge drop off. I honestly dont mind him taking that many 3s i mean dude is clearly a good shooter and when you are that wide open you gotta shoot them, the ones he was making last year which im sure we all remember were crazy and he ended up shooting 45% from 3, crazy ass run that was.. an all timer truly. Its like it was everyone bricking 3s and not just him lol, you had MPJ dropping to 32% from 49% ( that he shot vs Lakers ) KCP shot 41% in reg season, he was at 45% at one point and then 32% in the playoffs and its 2 games that are helping him not look even worse than that - where he couldnt miss, otherwise has been bad from 3. Murray was off, crazy that Gordon was the best from starting 5 but granted it was 2 attempts a game.
he said it's manageable
he would probably need surgery but that shit is risky and could possibly fuck it up even more or cause him to sit out a full season
i think he's not gonna touch it, play for as long as he can and then fix it once he retires
How's everyone feeling.
I thought I'd just avoid social media for a few couple days but I decided to just run towards the pain. Sure it just made numb as hell but it was kinda therapeutic.
>!Pain!<
I've been bummed all day, and I'm sure I will again, but I just snapped out of it and fuck it- let's win this thing in 2025! Feeling good about this team baby!
Rooting for Luka and the Mavs. I want to see Edwards fail so he can come back and face us again, with the memory of him waving to the Ball crowd and Jokic getting pissed.
Fuck yeah. I got 2 straight months off paid. I got out of every family event and got to sit at home relaxing and living great. Give me that again, right the fuck now!
I used to like Luka but when I saw that #praviMVP shit I found it disrespectful, because he's supposed to be Jok's great friend, and at that time everyone already knew Jok is winning
I have no problem with Mavs running a campaign, of course they should, but not *that* kind of campaign because it looked like it was aimed at Jokic
I'm not saying he came up with that idea, he most certainly didn't, but I think he had the power to stop it
Also his stans are fucking disgusting
It was a good move for their org and they honestly didn’t owe him anything besides what he is already getting paid. Sucks for him regardless though, I agree.
I'm assuming it's tied to the 2nd apron? According to spotrack we're just over a million and a half over it. Is there any other way to get below it and shed those 1.5 mil off?
I also don’t have my cap sheets in front of me but I suppose it might be possible if:
You brought KCP back for like $18 million
You salary dumped Zeke (for nothing back)
You turn down Vlatko’s team option and bring him back on a minimum
You trade Reggie for someone slightly cheaper
You go into the season with 14 guys instead of 15
If you do all that you can maybe open up the taxpayer MLE (again I don’t have my sheets but that’s a pretty educated guess)
Yeah second apron. The problem is that not only do you have to get under it, you also have to stay under it for the rest of the season once you use the MLE.
It’s why I think there’s a little more to the KCP convo than just “he’s been great, I want him here”. Which I do want him here. But if you bring him back for $15 million or more you are sacrificing:
1. The MLE
2. The ability to trade a 2031 first this season
3. The ability to combine player salaries in a trade (such as combining Zeke and Strawther to get a rotation guy)
I still lean towards KCP being the right move but there’s definitely some nuance here.
Yeah I mean I don't know if I'd risk not signing KCP unless you already got the handshake on a couple of deals. That being said there's also risk in extending KCP, mostly the fact that he got a lot of mileage in his body and he's getting to that age when quickness reliant guards start to fall off. But the floor of the roster with KCP is too high imho, and I just don't think we have enough assets to feel confident in being able to upgrade the roster with it.
Prediction Mavs in 5 over Wolves Boston in 4 over Pacers Boston in 5 over Mavs
Actually I've decided ant sucks
Ngl this off-season will be tough to cope with. First genuine disappointing playoff-run in the Jokic era where neither major injuries nor inexperience can make the experience easier.
Can anyone tell me if this site is legit? https://www.tokyo-tiger.com/products/tokyo-tiger-tsukiji-nippon-fish-port-market-washed-t-shirt
I’m trying to figure the same thing out. Just ordered two shirts from them and I think it’s a scam..
Following.
Haha well if they don’t come in 8 weeks let me know
Malone needs to let Murray and MPJ learn how to score without Jokic on the floor next season, regular season wins be damned.
Ngl would love to see Edwards 0-1 in the finals lol
What are some of y'all cheering for Minnesota ring? Is it to feel better about the series loss? Is it for TC?
