What do you think Denver should do from here?

I think they should avoid any big moves and keep the core five together. Focus on putting together a better bench for cheap. They have oodles of chemistry in their starting five and chemistry is underrated compared to talent/personnel. That whole a "champion team" beats a "team of champions."

Remain consistent and show up every year like San Antonio during Tim Duncan's career. Things are bound to go their way one or more times if they do that.

I suppose the question is how much time does the starting five have left before they may need to retool? They [i]should[/i] be good for 3-5 years, but even that is a huge shot in the dark. Five years yet alone three is a long time in the NBA.

The last thing they should do is a Milwaukee and **** with the winning formula. Denver won 57 games and had a tied record with the 1st seed in the Western Conference. This was despite injuries and a weak bench.

There are no teams that I don't think they [i]can't[/i] beat in a best-of-seven series. Minnesota is their worst matchup and they had them down 20 at home in an elimination game. They just didn't execute. It happens.

[QUOTE=Im Still Ballin;14912935][B]The last thing they should do is a Milwaukee and **** with the winning formula[/B]. Denver won 57 games and had a tied record with the 1st seed in the Western Conference. This was despite injuries and a weak bench.

There are no teams that I don't think they can beat in a best-of-seven series. Minnesota is their worst matchup and they had them down 20 at home in an elimination game. They just didn't execute. It happens.[/QUOTE]
I was literally just going to post this :lol I feel like Milwaukee overreacted big time to what was ultimately an extremely fluky loss to an "8 seed" when Giannis missed most of the series and Butler morphed into Jordan those last 2 games. Denver would be foolish to do anything drastic after this loss, their glaring weakness is absolutely no depth, so as long as they're able to shore that up, they'll be in contention for the foreseeable future.

They need more scoring off the bench and a decent backup for Jokic. Easier said than done though they are well into the luxury tax.

[QUOTE=SouBeachTalents;14912936] I feel like Milwaukee overreacted big time [/QUOTE]

Did they overreact or did Giannis force their hand? 10 days after they make the trade, Giannis locks in an extension that aligned with the years Lillard has left on his deal.

Pack it up, it's going to be a few decades before they get another. Trade murray while he has value... send him to OKC for some young dudes and/or picks.

Don't think they need to do much. They need to add a depth bench scorer or two, but realistically they were up 20 in the 3rd quarter, 19/20 times you could run that scenario over and they win. That just happened to be one of the freak times they lost which is part what makes of pro sports fun.

They don't have the drama of a Jokic wanting to leave to a bigger market, Joker isn't about that nonsense, Denver being a smaller market if anything is probably a plus in Jokic's mind, so they don't need to do all the cartwheels the Bucks did for Giannis.

[QUOTE=rawimpact;14912944]Pack it up, it's going to be a few decades before they get another. Trade murray while he has value... send him to OKC for some young dudes and/or picks.[/QUOTE]


:roll:

A 22-year-old, 6 years before his prime, did this to you jokic fans......rememba dat

[IMG]https://i.postimg.cc/kGkXWz2w/IMG-2317.gif[/IMG]

Why do they need to do anything? A really good team just played an incredible second half and they lost. It happens.

If they play this series again Denver would probably still be the favorite.

a defensive center. they'd be dumb to blow this team up. it's not the role player's fault their leader (jokic) didn't lead.

[QUOTE=highwhey;14912992]a defensive center. they'd be dumb to blow this team up. it's not the role player's fault their leader (jokic) didn't lead.[/QUOTE]

The team only has any business contending because they have that leader (Jokic), otherwise they'd be a lottery team, lol. Maybe the rest of their team could try scoring more than like 28 points combined in an elimination game.

[QUOTE=Soundwave;14912995]The team only has any business contending because they have that leader (Jokic), otherwise they'd be a lottery team, lol. Maybe the rest of their team could try scoring more than like 28 points combined in an elimination game.[/QUOTE]

the same can be said if braun/kcp/ag didn't play good defense, or if murray was replaced by a nobody. no murray=1st round exit.

[QUOTE=ShawkFactory;14912986]Why do they need to do anything? A really good team just played an incredible second half and they lost. It happens.

If they play this series again Denver would probably still be the favorite.[/QUOTE]


Yup. It’s not like the Nuggets are an aging team. Hell the Wolves looked terrible without Conley and he might retire after this year.

