So what happened to the Nuggets all of a sudden?

[ArbitraryWater]

They were solid in the bubble, and even without Harris and Barton, most had them as clear favorites over Utah.

Now they‘re staring down a 1-3 hole, 2 of which were blowouts, and are almost entirely written off.

Mitchell has taken his game to the next level, Conley is good again, but that‘s not all there is to it.

[Tobio-Star]

They were solid in the bubble, and even without Harris and Barton, most had them as clear favorites over Utah.

Now they‘re staring down a 1-3 hole, 2 of which were blowouts, and are almost entirely written off.

Mitchell has taken his game to the next level, Conley is good again, but that‘s not all there is to it.

Definitely weird. I had them sweeping the Jazz :oldlol:

[Xiao Yao You]

They were solid in the bubble, and even without Harris and Barton, most had them as clear favorites over Utah.

Now they‘re staring down a 1-3 hole, 2 of which were blowouts, and are almost entirely written off.

Mitchell has taken his game to the next level, Conley is good again, but that‘s not all there is to it.

Denver had the worse defense in the bubble. It was bad when the season stopped in March. The Jazz had the best offense in the league since they made changes to their bench. Their defense is probably better without Bojan. Conley has always been good. There's no surprise here to anyone that was paying attention

[Stephonit]

Did anyone seriously believe that the Nuggets were the third best team in the West?

[ArbitraryWater]

Did anyone seriously believe that the Nuggets were the third best team in the West?

The question is did anyone believe the Jazz would smoke them.

No, no one did.

[Gohan]

Donovan Mitchell is a dog though. I kind of like him

[Doranku]

Mitchell "taking his game to the next level" is underselling what he's doing a bit. 40/5/6 on 73% TS through 4 games. Mitchell is having one of the greatest playoff series of all-time - definitely a big factor in what's going on.

But yeah, like others have said, the main thing is that Denver's defense is just flat out atrocious.

[jayfan]

* They're not the same team without Barton. Only Jokic is more important to their success.

* In the absence of two regular players, the Nuggets have no bench.

* The seeding games were like preseason games for teams already locked into the playoffs. Can't take anything from them.

[NBAGOAT]

Porter looked like his offense would make up for Barton’s loss. Instead he’s unplayable because of how putrid his defense is.

Means den really has no good depth after Murray/Morris/grant/millsap/ jokic and 2 guys are playing out of position which hurts your defense too.

[Xiao Yao You]

The question is did anyone believe the Jazz would smoke them.

No, no one did.

It's not surprising. Both have great offenses. One plays at least some D. Their best players match up well

[RRR3]

Porter looked like his offense would make up for Barton’s loss. Instead he’s unplayable because of how putrid his defense is.

Means den really has no good depth after Murray/Morris/grant/millsap/ jokic and 2 guys are playing out of position which hurts your defense too.
Is Barton that good defensively or is Porter just that bad?

[Xiao Yao You]

Is Barton that good defensively or is Porter just that bad?

I would think they'd miss Harris more defensively. Their defensive problems start in the middle I'd say or with their coach not being able to do anything about it

[ralph_i_el]

Missing their two starting wings, 2 of their 3 wings who can play any D. Then they get stomped by an elite wing. Jokic got outhustled for stretches, but that's to be expected. Murray is a scoring machine, but nobody besides Torry Craig and Milsap are good defenders.

Barton and Harris are good 3/D wings.

[Xiao Yao You]

Their D wasn't good in March with Harris and Barton though. Maybe they miss Beasley?

[StrongLurk]

Bro Conley has played WAY better as well. He was terrible during the regular season but has been amazing vs the Nugs.

[Xiao Yao You]

Bro Conley has played WAY better as well. He was terrible during the regular season but has been amazing vs the Nugs.

He wasn't terrible. Best 5th option in the game

[jayfan]

Is Barton that good defensively or is Porter just that bad?

He was near the top of the league in steals, blocks and rebounds at his position this year.

This is a good read for anyone not hip to Will Barton's impact:

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/our-nba-player-ratings-love-will-barton-heres-why/


.

[Xiao Yao You]

He was near the top of the league in steals, blocks and rebounds at his position this year.

This is a good read for anyone not hip to Will Barton's impact:

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/our-nba-player-ratings-love-will-barton-heres-why/


.

none of those stats mean you are good defensively. Steals might mean he's gambling a lot

[r0drig0lac]

Mitchell "taking his game to the next level" is underselling what he's doing a bit. 40/5/6 on 73% TS through 4 games. Mitchell is having one of the greatest playoff series of all-time - definitely a big factor in what's going on.

But yeah, like others have said, the main thing is that Denver's defense is just flat out atrocious.

agree

[RRR3]

He wasn't terrible. Best 5th option in the game
You guys didn’t sign him to be the 5th option :lol

[jayfan]

none of those stats mean you are good defensively. Steals might mean he's gambling a lot

Say what?


Ok, so steals and blocks are kept defensive statistics because they represent positive defensive plays. They are positive defensive because they prevent the opposition from converting an offensive possession into a score. And this, of course, is the objective of playing defense....


....Hold on, is this a joke? Am I on candid camera?


:wtf:

[Xiao Yao You]

You guys didn’t sign him to be the 5th option :lol

doesn't make him terrible. Best offense in the league

[Xiao Yao You]

Say what?


Ok, so steals and blocks are kept defensive statistics because they represent positive defensive plays. They are positive defensive because they prevent the opposition from converting an offensive possession into a score. And this, of course, is the objective of playing defense....


....Hold on, is this a joke? Am I on candid camera?


:wtf:

Ricky Rubio got steals. Too bad most of the time he didn't and his guy was unguarded. Gobert doesn't lead the league in blocks because nobody wants to go near him

[Proctor]

For the Jazz, Mitchell is finally playing like their best player again and Conley has returned to form as their second best player. They're still missing their third (Bojan) but they're definitely dangerous.

[ArbitraryWater]

Say what?


Ok, so steals and blocks are kept defensive statistics because they represent positive defensive plays. They are positive defensive because they prevent the opposition from converting an offensive possession into a score. And this, of course, is the objective of playing defense....


....Hold on, is this a joke? Am I on candid camera?


:wtf:

Steals are a very small part of defense and that skill is not represented / can be used when playing defense or what constitutes defense 99% of the time.

Blks and reb numbers are fairly miniscule overall.

[ralph_i_el]

For the Jazz, Mitchell is finally playing like their best player again and Conley has returned to form as their second best player. They're still missing their third (Bojan) but they're definitely dangerous.

This is probably the best ball Conley has played all year, which is not a very high bar tbh. Maybe he was hurt before quarantine?

[ArbitraryWater]

For the Jazz, Mitchell is finally playing like their best player again and Conley has returned to form as their second best player. They're still missing their third (Bojan) but they're definitely dangerous.

:lol

[Xiao Yao You]

For the Jazz, Mitchell is finally playing like their best player again and Conley has returned to form as their second best player. They're still missing their third (Bojan) but they're definitely dangerous.

:roll:

[Xiao Yao You]

I'd dare say they are better without Bojan as I predicted. Better defense

[jayfan]

Steals are a very small part of defense and that skill is not represented / can be used when playing defense or what constitutes defense 99% of the time.

Blks and reb numbers are fairly miniscule overall.


If you're near the top of the league in all three categories, you're contributing more to your team defensively than just about anyone else.




It's like the twilight zone in this thread.

[Proctor]

:lol
:roll:

[Xiao Yao You]

If you're near the top of the league in all three categories, you're contributing more to your team defensively than just about anyone else.




It's like the twilight zone in this thread.

Rubio got rebounds too. Would have preferred he stayed in front of his man though

[Sportal]

Conley has played great, Mitchell has been killing it.