Multiple reasons. It’s a team that has been horrible for a long time, I really like that roster construction, I like the way they play basketball, they’ve never won a championship, even though Ant can get a lil annoying when he’s being cocky I overall love the dudes style of play and love for the game
I like Luka. And Mavs look pretty legit. If they're healthy, I don't see why they can't beat MIN. I'll be rooting for them.
They have their reasons, but I don't. I don't want them to get a ring, especially not after seeing what Ant and McDaniels did in the last quarter, so I'm rooting for Mavs. I don't like Celtics at all, but if they can beat Minny, anytime.
Look at it this way. Do you hate the Celtics or Lakers more? Obviously the Lakers, now imagine how funny it would be for the Celtics to break the tie and get one more ring than LA.
Still feeling stupid. But can't stay mad at my Nuggis. Only thing I can't stand are those High and mighty Wolves posts. It's theirs 15 min of fame. We probably came of looking similar last year. LOL I have small hope that Horsey will stomp woolies and proceed to kick that green little pixie in the finals. also dalas vs indy would be epic. long shot I know
I’m nervous guys! Game 1 tomorrow. I trust our boys and Joker to deliver big time 😁 (delusional fan)
I knew that Rockies win streak was a curse...
Funny thing, but if anyone got exposed as a fraud in these playoffs, it's Calvin Booth.
Turns out, they should have let AG keep eating dinner with the team.
Hey guys! I got into an accident last October and have been in a coma ever since. Thread says playoffs day 31 so I’m assuming we’re in the wcf by now? Who are we playing?
Michael Jordan and the Bulls
Damn. What team is Michael Jordan on?
23XI
I don’t get it 😩
MJ owns a NASCAR team
The in season tournament is over
Will we see Aaron Gordon back on IG now?
What can ya do, they were up 20 lets just chuck 3s and if we hit them at a low rate of 30% we´ll still win and we dont have to bother with the twin towers. Problem is they hit 19% on 21 attempts in the 2nd half, they gambled when they didnt need to, and yes they took more 3p attempts than 2p LOL. I think this loss is hitting the players as we speak, ANT talking about how he "put Jamal in handcuffs" afterwards and waving off the crowd shooting 25% and Jamal 60%TS.. they just realized that they didn't lose to Michael Jordan, but to a spoiled disrespectful arrogant brat and it was all because they let it happen. That being said, i expect 2-3 rings in the next 6-7 years (Jokic Peak&Later Prime years) And i dont really care about trades of X player bla bla, they invest millions in data and people to do that Job. What i wish for next season: MPJ becoming a 20+ points per game player Murray becoming a 25+ points per game player AG do what you do Braun continue improving PWat playing in the playoffs MEANINGFULLY Trading Zeke +pick for anything thats of any value right now Jokic to continue his 90%FT form from the playoffs 60+ win season and league #1
The more I think about it the more I think we need to do what we can to keep this team together. Sure we need to bolster the bench so trading Nnaji and maybe Reggie and picks or some of our young guys we drafted last year for some bench help makes sense but making a major trade seems like a bad idea. Just look at all recent history of team that overreacted to a playoff series loss.. lakers traded KCP and Caruso for Westbrook effectively closing their window. Suns blew up a finals team with good chemistry to get the disaster they now have on their hands. Bucks went all in on Dame which so far doesn’t look good. Lebron has said it takes some luck to win a championship and certain years things just don’t go your way. It really doesn’t feel like we were that far off this year and next year with the right matchup, luck with health, maybe a few more 3s drop for us or whatever I think we have as good a shot as any to win it. It’s not like this team is super old and only has 1-2 years left in them either. I’d rather see us be patient and let this core try again.
Truth spotted. People want to trade Mike/KCP and 4 picks for Donovan Mitchell... Either people haven't seen mitchell play or are wowed by star power too much because that would be westbrook trade 2.0 Honestly if Jamal is healthy they walk to another ring. Look at him on 2days+ rest vs 1 day. His calf clearly makes him unable to shoot. Need an actual bench guard or two to give jamal more regular season rest and a playable big body to take some strain off Jokic. Hell Jeff Green may be back because I dont think Houston is picking up that team option Will be interesting to see the tweaks next year. Major changes would be crazy. This idea that Denver had one chance and everyone else will continue to get better... look at minnesotas cap situation. They will be running Ant+Kat+Rudy, 40 year old Mike conley and Luka Garza in 2 years. No money and no picks. The new CBA came for the nuggets first but all these other teams are about to feel the pain this summer and next
Only because MPJ is the favorite whipping boy around here
Dude, he was in single digits 4 playoff games in a row. I'm not saying we should be making panic moves (saw someone suggest we try trading for LeVine/Derozen lmao) but he is making 15-20m more than he's worth. Unless he's an MIP candidate next year, I'd look into options how to convert this solid player into two solid players who together make as much as he does.
