JohnSteamboat

730 | 17 hours ago

People knew Jamal Murray could score, but during this stretch I think a lot of fans are finding out just how good of a playmaker he is. His patience and passing are incredible.

sportsworker777 | Suns

345 | 17 hours ago

Peyton Watson has stepped up huge as well

sleepydogg | Nuggets

131 | 15 hours ago

He’s stepped up several levels, it’s crazy to see.

[deleted]

13 | 14 hours ago

[deleted]

OkAutopilot | NBA

67 | 13 hours ago

“He’s always had it in him” makes little to no sense and the way you’re framing how Watson was handled in the Malone era is complete fiction.

Peyton Watson came into the league after playing one season in college, averaging 13 minutes a game with averages of 3/3/1 on 32% shooting. He was seen league-wide as an interesting high upside defensive prospect who might have offensive juice (or might not) but extremely raw and having a fairly low floor.

That is not the type of player that it would have made sense for the 2023 Nuggets to be giving a bunch of minutes to, he wasn’t even remotely ready for those minutes anyway. He played a little tiny bit and the Nuggets won the championship.

Then the next year it was not a “Malone wants to surround the core with vets” and “didn’t develop young players properly” at all (say hello to Malone’s use and trust of rookie Christian Braun in 2023, by the way). Instead this extremely raw player who still couldn’t shoot or playmake at all found himself getting 19 minutes a game, playing 80 games that season, and drawing praise from Malone. Then what happens in year three? 25 minutes a game, even starts 18 games, and is looking better across the board as a player – I believe we can call that development.

Malone trusted some players and didn’t trust others, just like every coach. The idea that he “didn’t trust any of the young players” isn’t the case at all, but when you’re competing for a championship and you have veteran players on the roster as well it’s tough to always find a bunch of minutes for everyone. Nonetheless, he sure did with Watson.

Now how does Adelman differ from Malone in that respect? Well, up until players got hurt if we just go by the minutes and giving guys opportunities and “trusting them”, then you’d have to say that he trusted Peyton Watson even less. Watson was getting less minutes to start the year this year than he had gotten last year, averaging around 20 a game until AG and Braun went out.

Same thing with Zeke and Pickett. Both getting absolutely 0 minutes per game until 4-6 guys were out. No different than in prior years.

It would be nice if people could just praise Adelman and understand that lots of NBA players can do pretty well, or go on a hot stretch, if given starting minutes and a starting level role. Instead there’s just a lot of energy spent saying, “Oh this person was bad, but actually now that this bad person is gone, everyone is good!”, and mythologizing the entire situation.

Also, did Booth do the right thing? He didn’t just draft good players who would be ready to play on a championship level team right away. In fact almost all of his draft picks outside of Braun were 1-2 years away from being able to be usable for a team in win now mode and some are not able to play at that level anyway. He also made some lousy FA signings that caused some issues for the Nuggets and had to pay to get off of them.

Again, the rewriting of history to malign Michael Malone and make the difference in last year and this year into this on/off switch type of thing is ridiculous. Especially in regards to someone like Watson who notably did not have this in him day 1 and has worked tirelessly to get better each and every year and off season to get better at things. That’s what matters here.

zoeybeattheraccoon | Nuggets

10 | 11 hours ago

Most of that is bullshit. Malone played young guys. Watson played 24 minutes last year, FFS. Did you watch his multiple errant attempts to go to the rim last year? The missed dunks? Watson has been a work in progress and deserves credit for the work he put in this summer, but all of this is a new stage in his development.

HelloMcFly | Supersonics

1 | 5 hours ago

Finally. Been disappointed with Watson’s arc the past two seasons, awesome to see him breaking through this year.

MarsMC_ | Nuggets

7 | 4 hours ago

Should be MIP front runner

Bobbith_The_Chosen | POR

3 | an hour ago

He’s the only one with a genuine case against Avidja for sure

Aromatic_Goal_1201

79 | 17 hours ago

Hes totally locking in running offense its been a lot better

Frosty_Dimension5646 | Nuggets

19 | 7 hours ago

Beating the Jokic merchant allegations with flying colors

Shenanigans80h | Nuggets

70 | 16 hours ago

I feel like everyone forgets he had a triple double in the 2023 playoffs on our way to the Championship. Jamal’s passing and playmaking ability has always been there, he’s just next to one of the greatest of all time in that regard so he doesn’t get to show it off as much.

jlluh

3 | 2 hours ago

Imo, he’s also best offensively in the picknroll with a big, and for much of his career he hasn’t had that when Jokic was off the floor since the Nuggets were playing small.

analyzingnothing | Nuggets

25 | 17 hours ago

He can be inconsistent, make some dumb decisions from time to time and hold the ball for a little too long… but when Jamal wants to pass, god damn can he pass.

darti_me | Mavericks

11 | 11 hours ago

Championship Jokic-Murray were going bar for bar with Shaq-Kobe

mikeest2

12 | 13 hours ago

Finding out Jokic just gets system assists

CauliflowerNo3904

8 | 11 hours ago

He’s also at 44% from 3 and the shot just looks good this season

Knucklehead92 | Raptors

4 | 16 hours ago

And, they can rest him whenever they want, as he aint a star player!

