The Nuggets have seven games to play until the All-Star break. The outcome of these seven games will be a major indicator for how the Nuggets will likely finish out the season. As of now, they are 3.5 games out of eighth place in the Western Conference. They are also 4.5 games away from having a top five pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. As long as they are in the race for the playoffs, they will go all out for it, but if they drop five or more of these games, the team could be demoralized and slide for the rest of the season.
This pivotal stretch starts tonight in Indiana. The Nuggets beat them in a matchup at Pepsi Center two weeks ago. This is definitely a winnable game since the Pacers are not much better than the Nuggets this season and they are coming off of losing six of their last eight.
The Nuggets are finally healthy, minus Wilson Chandler of course. Nurkic and Myles Turner is an intriguing matchup since Nurkic is playing more minutes since getting healthy again. Turner has been fantastic for Indiana of late and is looking like their center of the future. Nurkic should be able to stifle him, but he needs to stay out of foul trouble, which has costed him minutes over the past few games.
These are the games that the Nuggets need to win for the rest of the season if they want to make the playoffs. Winning games against team on your level or slightly better is a good sign of improvement. However, if they lose games like these, we know that they are one more high lottery pick from being an actual playoff contender.
Thee rest of the games in this stretch include home matches against Toronto and Chicago. It's rough for the team to have their only home games before the All-Star break against tough competition, but they may be able to sneak out a win against the Bulls. They will also have road matches against Utah, New York, Brooklyn and Detroit. All of these are games that this team should win or at the very least bring the games down to the wire.
Fans should be happy about the state of the team right now. They have the best of both worlds since they can contend for a playoff spot and still have a chance for a good draft pick. Even if they do make the playoffs, they will still have two first round picks, which they might be able to swing into a better pick.
If they can end this stretch at 4-3 or 5-2, they will be in the thick of things. Then they will have two quick games against the Sacramento Kings after the All-Star break that they can use to catapult themselves even further up the standings. They could be in the playoffs within a month if all goes well or they could be competing for a top five pick.
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Friday, January 29, 2016
This Is Not 2013, The Offense Only Needs To Do Enough
The last time the Broncos offense was in a Super Bowl, they were decimated by the Seahawks. They brought the best offense in the league into New York and left as a laughing stock because Seattle's defense matched up very well against that type of offense. They were not able to get anything going for just about the entire game. This time around, the defense is the unit to be feared, while the offense doesn't need to do a lot, just enough to win the game.
Carolina had the second best defense in the league for most of the season. Their passing defense is on par with Denver's when looking at yards per attempt, but far behind when looking at DVOA. Injuries have hurt their ability to defend against the pass. Josh Norman is undoubtably one of the top corners in the league. However, injuries to Charles Tillman and Bene Benwikere stripped Carolina of their second and third best corners. They are now left with Robert McClain and Cortland Finnegan in the backup and nickel spots. Finnegan was never that good even in his prime and he looks like a shell of his former self now. The biggest threat that he poses to the Broncos is him taking a swing at Demaryius or Emmanuel Sanders. The Broncos receivers will be able to take advantage whenever McClain and Finnegan are lined up across from him. If I were Manning, I wouldn't target whoever Norman is covering. Don't even try him, he will make plays when given the opportunity.
The front seven for Carolina is where the offense will find its biggest challenge. Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis present unique challenges for Manning and the tight ends. They can both cover really well, Kuechly has two pick sixes in each game, and they are both amazing in the run game as well. Luckily for the Broncos, Davis is fresh off of surgery on his broken arm that he suffered during the NFC Championship Game. He says he will play and I have no reason to doubt him, but it is very hard to believe that he won't be limited during the game. His health is important for the Panthers, not because their backups are bad, but because Davis is too good just to have most of his production replaced by a guy off of the bench.
Star Lotulelei and Kawann Short have torn apart most offensive lines they have faced this season. They are both dynamic players who can both be game changers. Charles Johnson is a threat off of the edge as a pass rusher. The Broncos game should include keeping the running back in on almost every pass play because there is no doubt that Carolina's rushers will be able to get through on almost every play, if they decide to protect Manning with only 5 guys.
The Broncos offensive line has been horrid for most of the season. They have played better since Manning has come back because he gets the ball out quicker and does a great job at making adjustments at the line of scrimmage. Even with all of that said, there was a period in the second half of the AFC Championship Game where the offensive line was getting beat pretty easily, which lead to a lot of drives being stalled.
The best lineman on the team reside on the inside. Vasquez, Paradis and Mathis are the best linemen on the team and occupy the inside of the line. These three will focus almost all of their energy on stopping Lotulelei and Short. Their ability to do so will determine if the offense will actually be able to put up points. At this point in his career, if Manning has a lot of pressure down the middle and in his face, he will not be good. He needs to be able to step into the pocket in order to be accurate. This is probably going to be the most important battle in the Super Bowl. If they don't do their job, the Broncos might put up less than 10 points in the Super Bowl again.
I do think that the offense will be able to find some holes in the running game. The Panthers ranked seventh in the league in yards allowed per rush attempt (3.9), which is very good, but its not like their run defense is unstoppable. The Broncos will also lean on the run a decent amount as long as they don't get behind by a good margin. That strategy worked last week when they stuck with the run even though it was not working and CJ Anderson was able to break a long run late in the game.
I would like to see the Broncos mix it up and use seven players to block for Manning often. Normally that does not work all of the time because it can lead to a lot of coverage sacks with only three receivers on a passing play, but with Finnegan and McClain covering two of the options, they should be able to find plays to get open. They will need all of the blockers that they can use to stop the Panthers front seven on passing downs.
The Broncos hope for scoring in this game resides in the running game. The offense cannot be expected to convert a ton of third and sevens or longer. CJ Anderson and Ronnie Hillman need to run well on first and second downs in order to give the team easy conversion opportunities. Manning will make plays if he is given time by the offensive line, but if they cant block then there is no hope.
They probably need to put up around 24 points in order to win this game. I think they are more than capable of doing that if they execute. One another note, this game might be one of the quickest Super Bowls in recent memory since both teams will lean on their running games and play good defense. If there is an over/under bet on the length I would probably go with the under.
Carolina had the second best defense in the league for most of the season. Their passing defense is on par with Denver's when looking at yards per attempt, but far behind when looking at DVOA. Injuries have hurt their ability to defend against the pass. Josh Norman is undoubtably one of the top corners in the league. However, injuries to Charles Tillman and Bene Benwikere stripped Carolina of their second and third best corners. They are now left with Robert McClain and Cortland Finnegan in the backup and nickel spots. Finnegan was never that good even in his prime and he looks like a shell of his former self now. The biggest threat that he poses to the Broncos is him taking a swing at Demaryius or Emmanuel Sanders. The Broncos receivers will be able to take advantage whenever McClain and Finnegan are lined up across from him. If I were Manning, I wouldn't target whoever Norman is covering. Don't even try him, he will make plays when given the opportunity.
The front seven for Carolina is where the offense will find its biggest challenge. Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis present unique challenges for Manning and the tight ends. They can both cover really well, Kuechly has two pick sixes in each game, and they are both amazing in the run game as well. Luckily for the Broncos, Davis is fresh off of surgery on his broken arm that he suffered during the NFC Championship Game. He says he will play and I have no reason to doubt him, but it is very hard to believe that he won't be limited during the game. His health is important for the Panthers, not because their backups are bad, but because Davis is too good just to have most of his production replaced by a guy off of the bench.
Star Lotulelei and Kawann Short have torn apart most offensive lines they have faced this season. They are both dynamic players who can both be game changers. Charles Johnson is a threat off of the edge as a pass rusher. The Broncos game should include keeping the running back in on almost every pass play because there is no doubt that Carolina's rushers will be able to get through on almost every play, if they decide to protect Manning with only 5 guys.