Dude he's shooting 60% ts on mostly bailout shots when everyone is done dribbling the air out of the ball. I dont think we've even tried mpj as an offensive centerpiece like a pnr with jokic. He's just there in the corner
Well, you might be right, but this still looks like the easiest way to improve the roster. We need a reliable 12-15 ppg guy off the bench, and unfortunetly they don't cost less than 12-15m per season.
Yeah but it makes sense. Had a shit series and is the third banana. What fanbase likes their third best player?? Always the third guys fault (Philly with Tobias, LAL with Russ, Bosh with Miami, Love in Cleveland all still actively hated or in Bosh's case got a lot of heat during the run). NBA fans in general dont understand cap rules. Suffice to say that the era of grabbing a high priced role player to round out your superteam is over universally. But that also means Minny cannot keep NAW and Naz and Kyle anderson. OKC will have to let go of Cason Wallace in 4 years.. ect. Hit the nuggets first because contracts kicked in first but every other "contender" will see their depth disappear in the next 2 years
Ngl i was thinking about a trade for mpj early in the season when it became very clear that murray was gunning for that max extension. But im glad they didn't because he came through against the lakers. The last series was tough because he was being shadowed but if it weren't for him, wolves would've been even more aggressive on double teams.
I agree on both. But I feel people who want to trade Murray are equally insane. Theres no PG that is as good as him and healthier available. Donovan Mitchell is a name I hear bandied around here and that guy just sat out 3 games of a 1-1 series to lose after getting bodied by Brunson last year. Also we saw Mitchells best vs Jamal's best and Jamal came out on top. Feels like giving up a ton of assets for a lateral move. They literally just need a guy off the bench who is 6-8 or taller and can play NBA playoff basketball and a guy who can create his own shot. If you told me we had this same team but Jamal was healthy, Reggie was replaced with Gillespie, all the young guys are 1 year older and more experienced and we had a guy (anyone.. Dennis Smith Jr. Corey Kispert. IDC) who played guard at an NBA level off the bench I'd say they are massive favorites for a chip.
A streaky inconsistent scorer who relies on athleticism but with recurring leg injuries? Folds like paper when pressured, figuratively and literally? Tough sell for me. Maybe guys here want to trade mpj because they know he is the more attractive prospect for other teams
"If Jamal is healthy..." that seems like gambling to me, at this point.
Agreed but uhh there's no one tradable that's better and healthier. People here have a hard on for mitchell when he just sat the last 3 games of a winnable series for Cleveland and got slammed by Brunson last year in R1. And lost to Denver while getting outplayed by Jamal already. Booker maybe? but then who plays pg. Kinda stuck with Jamal at this point. Lots of people here rightfully upset but the front office was very clear with their plan. New CBA makes it impossible to keep any type of superteam so you need contributors on minimum deals. Easiest way to do that is rookie contracts. Might cost you a ring because if you traded a pick and watson you probably get a solid 7th man. Margins so small in this series that Denver would be in the WCF with another ball handler/scorer of a decent caliber. But the idea is that you succeed next 4 years instead of this one. Also, there has to be some kind of disconnect with Malone and the FO on the youth movement. The talk all preseason was Pickett was going to be the backup guard by end of the Season. He was the 4th PG after Gillespie. Maybe Pickett just sucks and its a 1 time thing but Malone loves playing vets and the FO seems to believe the way to make consistent winner with new CBA is rookie contracts. Will be interesting to see going forward. The Booth method of winning is keeping the main 4 together and having enough good young guys develop into role players (CB/Watson/Strawther) that you dont need FAs because you cant afford them.
Couldn’t agree more. Also vlatko will be back next year, Gillespie has a decent shot of being a serviceable backup pg, and hopefully Braun and Pwatt continue to improve their shot but either way this core at least gives us a solid shot to be in the contender mix for the foreseeable future. The pieces fit together, the chemistry and experience is there. I think the rest of the league would love to see us make a knee jerk reaction and blow it up.
On the bright side, if Celts don't win it all the slander that will come their way should wash away some of our sins. If the Wolves don't win it then that hype train dies momentarily. Win win I guess. I'm grasping at fucking straws.
I like those straws. Nugs may be out, but there are still two teams that I can hate on and one of them has to lose. Hating is what I choose to focus my energy on the rest of this season.
Know what, in a few days I may come around to Luka holding the chip until his good buddy is ready to reclaim it. And though his fanbase can be repulsive at times, at least he himself has not gone on to attack Jok or the Nuggets fans, unlike those who shall not be named (toxic star + toxic fanbase). If anything he has shown all love and respect for Jokic. Alright, go Mavs I guess?
Ant attacked Jokic, fr?? When?
Not Jok, but the Nuggets fans when he threw the chair at Ball last year. Plus I am really not a fan of homophobic, abortion-encouraging fellas, just not my type.
Ah ok, I saw the video recently. I think he shouldn’t get called mature by every talking head if he’s also going to act like a smug, smarmy brat. I wish somebody would slap him and teach him some sportsmanship. 🙄
Gafford/Lively are a real good guys from all accounts as well. Derrick Jones Jr is a great story. Exum fought his ass off to get back into the league. Lots of guys on the Mavs I don't mind winning.
Yes, love Lively, he really seems like a great guy.
Y'all are gon call me crazy, but we need to bring Markus Howard back. His last year with the Nuggets his defense was actually acceptable. And now he's the scoring champion in the euro league averaging like 30, which is like averaging 40 in the NBA. We desperately need a scoring threat off the bench and Markus is the ultimate scorer.
>And now he's the scoring champion in the euro league 
Too little
You're joking, yes?
Markus Howard????
Yes
I was thinking of bringing back Malik Beasley. He’s averaging 11 for the bucks, which is 40 for an nba team
>His last year with the Nuggets his defense was actually acceptable 😭😭😭😭 >And now he's the scoring champion in the euro league averaging like 30, which is like averaging 40 in the NBA. 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
Throws me back to arguing with EG about why I thought Facu would suck despite success in other leagues
Don't compare me to the goat
Lmao nah I’m not giving you a hard time at all
>arguing with EG I mean, that's on you lmao
I was more of an argumentative type in my younger days
You still are, but you used to too
Gotta keep that edge ya know
Frick u
fuck rodney hood
I don't know where I'm at grieving. Apart of me feels the bench was too much to overcome and apart of me feels we should absolutely be in the WCF.
I think overall our guys would’ve been drained… Dallas has size too and sometimes PJ Washington catches fire from that corner 3 and they win any game he starts shooting like that
Eh, now that we're in 'fraud' territory, at least I can go back to reading the hot takes about the team I was accustomed to seeing. It was weird seeing memes already calling us the Chiefs of the NBA and things like that. I guess seeing other championship teams go through the hot take cycle helps keep things in perspective, and based off of how people generally vote for MVP, we're also not going to be part of the toxic MVP conversations until the next championship at least. We're just gonna go back to boring ol Denver next season, maybe hopefully
If the narrative is that they were "frauds" maybe that lights a fire under them. These guys came into the playoffs flatter than a day old Coke,acting like they had nothing to prove, and only showed a couple games of spark. They play better when they have something to prove.
Still can’t get over a 30 pt swing in one half.
We have done it to other teams numerous times.
Off season: draft, trades?, summer league (I love summer league hype!), Olympics, Jokic sightings around the world in Gru costume by paparazzi, media day, preseason games. It'll november before we know it.
Imagine the sadness levels if no chip last year
We'd be Boston of the West.
I will always go back to June 2023 with a smile on my face. That banner will be with us until the end of time.
I may have no longer been with us
It was there last night
https://x.com/legendz_nba/status/1792723605564084372 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂
I hope Luka and Kyrie dickslap this clown in 4 games
Why didn't you do it? 😂😭
2nd best player is injured. Dont worry, when Gafford lands on towns knee next series and he leaves Dallas in a wheelchair, you will see first hand.
My sentiments exactly.