Fire_Demon-215

676 | 17 hours ago

Honestly the top teams should be praying they stay afloat because who the hell wants to be rewarded with a fully healthy Denver team as a 7th seed

E_boiii | Thunder

248 | 17 hours ago

Yeah keep Denver and the spurs far away from okc.

I’ll take the lakers lmao

spock10194 | Thunder

147 | 17 hours ago

Lakers are my dream round one matchup

runevault | Nuggets

97 | 17 hours ago

Lakers are this year’s Houston. Team everyone wants.

amonkeysbanana | Nuggets

145 | 17 hours ago

Lol Houston might be this years Houston

Paralystic | Timberwolves

36 | 17 hours ago

Houston are a gritty team and whoever comes out is gonna be way more tired than a team facing the lakers.

runevault | Nuggets

31 | 17 hours ago

I’m really not sure where Houston fits in the picture, they might both be last year’s Houston. If they somehow get a point guard without selling the farm they get much more interesting. Lakers have no such simple path to not being hot ass.

Chickenmcnugs34

17 | 16 hours ago

Except Houston physically beat the shit out of GSW who lost Curry. It’s like a fight you might win but are going to be hurting afterwards. Houston wouldn’t be my first choice.

manquistador | Supersonics

9 | 15 hours ago

Even if they don’t they are going to beat the hell out of whomever they play. Constant ball pressure and physicality to overcome their lack of a half court offense.

lethalizered | Thunder

15 | 17 hours ago

Nah, any Houstons series would be a dog fight. They’re a pyshical ass team.

Lakers are finesse, you can survive that series without being beaten to death on the boards lol

1nTheNick0fTime | Lakers

7 | 15 hours ago

And it’s fucking stupid lol Lakers have been missing at least 1 of their top 3 for most of the season

RepresentativeAd1965 | Nuggets

6 | 16 hours ago

Them and the Suns are on everyone’s wishlist

Ready-Constant-7124

28 | 17 hours ago

I think they’re the dream matchup for every playoff team. For the last 6 weeks now they just squeak past bad teams in the clutch and get blown out by good ones. It’s hard to take a team seriously when they’re basically incapable of playing a full good game.

The “but they have Luka and LeBron!” counterargument falls flat when we saw what happened against the Wolves in April, and I don’t think DominAyton takes them from that level all the way into contention.

TinnitusStory

7 | 17 hours ago

Lakers or the Warriors. They’re basically the same team as far as I’m concerned.

manquistador | Supersonics

11 | 15 hours ago

I wouldn’t bet on the Warriors making it out of the play in.

1nTheNick0fTime | Lakers

1 | 15 hours ago

Which is why it’s obvious you don’t fucking watch games lol like most of this thread apparently

topazswissmas | Toronto Huskies

5 | 17 hours ago

Idk man, a team with Bron and Luka, anything can happen.

Ready-Constant-7124

22 | 17 hours ago

Nobody is that scared about playing 2026 LeBron James. He’s the best 40+ year old ever by far of course, but he’s also 2-12 in his last 14 playoff games.

“Playoff LeBron” died when Solomon Hill dove into his knee (even in 2023 he was hampered by his foot and AD was the best player vs. the Grizzlies and Warriors).

Of course he can still contribute to a winning team, but he can no longer carry a deeply flawed roster to anything meaningful.

luffy565

6 | 8 hours ago

Why do people love to cherry pick and pull random ass stats about LeBron so much, no one has ever counted playoff games like that but your hating ass has to push its garbage agenda, LeBron played pretty good in both Denver series AD too, they just did not have anything else.

By your dumb logic KD is 2-8 in his last 10 playoff games, Luka is 2-8 as well, what a dumb way to amplify a basketball series.

CryptoNite90 | Lakers

2 | 15 hours ago

Lebron shouldn’t have to carry a deeply flawed roster with Luka and AR on the team.

Our only saving grace is if Rob can somehow turn Gabe, Maxi, Dalton, Vando into 2 nba caliber bench players. Even then I think people are underestimating us given Luka, AR, Lebron has barely logged more than a couple of games together and LeBron is finally starting to get his legs.