But they do need a playable backup center IMO. Ideally a sixth man that can play stretch 4 when Gordon sits and center when Jokic sits. Similar to Jeff Green last year altho ideally someone bigger and obviously younger. The second tallest guy in their rotation currently is their starting shooting guard. Theyve gotta get more size on the bench.

I would look to add Lebron.

[QUOTE=highwhey;14912996]the same can be said if braun/kcp/ag didn't play good defense, or if murray was replaced by a nobody. no murray=1st round exit.[/QUOTE]

You can pick the best 1-2 in the history of the NBA (pick which ever one you want, Shaq-Kobe, Kareem-Magic, Jordan-Pippen, whatever), if the rest of your team past those two players is only giving you 28 points in an elimination game ... you have a pretty fair chance of losing, let me just put it that way.

Maybe in the lower scoring late 90s/early 2000s that could work when 28 points would be more like 32-35 points today.

[QUOTE=Soundwave;14912998]You can pick the best 1-2 in the history of the NBA (pick which ever one you want, Shaq-Kobe, Kareem-Magic, Jordan-Pippen, whatever), if the rest of your team past those two players is only giving you 28 points ... you have a pretty fair chance of losing, let me just put it that way in an elimination game.[/QUOTE]

so what you're saying is this is a team sport and as such, no individual performances should be isolated to credit or discredit any particular individual and rather, everyone shares blame and or credit for the net result?

There’s a precedent. A team with KCP as a key role player underperforms after winning a championship. The obvious thing to do is put together a package, including KCP and MPJ and whatever else it takes to trade for Westbrook.

[QUOTE=FultzNationRISE;14912997]Yup. It’s not like the Nuggets are an aging team. Hell the Wolves looked terrible without Conley and he might retire after this year.

But they do need a playable backup center IMO. Ideally a sixth man that can play stretch 4 when Gordon sits and center when Jokic sits. Similar to Jeff Green last year altho ideally someone bigger and obviously younger. The second tallest guy in their rotation currently is their starting shooting guard. Theyve gotta get more size on the bench.

I would look to add Lebron.[/QUOTE]

I’ve said this before. Draft Bronny and make clear behind the scenes that he will spend eternity in the D league unless Bron agrees to sign as a free agent, on the understanding that Bron comes off the bench to lead the bench + Joker minutes, and then the bench + Murray minutes. If he does that, he gets to play with his kid in the NBA.

[QUOTE=Duffy Pratt;14913024]I’ve said this before. Draft Bronny and make clear behind the scenes that he will spend eternity in the D league unless Bron agrees to sign as a free agent, on the understanding that Bron comes off the bench to lead the bench + Joker minutes, and then the bench + Murray minutes. If he does that, he gets to play with his kid in the NBA.[/QUOTE]

They're drafting too late to be able to pick up Bronny. He's going #1 to the Hawks.

[QUOTE=Mask the Embiid;14912961]:roll:

A 22-year-old, 6 years before his prime, did this to you jokic fans......rememba dat

[IMG]https://i.postimg.cc/kGkXWz2w/IMG-2317.gif[/IMG][/QUOTE]

Look, we can all sense how butthurt you are about Jokic winning all these awards and a championship before Embiid...

but no need to steep to this level. It's alright... you'll cope. Father time heals all.

I would overreact and trade MPJ but that's mostly because he just doesn't give you anything but 3 point shooting, which admittedly he can do at an elite level when dialed in.

And yet, they were in a game 7 for the western conference finals, so it's not as if they really suck.

I agree they definitely need a backup center and a big forward, basically the same as Mavs needed, Gafford and PJ Washington.

They also clearly need a true point guard, someone who can playmake without Jokic on the floor. Reggie Jackson is cooked and probably soon out of the league.

I don't know what they can do with their cap space, but it has to be possible to get a competent backup center, why do teams struggle so much to just hire someone? Who got the idea to get Deandre Jordan? It's such a weird hire, like they're trying fill a quota or something.

They need a bench scorer. Just one solid 6th man that can give you 12+ a night.

[QUOTE=90sgoat;14913098]I would overreact and trade MPJ but that's mostly because he just doesn't give you anything but 3 point shooting, which admittedly he can do at an elite level when dialed in.

And yet, they were in a game 7 for the western conference finals, so it's not as if they really suck.

I agree they definitely need a backup center and a big forward, basically the same as Mavs needed, Gafford and PJ Washington.

They also clearly need a true point guard, someone who can playmake without Jokic on the floor. Reggie Jackson is cooked and probably soon out of the league.