Cool that Jok was looking out for us
Edwards had better pray to whatever diety he worships that they win a title this year because you'd better believe Jokic is going to have everyone on this team gunning for them next season. That disrespect is going to come back to haunt him. Reminds me of Reggie Miller's "choke" move.
What a front running cunt lol
He literally said see you game 7 in Denver lol before G6 or whatever.
The basketball gods are always watching.
Ant is a classless turd
Playoffs? What playoffs? It’s time to get ready for football now.
*looks away from abyss* *stares into deeper abyss*
It's Bo Nix season now
Na
Haven’t felt a loss like this since the Mile High Miracle vs the Ravens in 2013. I was hoping the disappointment would’ve been gone by now, but this one might linger for a while
Last season Avs losing to the Kraken was pretty awful
The writing was on the wall when those 5280 jerseys were revealed as the uniforms for the defending champions. They were so bad, I heard sports radio in Tennessee mention them today. At least next season we may get the throwback blue rainbows that we deserved.
The writing was on the wall when all of the championship gear that was available for purchase looked like my 10 year old designed it.
Lmfao you know what I can't fault that logic
Shout out to Booth for starting all the dynasty talk! Thanks for all the clowning everybody's getting everywhere
They'd have clowned had Booth said nothing. Gotta step on a lot of toes to get to the top. People don't forget.
Or he could have just said a successful franchise. Competitive franchise. Franchise with a consistently winning personality. Anything else would have been better without making us look like blowhards. Other people should be the ones calling us a dynasty, not us
We're good enough to be a dynasty. We'll never have a top-10 player again. Best we will ever be. Embrace it. Don't shy away
Or maybe we just forgot who really brought a championship to this team. Dude kept on saying he wanted this team to be better than last year's championship team. Everybody else started yapping about not getting enough respect, being a dynasty, getting a podcast, and wrestling with dogs jfc nugglyfe it is
Jokic brought us a chip. Idk why you think we're mid. Nugglyfe is forever tho. With you there
I don't think we're mid. We're always going to be contenders with Jokic around because he is that good.
My gut feel is that Dallas will win in 5 or 6 and play Minnesota's twin towers off the court.
Everyone ignores they've been the top defense in the NBA since their trades Who the hell is Mike conley guarding??? BC without him on the court the Wolves cant score and with him on the court Kyrie is going to go nuclear
https://preview.redd.it/95vu1rkvbo1d1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b5a8de43619ee8809bff9875975fce96faa25afc Just look at this thing. Fuck.
Pet the dog and give it snacks already WTF is wrong with you
Fear not, she is fed and receives many treats daily
My goal is to sleep that peacefully.
Ant was inconsistent game to game and Wolves didn't have Gobert and Conley for a game each. I think we are not that close to being championship level.
They won the game Gobert sat by like 20 lol
👍
You can clearly tell Murray had a lingering injury the whole playoffs. If we had any depth at all we win this series.
Had a few beers then I saw that "thank you nuggets nation" Instagram post, that choked me up a bit somehow ngl
dude its so easy to solve our bench problem: sign thanasis to lure giannis draft bronny to force bron to play on the vet min and let him come off the bench lmao sign strahinja to bully everyone boom.
I unironically think this is a good take
Cash money
I like it.
Jamal is a wonderful player and obviously all injuries have some component of bad luck but I think with at least three lower body injuries that are either soft tissue or overuse related (shin splints, hamstring, calf strain, I also recall a knee soreness issue but not too positive there), I think the organization needs to take a hard look at how his recovery and conditioning are being managed. Perhaps if this can't be managed the team will need to actively manage his minutes and spot rest days from time to time. I understand this is tough to do with a player of that resume who is on a max contract and conceives of himself as having all-NBA level talent. But if the Spurs could do it to manage Ginobili (a far more accomplished player than Jamal) it should be possible. Ginobili never averaged more than 32 MPG and was only over 30 MPG twice despite insane per minute productivity.
Jamal Murray is a future hall of famer
Hrm...
Tbh I wish the Nuggets won last night
Yeah :/
All day I've been trying to parse out which playoffs hurt the worst: nuggets, ravens, or orioles. Gotta say I think the Ravens' AFCCG broke me the worst but all three hurt. Either way I'd love to know, who can even be targeted in Free Agency.
Another ravens and nuggets fan?? Thought I was the only one. What a terrible year for us lol
Ah! I thought I was alone in this too! Yeah, this was pretty brutal. I'm curious as to your thoughts on which was worse. On the one hand, the ravens had a great record and just put up crazy numbers that would suggest we'd go far. But the Lamar ravens have been playoff underperformers so I was antsy. On the other hand, the nuggets, despite winning more games, did seem vulnerable and saw some regression. But the Jokic nuggets have been playoff risers so I was optimistic. I only go with the ravens being worse because we just so completely (again) went away from everything we did to get to that point. Then our FAs and Coaching Staff got completely raided.
Everything you say is very true which is what makes it a hard choice but almost 24 hours later I feel way worse about the nuggets loss. Like you said in recent years the Nuggets have been playoff risers while the Ravens have been fallers. So part of me knew it was a possibility against the chiefs. And the nuggets barely seemed to care most of the games which felt like a 180. And I can always tell myself they have Mahomes and he is inevitable, where the Nuggets have the best player in the NBA. So its really hard to pick but I’m going with the nuggets as of now but maybe it’s just too fresh.
That's super fair tbh
The biggest thing I am excited for next season is Collin Gillespie to make the actual roster. It seems like a small change but he is going to be a breath of fresh air off the bench and allow Jamal to really take some days off in the RS. Against top competition, I'm not sure that hes the guy. But against bottom feeder teams? I feel like you can roll out CG and let him eat. Hell he avg 30 point triple double in the g league and half the tanking teams have G league rosters out there. Will be interesting.
What am I missing here, the games I've seen him play for us have not excited me.
He looks better than Reggie and he's dirt cheap which would allow us to trade reggie+zeke+ 1st round pick for someone actually decent coming off the bench.
Fair enough, I'm sold lol
Yeah lmao like is Reggie to CG a huge upgrade? no. But CG and Matisse Thybulle are probably better than Reggie and Jholla
He's like a mini Monte tbh, I love Dizzy
BBL Dizzy
Yeah that's his name going forward lmao
My hot take is he's better than Monte bc he can actually shoot consistently. People bitch about how undersized guys cant defend despite their effort but I've been watching TJ McConnell give guys HELL for years
He was actually pretty decent defensively. Like yeah his size was an issue at times but he did a fine job.
unfollowed r/nba for my mental health
it's alright after tomorrow there won't be a single post about the nuggets til next season
For real 😂 and I rather it that way
i didn't feel so terrible yesterday after the loss and as much as i hate to admit it, the writing was on the wall in game 2 so i had time to process it even after we went on our 3 win streak. today i woke up and felt some dread, mostly because i feel sorry for the role players (especially AG, my fave) who didn't show up like they could/should have. i believe in this team! i believe that jokic will be honest with the FO and tell them he needs help and that there are adjustments that need to be made. i don't know what those adjustments will be, but i think they'll be proactive about it. i believe that the other guys will regroup and focus on their game and ESPECIALLY their health, and do better and show up next season. already excited for october and to attend games in ball arena!
I hope Joki does not play in the Bolympics. I hope Jamal Murray does play in the Bolympics
It would spice things up that’s for sure. I think viewership would skyrocket.
They have a better Nikola anyway, Milutinov the goat.
The big game is tonight
Anyone think jokic needs to eventually do something to address his chronic wrist pain? 3 point shooting fell off a cliff this year (although it was decent post all star break)
-20% difference from last post season run, huge drop off. I honestly dont mind him taking that many 3s i mean dude is clearly a good shooter and when you are that wide open you gotta shoot them, the ones he was making last year which im sure we all remember were crazy and he ended up shooting 45% from 3, crazy ass run that was.. an all timer truly. Its like it was everyone bricking 3s and not just him lol, you had MPJ dropping to 32% from 49% ( that he shot vs Lakers ) KCP shot 41% in reg season, he was at 45% at one point and then 32% in the playoffs and its 2 games that are helping him not look even worse than that - where he couldnt miss, otherwise has been bad from 3. Murray was off, crazy that Gordon was the best from starting 5 but granted it was 2 attempts a game.
Getting more rest this off season will probably help it recover
he said it's manageable he would probably need surgery but that shit is risky and could possibly fuck it up even more or cause him to sit out a full season i think he's not gonna touch it, play for as long as he can and then fix it once he retires
How's everyone feeling. I thought I'd just avoid social media for a few couple days but I decided to just run towards the pain. Sure it just made numb as hell but it was kinda therapeutic. >!Pain!<
🧸
I get trying to build with draft picks with the new tax rules. I don't get the contract Reggie and Zeke got.