Western-Doughnut9130

3 | 4 hours ago

lebrons contract is the main reason the roster is deeply flawed. you cant have 2 players making 100 million dollars and one of them not be a superstar. no offense to lebron. but the lakers were never competiting this year with lebron on that contract. theres no room to build a team.

Responsible_Focus424 | Lakers

5 | 15 hours ago

Monkey Paw gonna curl like a motherfucker.

OilOfOlaz | Celtics

3 | 7 hours ago

“Nah. I’m fine in the West.” - type shit.

easy_cheese_123

1 | 15 hours ago

I can tell you that the nuggets want that smoke

here_for_the_lols | Thunder

12 | 17 hours ago

Ain’t that the truth lol

couchtomato62 | Warriors

7 | 17 hours ago

Yep. I thought that was gonna happen. Glad they are holding on.

FrankerZ_123 | Nuggets

470 | 17 hours ago

Adelman COTY I can’t believe this is my life

Recallingg | Nuggets

153 | 17 hours ago

I left a giga-glazing comment further down already so I’ll just keep it short and say yeah he’s fucking cracked and deserves it.

Portmanteau_that | Hornets

4 | 7 hours ago

Giga-glazing is sending me

peepoWest | Thunder

3 | 10 hours ago

how good is it to have a coach that actually develops talent

sassmasterflash | Nuggets

3 | 6 hours ago

It’s massive. I mean you know what it’s like with Daigneault but Adelman has done such a good job building these two-way players into winning starters, it’s nuts

itssensei | Cavaliers

37 | 16 hours ago

I just want to say I’ve always said Mike Malone is overrated carried by a generational player in Jokic.

JevvyMedia | Raptors

25 | 16 hours ago

I wanted Malone gone for a LONG time but I was willing to settle for Booth going instead. Can’t believe I got both at the same time.

ruckyruciano | Knicks

3 | 16 hours ago

Are you both a Raptors fan and a Nuggets fan?

thisissami | BRK

7 | 16 hours ago

They’re a Knicks fan.

DrOz30

4 | 15 hours ago

Some of us were have been saying that for a long time ….. some of us said the team had talent and wasn’t being maximized, we saw glimpses …. Malone is a good coach but also has major negatives… horrendous at making in game adjustments, plays favorites, can’t develop young talent, would absolutely bury rookies for the smallest mistakes while allowing vets to get away with murder which is one of the reasons he lost the locker room. Still love him as nuggets fan but yea the flaws were clear

Barrelled_Chef_Curry | Warriors

1 | 4 hours ago

Sounds like Kerr in some ways

Dry-Invite-5837

3 | 17 hours ago

Not if he puts a lineup of Pickett, Bruce, Hardaway, Hunter Tyson and Zeke Nnaji out again in the 4th quarter.

GetWellDuckDotCom | Celtics

3 | 6 hours ago

Illegal screen

lexington59

2 | 16 hours ago

Its either him, OTT, or bickerstaff.

If sun’s finish a 6th seed or higher I think it should go OTT, but it probably girs to bickerstaff

Anal_Iverson | Raptors

4 | 8 hours ago

Mazulla deserves a mention

NotFlipkid

2 | 15 hours ago

Yep being the guy and can figure out the Jokic less minutes is worthy. The only coach is Mazzulla I can see as his competition right now.

Rahnamatta | Heat

2 | 6 hours ago

I know Malone is the Champion, but I feel like Adelman is trying to create a system for the whole team. With Malone I felt like when he sat Jokic, he had no plan B, no system, nothing… it was pure Jokic talent.

raki016 | Timberwolves

1 | 14 hours ago

That’s our (former assistant) coach!

WWTFSD

1 | 4 hours ago

He’s been incredible under these circumstances, but my nod still goes to Ott right now.

The dark lord Mazzula also deserves an HM, but honestly lots of great coaching standouts this year.

Parallel-Quality

312 | 17 hours ago

They are a very strong team. Emphasis on team.

When Jokic comes back, they are as scary as anyone in the league, OKC and Spurs included.

nguyenjitsu | DEN

91 | 17 hours ago

This is kinda why I don’t really understand why people thought OKC was so ahead of the Nuggets when it was early in the season. We had some struggles in the clutch but literally had the best start to a season in franchise history while Cam Johnson was figuring out his role and THJ, Jonas and Bruce all made our bench into a neutral rather than a negative playing one of the hardest schedules in the league. Now Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones have also emerged as legitimate rotation guys?