The Broncos offensive line has been horrid for most of the season. They have played better since Manning has come back because he gets the ball out quicker and does a great job at making adjustments at the line of scrimmage. Even with all of that said, there was a period in the second half of the AFC Championship Game where the offensive line was getting beat pretty easily, which lead to a lot of drives being stalled.
The best lineman on the team reside on the inside. Vasquez, Paradis and Mathis are the best linemen on the team and occupy the inside of the line. These three will focus almost all of their energy on stopping Lotulelei and Short. Their ability to do so will determine if the offense will actually be able to put up points. At this point in his career, if Manning has a lot of pressure down the middle and in his face, he will not be good. He needs to be able to step into the pocket in order to be accurate. This is probably going to be the most important battle in the Super Bowl. If they don't do their job, the Broncos might put up less than 10 points in the Super Bowl again.
I do think that the offense will be able to find some holes in the running game. The Panthers ranked seventh in the league in yards allowed per rush attempt (3.9), which is very good, but its not like their run defense is unstoppable. The Broncos will also lean on the run a decent amount as long as they don't get behind by a good margin. That strategy worked last week when they stuck with the run even though it was not working and CJ Anderson was able to break a long run late in the game.
I would like to see the Broncos mix it up and use seven players to block for Manning often. Normally that does not work all of the time because it can lead to a lot of coverage sacks with only three receivers on a passing play, but with Finnegan and McClain covering two of the options, they should be able to find plays to get open. They will need all of the blockers that they can use to stop the Panthers front seven on passing downs.
The Broncos hope for scoring in this game resides in the running game. The offense cannot be expected to convert a ton of third and sevens or longer. CJ Anderson and Ronnie Hillman need to run well on first and second downs in order to give the team easy conversion opportunities. Manning will make plays if he is given time by the offensive line, but if they cant block then there is no hope.
They probably need to put up around 24 points in order to win this game. I think they are more than capable of doing that if they execute. One another note, this game might be one of the quickest Super Bowls in recent memory since both teams will lean on their running games and play good defense. If there is an over/under bet on the length I would probably go with the under.
Thursday, January 28, 2016
To Stop Cam and the Panthers, the Defense Will Have to Play At an Elite Level
The Broncos defense completely obliterated the Patriots in their AFC Championship victory. They were able to do so by only rushing 3 or 4 players on almost every down and still getting an amazing amount of pressure. This is the key to beating literally any quarterback. If you are able to get pressure without blitzing and allow 7 players to drop back in coverage, any quarterback will have trouble finding open players. However, the main reason that the defense was able to pull this off against the Patriots was because there was absolutely no threat to run from New England. Obviously, things will be different when the Panther's offense is on the other side.
The Panthers offensive line is better than the Patriots offensive line, but if the Broncos defensive line plays as well as they did last game, they should be able to get pressure with four or five guys most of the time. Cam Newton's ability to run means the pass rushers need to be discipline and stay in their lanes. Cam is not easily brought down either. An arm sack will not work against him, sometimes even a gang sack is required to actually bring him down to the ground. Von and Ware cannot get too far upfield against him because when he has that opening he will probably take it. The sack numbers wont be as gaudy as they were in the AFC Championship game, but if they get Cam uncomfortable in the pocket by forcing pressure up front, that is all the defense should need to succeed and hold them below 20 for the game.
The best thing that the Broncos can do on defense would be to force Cam to stay in the pocket with a 4 or 5 person rush and let their excellent secondary to shut down options for Cam. Carolina simply does not have the receivers to counteract Denver's excellent corners. The defense was also able to neutralize Gronk for the most part until both Darian Stewart and TJ Ward went down with injury. If they were able to handle Gronk and not let him have many big plays, I don't doubt that they can do the same with Olsen. Unfortunately even though they do not have a great or even good receiver on this team, Ted Ginn is just too fast to leave one player on him for the duration of the game. One of the safeties will have to watch the deep zone of whichever side he is lined up on.
The Panthers running game adds a threat that the Broncos' defense did not have to worry about against the Patriots. Jonathan Stewart has been playing excellent this season and will provide the run defense's its biggest challenge of the season, outside of Adrian Peterson and Jamaal Charles. Although, Stewart had his best season since 2009, Cam is the one who makes the running game what it is. The defense has to account for him on every play. I am sure the Broncos are counting their blessings that they have one of the smartest outside linebackers in the league and his partner on their other side is probably the best in the business. Von and Ware have to keep their eyes on Cam on every run play and allow the interior lineman and inside linebackers to focus their attention on Stewart.
The Panthers do have a dynamic running game, but I think a lot of people are forgetting how great the Broncos' defense has been this season. Although most of the praise is placed on the pass rush and coverage, this defense also had the number one defense against the rush, when looking at yards per attempt (3.3). Brandon Marshall and Danny Trevanthan are two of the best 3-4 inside linebackers in the league. They do a great job dissecting running plays and meeting the runners in the hole. They will be instrumental pieces defending against Cam and Stewart.
There will be plays for the Broncos defense to make. Sometimes Cam sails balls high when he is under duress and the secondary needs to take advantage of those few opportunities. The offense will probably need all of the extra possessions and good field position that is possible in order to score enough to win this game. They know that Cam is a gunslinger and throws off balance a lot so I am sure that they will focus on practicing on creating those during the week leading up to the Super Bowl.
The key for the defense is to stop the runs on first and second down and force Cam to convert third and longs. If the Panthers are able to get ahead of the sticks and are facing a lot of third and threes, the Broncos will be in trouble. They cannot allow running to be an option on third down or else they will never get off of the field.
The Panthers offensive line is better than the Patriots offensive line, but if the Broncos defensive line plays as well as they did last game, they should be able to get pressure with four or five guys most of the time. Cam Newton's ability to run means the pass rushers need to be discipline and stay in their lanes. Cam is not easily brought down either. An arm sack will not work against him, sometimes even a gang sack is required to actually bring him down to the ground. Von and Ware cannot get too far upfield against him because when he has that opening he will probably take it. The sack numbers wont be as gaudy as they were in the AFC Championship game, but if they get Cam uncomfortable in the pocket by forcing pressure up front, that is all the defense should need to succeed and hold them below 20 for the game.
The best thing that the Broncos can do on defense would be to force Cam to stay in the pocket with a 4 or 5 person rush and let their excellent secondary to shut down options for Cam. Carolina simply does not have the receivers to counteract Denver's excellent corners. The defense was also able to neutralize Gronk for the most part until both Darian Stewart and TJ Ward went down with injury. If they were able to handle Gronk and not let him have many big plays, I don't doubt that they can do the same with Olsen. Unfortunately even though they do not have a great or even good receiver on this team, Ted Ginn is just too fast to leave one player on him for the duration of the game. One of the safeties will have to watch the deep zone of whichever side he is lined up on.
The Panthers running game adds a threat that the Broncos' defense did not have to worry about against the Patriots. Jonathan Stewart has been playing excellent this season and will provide the run defense's its biggest challenge of the season, outside of Adrian Peterson and Jamaal Charles. Although, Stewart had his best season since 2009, Cam is the one who makes the running game what it is. The defense has to account for him on every play. I am sure the Broncos are counting their blessings that they have one of the smartest outside linebackers in the league and his partner on their other side is probably the best in the business. Von and Ware have to keep their eyes on Cam on every run play and allow the interior lineman and inside linebackers to focus their attention on Stewart.
The Panthers do have a dynamic running game, but I think a lot of people are forgetting how great the Broncos' defense has been this season. Although most of the praise is placed on the pass rush and coverage, this defense also had the number one defense against the rush, when looking at yards per attempt (3.3). Brandon Marshall and Danny Trevanthan are two of the best 3-4 inside linebackers in the league. They do a great job dissecting running plays and meeting the runners in the hole. They will be instrumental pieces defending against Cam and Stewart.
There will be plays for the Broncos defense to make. Sometimes Cam sails balls high when he is under duress and the secondary needs to take advantage of those few opportunities. The offense will probably need all of the extra possessions and good field position that is possible in order to score enough to win this game. They know that Cam is a gunslinger and throws off balance a lot so I am sure that they will focus on practicing on creating those during the week leading up to the Super Bowl.
The key for the defense is to stop the runs on first and second down and force Cam to convert third and longs. If the Panthers are able to get ahead of the sticks and are facing a lot of third and threes, the Broncos will be in trouble. They cannot allow running to be an option on third down or else they will never get off of the field.
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Mudiay and Jokic will Participate in the Rising Stars Challenge
Although the Nuggets aren't likely to have any representation in the all star game, their young stars will be represented in the Rising Stars game. Both Mudiay and Jokic have played shown that they can be stars in a couple of years and they will demonstrate their abilities in front of a national audience against other first and second year players.
Mudiay has had his ups and downs this season, but he is on the upswing as of now. He was turning the ball over a lot and shooting at a low percentage, but slowly, he seems to be turning those things around. He is scoring 11 points per game and dishing out 5.7 assists per game. Once he is able to shot consistently he should be one of the best point guards in the league.
Nikola Jokic is probably more impressive. He only gets around 19 minutes per game, but he does the most that he can with limited minutes. His per 36 stats are 17 ppg, 10 rpg. This is on 55% shooting from the field and 35.7% from deep. He can score inside and out, which causes problems for any matchup. He still needs to work on his defense, but once that rounds into form, he will be one of the top big men in the league.
It should be remembered that this game is still an exhibition game and success in this single game only means so much. Many Nuggets fans will remember when Faried dropped 40 in the Rising Stars game a few years ago, but he did not continue that scoring success.
All in all it is a good experience for Mudiay and Jokic. They should be happy that they are being recognized as two of the best young players in the league. Especially Jokic who was the 46th overall pick two years ago and only started playing in the NBA this season.
Mudiay being from the Congo and Jokic being from Serbia means that both players will suit up for the "World" team. This is the second year of this new format for what used to be the Rookie-Sophomore game. I'm not sure when the starting lineup will be set for the game, but it will be interesting to see if either earn the nod.
Mudiay has had his ups and downs this season, but he is on the upswing as of now. He was turning the ball over a lot and shooting at a low percentage, but slowly, he seems to be turning those things around. He is scoring 11 points per game and dishing out 5.7 assists per game. Once he is able to shot consistently he should be one of the best point guards in the league.
Nikola Jokic is probably more impressive. He only gets around 19 minutes per game, but he does the most that he can with limited minutes. His per 36 stats are 17 ppg, 10 rpg. This is on 55% shooting from the field and 35.7% from deep. He can score inside and out, which causes problems for any matchup. He still needs to work on his defense, but once that rounds into form, he will be one of the top big men in the league.
It should be remembered that this game is still an exhibition game and success in this single game only means so much. Many Nuggets fans will remember when Faried dropped 40 in the Rising Stars game a few years ago, but he did not continue that scoring success.
All in all it is a good experience for Mudiay and Jokic. They should be happy that they are being recognized as two of the best young players in the league. Especially Jokic who was the 46th overall pick two years ago and only started playing in the NBA this season.
Mudiay being from the Congo and Jokic being from Serbia means that both players will suit up for the "World" team. This is the second year of this new format for what used to be the Rookie-Sophomore game. I'm not sure when the starting lineup will be set for the game, but it will be interesting to see if either earn the nod.