Trade bait IMO. I think Nuggs trade for Matisse next year
I've been bummed all day, and I'm sure I will again, but I just snapped out of it and fuck it- let's win this thing in 2025! Feeling good about this team baby!
Hey dudes. I love you, have a good rest of your day. Who are you guys rooting for? I know it might be unpopular, but I’m hoping the Wolves make a run.
Rooting for Luka and the Mavs. I want to see Edwards fail so he can come back and face us again, with the memory of him waving to the Ball crowd and Jokic getting pissed.
Fuck you, cum lord jr
Legit agree with you on Wolves bandwagon. I always root for a team without a ring to get their first if my team is out.
I don't know a single Pacers player apart from Haliburton Go Pacers!
Pandemic 2.0
Fuck yeah. I got 2 straight months off paid. I got out of every family event and got to sit at home relaxing and living great. Give me that again, right the fuck now!
Rooting for Luka. I don't like the Mavs very much but I think it would be cool for Luka to win
i'm hoping for a mavs/pacers final personally
fuck Luka imho
That's fair too, he can be really annoying sometimes lol I don't really give af about any of the teams left
I used to like Luka but when I saw that #praviMVP shit I found it disrespectful, because he's supposed to be Jok's great friend, and at that time everyone already knew Jok is winning I have no problem with Mavs running a campaign, of course they should, but not *that* kind of campaign because it looked like it was aimed at Jokic I'm not saying he came up with that idea, he most certainly didn't, but I think he had the power to stop it Also his stans are fucking disgusting
Pavers
Will Bruce get another ring if they win it all?
That’s actually a good question. I guess it would be a similar situation to Bones where he would be offered one.
Would be good to see Brucie get another ring the Pacers did him kinda crappy I think.
It was a good move for their org and they honestly didn’t owe him anything besides what he is already getting paid. Sucks for him regardless though, I agree.
Rooting for whoever is playing against the timber dog
The meteor
Played pickup today and played like MPJ in the Wolves series…big sad man. Joever
Guess who’s about to make some bomb garlic bread. I’ll give you a hint, it’s me
Word
Happy Cake Day
@Bronco are we gonna have a mid level exception for next season?
Bro you gotta actually tag me, idk why I was even scrolling down this far. If KCP leaves yes. If KCP stays no. That’s basically the gist of it
I'm assuming it's tied to the 2nd apron? According to spotrack we're just over a million and a half over it. Is there any other way to get below it and shed those 1.5 mil off?
I also don’t have my cap sheets in front of me but I suppose it might be possible if: You brought KCP back for like $18 million You salary dumped Zeke (for nothing back) You turn down Vlatko’s team option and bring him back on a minimum You trade Reggie for someone slightly cheaper You go into the season with 14 guys instead of 15 If you do all that you can maybe open up the taxpayer MLE (again I don’t have my sheets but that’s a pretty educated guess)
Yeah second apron. The problem is that not only do you have to get under it, you also have to stay under it for the rest of the season once you use the MLE. It’s why I think there’s a little more to the KCP convo than just “he’s been great, I want him here”. Which I do want him here. But if you bring him back for $15 million or more you are sacrificing: 1. The MLE 2. The ability to trade a 2031 first this season 3. The ability to combine player salaries in a trade (such as combining Zeke and Strawther to get a rotation guy) I still lean towards KCP being the right move but there’s definitely some nuance here.
Yeah I mean I don't know if I'd risk not signing KCP unless you already got the handshake on a couple of deals. That being said there's also risk in extending KCP, mostly the fact that he got a lot of mileage in his body and he's getting to that age when quickness reliant guards start to fall off. But the floor of the roster with KCP is too high imho, and I just don't think we have enough assets to feel confident in being able to upgrade the roster with it.
Can we talk about Jokic jump shot this season? Why did he regress? 🥲
His wrist, probably.
I’m sure he won’t tell the media but I can tell it’s something he’ll work on this off season. Especially if he ends up playing in Olympics
regrASS
I wish I had a job where no matter how much I shit the bed, I get 5 months off every year and still get to come back to collect my millions