I don't know what they can do with their cap space, but it has to be possible to get a competent backup center, why do teams struggle so much to just hire someone? Who got the idea to get Deandre Jordan? It's such a weird hire, like they're trying fill a quota or something.[/QUOTE]

I think the thinking is who cares who the backup Center is when you will never play 2 Centers at once and Jokic will play at least 38 minutes in the playoffs (that's literally his career MPG).

Doesn't make sense to invest heavily for 10 minutes.

Maybe they could trade MPJ if they package him up Braun or Watson.

Abandon all hope. Flee the city and seek asylum in the South Pacific.

[QUOTE=beasted;14913104]I think the thinking is who cares who the backup Center is when you will never play 2 Centers at once and Jokic will play at least 38 minutes in the playoffs (that's literally his career MPG).

Doesn't make sense to invest heavily for 10 minutes.[/QUOTE]

Well, it was a pretty big mistake considering they knew they might face Minny, but ok they couldn't have foreseen the reffing changes midseason.

[QUOTE=90sgoat;14913105]Maybe they could trade MPJ if they package him up Braun or Watson.[/QUOTE]

MPJ was the 3rd leading scorer at 16 PPG on good efficiency.

I doubt you're going to trade him for that easily. Better than him starts to creep into "star" territory.

[QUOTE=beasted;14913112]MPJ was the 3rd leading scorer at 16 PPG on good efficiency.

I doubt you're going to trade him for that easily. Better than him starts to creep into "star" territory.[/QUOTE]

He just looked really bad in that Minny series.

It showed some serious weaknesses in his game that seem exploitable going forward.

In any case, they can keep him if it doesn't stop them from getting some good backup players.

Trade Porter Jr... might be able to get something for him

lik Milwaukee develope a bench that is young

They missed Bruce Brown like I knew they would. Christian Braun is going to be a nice role player, but he wasn't quite ready this year. They should try to get Brown back. Bogdan Bogdanovic would be perfect too.

[QUOTE=highwhey;14913001]so what you're saying is this is a team sport and as such, no individual performances should be isolated to credit or discredit any particular individual and rather, everyone shares blame and or credit for the net result?[/QUOTE]

You forgot the part where you then analyze performance and see just how much credit/blame each player holds.

[QUOTE=beasted;14913112]MPJ was the 3rd leading scorer at 16 PPG on good efficiency.

I doubt you're going to trade him for that easily. Better than him starts to creep into "star" territory.[/QUOTE]



Against the Wolves he averaged 10.7 ppg with a TS of 49.5%.

Sign Cousins

[QUOTE=pegasus;14913330]They missed Bruce Brown like I knew they would. Christian Braun is going to be a nice role player, but he wasn't quite ready this year. They should try to get Brown back. Bogdan Bogdanovic would be perfect too.[/QUOTE]

Not sure about Bogdan, he doesn't fit with Jokic on the serb team. Whenever I see Serbia it is Bogdan running the offense and trying to be the man.

Bogdan is a good player and defender, but I think he'd fit better with someone like Luka.

Plainly, the Timberwolves out-Nugget the Nuggets.

The Nuggets won the 2023 championship due to Joker’s all-around brilliance & Murray’s clutch shooting and their ability to overwhelm teams with their size. But the Timberwolves was their mirror image because both teams were built by the same guy, Tim Connelly, with the same basketball philosophy that values size and physicality.

So the Timberwolves used their size to dominate the paint and wear down both Jokic and Murray.

We will see how far Edwards and the Wolves advance not just this year, but for the next few years. Either this will be a flukey Conference Finals like the Atlanta Hawks and the Trailblazers or a sustained run of excellence. At least the aforementioned teams were led by a small guard (Trey Young and Damon Lillard) who were adverse to defense. Whereas the Wolves are a defensive powerhouse stacked with excellent bigs and a tremendously talented midsize player. So that distinction should hit at how sustainable their success will be.

FWIW... The Nuggets may never make it back to the Finals. Why? Ant is on the rise. OKC Thunder is on the verge. The Mavericks & the Wolves are here to stay. And Wemby is already ahead of schedule. We saw a glimpse of the future Wemby when he led the Spurs to a comeback victory over the Nuggets in their season finale. That dropped the Nuggets to second seed. The Western Conference is already a bloodbath and will only get tougher.

:lebronamazed:

Yea trading mpj is the move though it might not be this offseason

[QUOTE=PeroAntic;14913342]Sign Cousins[/QUOTE]

He was actually a stud off the bench for them and the morons didn’t keep him:oldlol: