Originally Posted by staylor26:
Even with those injuries, the Suns still had a legitimate contender with KD/Booker healthy, so no, I wouldn't call it "easy".
It’s also a unique situation where Denver altitude is kryptonite to a team like phoenix that requires heavy heavy and constant usage of 2 guys to make the offense go. Those Denver home games were second half gimmes vs phoenix [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
I feel like the Lakers had a shot.
Russell was just a complete disaster and they waited too long in G1 to make some defensive adjustments.
But I'll say that LAL, while maybe not the 2nd best team in these playoffs, PLAYED like the 2nd best team on aggregate. Boston is the only team that had moments that looked like they could've taken down Denver, but they also shit the bed.
The Lakers had a guy who could slow down Jokic and frankly, nobody else does. But they had fundamental failings at key times that kept them from getting there (all of which have been well catalogued in this thread).
Every time I watch Denver they just look...inexorable. And not in a Tyreek Hill flying past guys sort of way, but in an Arnold Schwarzenegger playing the terminator sort of way. Just this steady drumbeat forward and no matter how hard you punch them in the jaw, they just keep advancing. Up 20? No matter - you'll only be up 10 by the next quarter. And then you'll only be up 2. And then you'll make a mistake and the mercilessly efficient and single minded Nuggets will splash a 3 and that'll be that.
They're the anti-Warriors. The Warriors would spend 40 minutes looking like hell but they'd have 8 minutes where they rain fire and that would be enough. Denver never looks much better than they look at their worst and never look much worse than they look at their best. They're just a steady march forward and it's just rare that a team can play 48 minutes against that without slitting their own throats eventually.
Mark Malone deserves a ton of credit for that and the Nuggets deserve a ton of credit for sticking with Mark Malone. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla:
Mark Malone deserves a ton of credit for that and the Nuggets deserve a ton of credit for sticking with Mark Malone.
Coaching has been such a difference maker in these playoffs. I don’t know if there’s been a season in a while where it was this obvious. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla:
Mark Malone deserves a ton of credit for that and the Nuggets deserve a ton of credit for sticking with Mark Malone.
Yup.
He's done a fantastic job this postseason and really has his guys focused. He deserves a ton of credit for that. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut:
I feel like the Lakers had a shot.
Russell was just a complete disaster and they waited too long in G1 to make some defensive adjustments.
But I'll say that LAL, while maybe not the 2nd best team in these playoffs, PLAYED like the 2nd best team on aggregate. Boston is the only team that had moments that looked like they could've taken down Denver, but they also shit the bed.
The Lakers had a guy who could slow down Jokic and frankly, nobody else does. But they had fundamental failings at key times that kept them from getting there (all of which have been well catalogued in this thread).
Every time I watch Denver they just look...inexorable. And not in a Tyreek Hill flying past guys sort of way, but in an Arnold Schwarzenegger playing the terminator sort of way. Just this steady drumbeat forward and no matter how hard you punch them in the jaw, they just keep advancing. Up 20? No matter - you'll only be up 10 by the next quarter. And then you'll only be up 2. And then you'll make a mistake and the mercilessly efficient and single minded Nuggets will splash a 3 and that'll be that.
They're the anti-Warriors. The Warriors would spend 40 minutes looking like hell but they'd have 8 minutes where they rain fire and that would be enough. Denver never looks much better than they look at their worst and never look much worse than they look at their best. They're just a steady march forward and it's just rare that a team can play 48 minutes against that without slitting their own throats eventually.
That’s a succinct description.
They just don’t have a ton of exploitable flaws. Yeah, you need to be able to make Jokic defend space in the half court. Yeah, you can be physical with Porter. Yeah, there might be an opportunity to run. Sure. OK.
What they won’t do is give you any bozo hero ball bad shots. For the first time in a long time there is a team in the finals that doesn’t have anyone who thinks they’re Jordan. They’ve committed to doing the boring easy shit that beats people. They’ll defend, they’ll move without the ball, they’ll set the screens. They’ll do the boring shit. This is the first team in a hell of long time that just doesn’t give a flying fuuuuuuuck about the accolades and notoriety that come with being the dude.
It’s boring ball. But it’s refreshing to see real buy in. [Reply]
Originally Posted by RunKC:
The Lakers were all name this year and it’s well known that Lebron is still good but he’s not prime Lebron anymore. They were a 7th seed for a reason. They looked like it.
And it’s no surprise that any team with Benedict Durant on it went down in flames.
Holy shit...you are literally retarded when it comes to EVERYTHING. [Reply]
The Heat have no chance. Oh they might win a game at home. But they’re soft as butter. They got to the stripe twice. Never going to beat a team as fundamentally sound as DEN playing that soft/undisciplined on both sides of the ball. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Superturtle:
Phoenix may have been too hasty to fire Monty. They're the only team to put up much resistance against the Nuggets and that was with Paul out.
I love Monty for putting the Suns back on the map but you cannot get curb stomped back to back years in home elimination games and expect to keep your job. Injuries or not. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Why Not?:
I love Monty for putting the Suns back on the map but you cannot get curb stomped back to back years in home elimination games and expect to keep your job. Injuries or not.
Hmm. Yeah, I had forgotten about it happening in back to back years. [Reply]
Originally Posted by jettio:
It is crazy how the NBA has 15 players a team and a lot of this years playoff teams never play more than 3 or 4 of their bench players.
Next time you have a really dumb thought, you should probably keep it to yourself. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Megatron96:
The Heat have no chance. Oh they might win a game at home. But they’re soft as butter. They got to the stripe twice. Never going to beat a team as fundamentally sound as DEN playing that soft/undisciplined on both sides of the ball.
I wouldn't say Miami is soft at all. In fact, they just won a series against a vastly more talented team exactly because they're not soft. They have a major grit to them that the Celtics lacked.
They're just woefully unskilled offensively, especially in their ability to break opponents down off the dribble. It's just Jimmy Butler who is able to do that (and he's old by NBA standards now and seemingly can't repeat his high level performances in a short series) and a bunch of shooters with nothing else to their games. Easily the worst offensive team to be in the Finals in 25 years. [Reply]
Originally Posted by KC_Connection:
I wouldn't say Miami is soft at all. In fact, they just won a series against a vastly more talented team exactly because they're not soft. They have a major grit to them that the Celtics lacked.
They're just woefully unskilled offensively, especially in their ability to break opponents down off the dribble. It's just Jimmy Butler who is able to do that (and he's old by NBA standards now and seemingly can't repeat his high level performances in a short series) and a bunch of shooters with nothing else to their games. Easily the worst offensive team to be in the Finals in 25 years.
What I meant about soft is that they aren’t physical; on either side, but especially on both offense. They got to the line twice. In a Finals game.
They’re also late rotating. They aren’t taking the fight to the Nuggets.
Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla:
Mark Malone deserves a ton of credit for that and the Nuggets deserve a ton of credit for sticking with Mark Malone.