Malone Should Keep Riding Mudiay
The Nuggets were probably giddy at a chance to draft Emmanuel Mudiay with the seventh pick in the draft when it was predicted that he would go in the top five of the draft. However, they knew that Mudiay still had a ton of work to do on his game in order to become what they drafted him to become. His jumper still needs work, but he has shown enough flashes of having one that the staff can live with the ugly field goal percentage for now. He turns the ball over a lot, but he has shown improvement in that area over the course of the season. All the staff should want to see in Mudiay is improvement. Improvement is the name of the game and I think he has shown enough to earn 32+ minutes per game for the rest of the season.
Ever since Jameer Nelson injured his wrist, Mudiay has seen increased minutes. During that six game span, he has averaged 13.5 points per game on 39.5% shooting and 35% from deep and 6.1 assists per game and 3.3 turnovers per game. All of these numbers are above his season averages and are better than any of his full monthly splits. This recent stretch of games, is probably his best five plus game stretch of the season. He is also more aggressive and by doing so is getting to the line more often and seems to not escape from contact as much as he did earlier in the season. He still needs to be more consistent at the line, some nights he forces you to remember that he is a guard at the line, other times he might as well be Andre Drummond.
Mudiay looks to be coming into his own that last couple of games. He is more controlled when driving to the hoop. He rarely jumps without a purpose, which lead to a lot of his turnovers previously. Him being more aggressive is something the coaches have to like. Some people, including myself, were worried that he would turn into Rondo and just refuse to go to the basket. Fortunately, that does not seem to be the case. He has shown that he has a smooth stroke from the line and from mid range, so I don't think it will take much to make him a serviceable free throw shooter.
He needs to remain in the starting lineup even when Jameer Nelson comes back because getting minutes is the only thing that will help him develop his game. Putting him on the bench only serves to limit his minutes and therefore his learning time. Although Nelson might have more experience and better basketball IQ, Mudiay is still better than him on the defensive end of the floor. This is an underrated aspect by many fans because it doesn't show up in the box scores, but I think when he reaches his prime he will be considered one of the best defensive point guards in the league. His performances can be shaky at this point in his career because he lacks some basketball IQ that comes with experience, but when it comes to straight up man to man defense he is much better than Nelson.
The goal of any team should be to win games and I know Mike Malone would rather not lose games since he has to put that on his resume, but he should know that he wont get fired this offseason. Starting Jameer Nelson might give the team their best chance to win, but Mudiay is the future. With the team only three games out of eight place in the West, Nelson starting might even be enough to push the team over the top into the playoffs, but Malone still shouldn't do it. Mudiay's development is too important to the future of the team to have it wasted on a chance to get embarrassingly swept by the Warriors.
Mudiay will have a tough matchup tonight against the Celtics tonight. First he will have to try to create some offense against Marcus Smart who is one of the better defensive point guards in the leagues. Then they also have Isaiah Thomas coming off of the bench who presents a very tough defensive matchup for Mudiay. He will be tested both offensively and defensively throughout the game.
Ever since Jameer Nelson injured his wrist, Mudiay has seen increased minutes. During that six game span, he has averaged 13.5 points per game on 39.5% shooting and 35% from deep and 6.1 assists per game and 3.3 turnovers per game. All of these numbers are above his season averages and are better than any of his full monthly splits. This recent stretch of games, is probably his best five plus game stretch of the season. He is also more aggressive and by doing so is getting to the line more often and seems to not escape from contact as much as he did earlier in the season. He still needs to be more consistent at the line, some nights he forces you to remember that he is a guard at the line, other times he might as well be Andre Drummond.
Mudiay looks to be coming into his own that last couple of games. He is more controlled when driving to the hoop. He rarely jumps without a purpose, which lead to a lot of his turnovers previously. Him being more aggressive is something the coaches have to like. Some people, including myself, were worried that he would turn into Rondo and just refuse to go to the basket. Fortunately, that does not seem to be the case. He has shown that he has a smooth stroke from the line and from mid range, so I don't think it will take much to make him a serviceable free throw shooter.
He needs to remain in the starting lineup even when Jameer Nelson comes back because getting minutes is the only thing that will help him develop his game. Putting him on the bench only serves to limit his minutes and therefore his learning time. Although Nelson might have more experience and better basketball IQ, Mudiay is still better than him on the defensive end of the floor. This is an underrated aspect by many fans because it doesn't show up in the box scores, but I think when he reaches his prime he will be considered one of the best defensive point guards in the league. His performances can be shaky at this point in his career because he lacks some basketball IQ that comes with experience, but when it comes to straight up man to man defense he is much better than Nelson.
The goal of any team should be to win games and I know Mike Malone would rather not lose games since he has to put that on his resume, but he should know that he wont get fired this offseason. Starting Jameer Nelson might give the team their best chance to win, but Mudiay is the future. With the team only three games out of eight place in the West, Nelson starting might even be enough to push the team over the top into the playoffs, but Malone still shouldn't do it. Mudiay's development is too important to the future of the team to have it wasted on a chance to get embarrassingly swept by the Warriors.
Mudiay will have a tough matchup tonight against the Celtics tonight. First he will have to try to create some offense against Marcus Smart who is one of the better defensive point guards in the leagues. Then they also have Isaiah Thomas coming off of the bench who presents a very tough defensive matchup for Mudiay. He will be tested both offensively and defensively throughout the game.
Monday, January 25, 2016
Hawks @ Nuggets Thoughts
I was at this game and was excited because the Nuggets have been competitive if nothing else, however that was not the case tonight. They trailed by about 12-20 points for most of the game and never really had a run to back into the game. These types of games are the type that the Nuggets need to not have in order to take the next step in their development.
The team struggled to shoot the ball all night and finished 39% from the floor. They still could have been in the game if the defense was able to do anything at all. The Hawks shot 50% from the field; Millsap and Horford could not be stopped. The duo combined for 40 points on 16-27 from the field. Nurkic must still not be at full strength or else he would have seen the court for more than a measly seven minutes. He makes the Nuggets a much better defensive team when he is on the floor and is the only big on the team that has any interior presence.
Nikola Jokic obviously still needs to work on his defense, but he was still the only starter on the Nuggets to have a positive plus/minus. I'm of the belief that Coach Malone should play Jokic much more. He was only on the court for 18 minutes despite being the only starter who wasn't a net negative.
Will The Thrill played a very good game off of the bench like normal, but they need to get better performances off the the bench from just about anyone else. Foye finished with 0 points, though he was injured during the game. Darrell Arthur was awful from the field in this game (1-7). Other than Barton, he seems to be the only player who can put up points off of the bench, but when he has games like this the bench has no chance.
Sean Kilpatrick played well and finished with 11 points. He is the type of scoring option this team desperately needs off of the bench. I think the Nuggets should sign him for the rest of the season after they re-upped his 10 day contract earlier in the week.
This was a down game for the Nuggets. They came out flat, much like they did against the Grizzlies and Pistons, but they were never able to make a comeback. When Nurkic is at full health in the coming weeks, Malone should experiment with some lineups that utilize him and Jokic. These are the big men of the Nuggets future and they need to get as much court time as possible this season while there isn't much at stake.
The Nuggets will take the floor next in Boston on Wednesday.
The team struggled to shoot the ball all night and finished 39% from the floor. They still could have been in the game if the defense was able to do anything at all. The Hawks shot 50% from the field; Millsap and Horford could not be stopped. The duo combined for 40 points on 16-27 from the field. Nurkic must still not be at full strength or else he would have seen the court for more than a measly seven minutes. He makes the Nuggets a much better defensive team when he is on the floor and is the only big on the team that has any interior presence.
Nikola Jokic obviously still needs to work on his defense, but he was still the only starter on the Nuggets to have a positive plus/minus. I'm of the belief that Coach Malone should play Jokic much more. He was only on the court for 18 minutes despite being the only starter who wasn't a net negative.
Will The Thrill played a very good game off of the bench like normal, but they need to get better performances off the the bench from just about anyone else. Foye finished with 0 points, though he was injured during the game. Darrell Arthur was awful from the field in this game (1-7). Other than Barton, he seems to be the only player who can put up points off of the bench, but when he has games like this the bench has no chance.
Sean Kilpatrick played well and finished with 11 points. He is the type of scoring option this team desperately needs off of the bench. I think the Nuggets should sign him for the rest of the season after they re-upped his 10 day contract earlier in the week.
This was a down game for the Nuggets. They came out flat, much like they did against the Grizzlies and Pistons, but they were never able to make a comeback. When Nurkic is at full health in the coming weeks, Malone should experiment with some lineups that utilize him and Jokic. These are the big men of the Nuggets future and they need to get as much court time as possible this season while there isn't much at stake.
The Nuggets will take the floor next in Boston on Wednesday.
Sunday, January 24, 2016
The Broncos Are....SUPER BOWL BOUND!
The Broncos are headed to Super Bowl 50! This will be their second appearance in three seasons, but hopefully this one turns out different than the last one they "participated" in.
Manning played well in the first half, connecting on two touchdown passes to Owen Daniels before getting out of rhythm in the second half. He did what he needed to get the Broncos the win. All he needed to do was keep them ahead and he did his job. The offense was not able to get the running game going all day besides a long run by CJ Anderson on 3rd and 1.
The defense was the star of the game though. They pass rush hit Brady 23(!) times during the game, which was the difference maker. That was the most hits in a game in either the regular season or playoffs in any game this season. Most of those hits came from 3 or 4 people rushing the ball, which allowed the Broncos secondary to focus their attention on Gronk and Edelman.
The Patriots offense did not do much until TJ Ward and Darian Stewart were sidelined with injuries. Before they went out, the Patriots only had two field goals and a touchdown when field position was gifted to them by Ronnie Hillman not picking up a football that was at his feet. The defense shut down Tom Brady and his offense all day in what was their best showing of the year. The offense tried to give the Patriots every chance to tie the game, but the defense came up big every single time. Even when Gronk made an exceptional play to pull them within two, they stopped the two point conversion.
This defense just needs to play one more complete game for the Broncos to become world champions. As long as Manning continues to play the game manager role, they will have a chance.
Im still too amped about the game to give it a proper run down. Time to find Super Bowl tickets.
Manning played well in the first half, connecting on two touchdown passes to Owen Daniels before getting out of rhythm in the second half. He did what he needed to get the Broncos the win. All he needed to do was keep them ahead and he did his job. The offense was not able to get the running game going all day besides a long run by CJ Anderson on 3rd and 1.
The defense was the star of the game though. They pass rush hit Brady 23(!) times during the game, which was the difference maker. That was the most hits in a game in either the regular season or playoffs in any game this season. Most of those hits came from 3 or 4 people rushing the ball, which allowed the Broncos secondary to focus their attention on Gronk and Edelman.
The Patriots offense did not do much until TJ Ward and Darian Stewart were sidelined with injuries. Before they went out, the Patriots only had two field goals and a touchdown when field position was gifted to them by Ronnie Hillman not picking up a football that was at his feet. The defense shut down Tom Brady and his offense all day in what was their best showing of the year. The offense tried to give the Patriots every chance to tie the game, but the defense came up big every single time. Even when Gronk made an exceptional play to pull them within two, they stopped the two point conversion.
This defense just needs to play one more complete game for the Broncos to become world champions. As long as Manning continues to play the game manager role, they will have a chance.
Im still too amped about the game to give it a proper run down. Time to find Super Bowl tickets.
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