This is the group that with a hobbled MPJ and hobbled Westbrook were putting dents into OKC. OKC were making jumps, sure, but they still don’t have a 5 man lineup, imo, that matches the Nuggets and now we have a bench.

Strange1130 | Thunder

93 | 17 hours ago

This is kinda why I don’t really understand why people thought OKC was so ahead of the Nuggets when it was early in the season

Probably because the MVP narrative all last year for Jokic was that OKC is a super team with 14 amazing players behind Shai and Jokic is leading a team of milkmen. Even though that narrative is obviously stupid, yall have a great squad and an amazing young coach (I love when young new coaches come in and do well) and our roster has a lot of weaknesses. But people just go with the narrative.

Effective_Moose_4997 | Nuggets

103 | 17 hours ago

To be fair, the current team is nothing like last years team. We didn’t have a backup center besides DJ. We didn’t have Hardaway or Bruce. We had MPJ, but he was not great defensively. Watson, Zeke, Pickett are playing better than they ever have been before. I mean almost every offensive move from Watson this season seems like its new.

And we have a different coach. If we still had Malone, I’m not so sure we would be doing as well this season.

spiralism | Nuggets

13 | 13 hours ago

Coaching is the biggest variable. If we had Malone, we’d be 1-7 without Jokic and this team would be around .500 at best cos we wouldn’t have had the depth to begin with.

We’d also have gone out in the first round last year instead of pushing the champs to 7.

Felyndiira | Nuggets

21 | 17 hours ago

Malone probably contributed a lot to that narrative last year. Even though most of us celebrated our new FO and getting Bruce/JV/THJ, most of us didn’t expect the Booth boys to perform this well since the crappy locker room last year killed their vibes and made them look much worse when they played.

There’s a lot of things that changed this year. Better management, better coach, better locker room, JV and THJ, Jamal starting off with much better morale, and the young players breaking out after being forced into the spotlight. The team is straight up just better than last year in every way (except CB, hope it’s just his injuries).

EDIT: Also, OKC starting 24-1 helped a lot too.

nguyenjitsu | DEN

17 | 17 hours ago

I mean, the Nuggets legitimately only had 7 playable playoff rotational players and 3 of them were wildly inconsistent between games (Watson, Westbrook, and MPJ). Some of this was a Malone issue where he didn’t tinker with the lineup at all, but some of this was just also player issue. Aaron Gordon was our backup center in the majority of playoff minutes. Not exactly a sustainable roster.

That’s changed with Watson genuinely making a leap and MPJ getting sent off to fill out the roster.

Raisinbrahms28 | Nuggets

9 | 15 hours ago

I mean last year’s team WAS like that though. They played a 6 man rotation in the playoffs at times - Jokic, Murray, AG, MPJ, Christian Braun, and RWB.

Add in some Strawther and Watson.

This year they have 12 legitimate dudes. It’s very different.

Downisthenewup87 | Nuggets

5 | 13 hours ago

With MPJ playing through one shoulder

SoaplessTitanic | Celtics

19 | 17 hours ago

This is kinda why I don’t really understand why people thought OKC was so ahead of the Nuggets

I’m convinced it’s largely due to Denver not having as many “big names”, and even a lot of their good rotation players aren’t talked about much aside from Jokic making them better

Proper-Dirt3954

27 | 17 hours ago

I love the nuggets and thought they were a pretty close 2nd behind OKC.

But Okc won what the first ²³⁄₂₄ games to start th season? I’d assume that’s why the vast majority thought.

Snow-27

6 | 17 hours ago

Nobody thought that. Everyone agreed the Nuggets were the only team with a chance of beating them. It’s the Spurs that have been the real surprise.

Akipella | Warriors

3 | 9 hours ago

Hey, it’s you!

Also idk if when you say the Nuggets were considered the only team with a good chance to beat them meaning in the Postseason period, but I definitely can still imagine an East team managing to do it in the Finals, even without Pacers weird powers lol. Mainly just because the West is a bloodbath so there’s no guarantee they’ll be at full power even if they do make it out.

LoudCityDub

8 | 17 hours ago

Because people realize how young OKC is and they got championship experience. Last year was the weakest Thunder team for a long time

Refs_Fan

1 | 16 hours ago

Up until the 25th game the Nuggets had the 2nd easiest schedule only behind the Thunder… what do you mean by one of the hardest schedules in the league?

JJam74 | Thunder

2 | 16 hours ago

Honestly nuggets got a lot better and I’m scared of them

str8rippinfartz | Celtics

1 | 2 hours ago

It’s because in the last 4 years, the Nuggets are 13-23 without Jokic and have insane on/off splits with him– improved depth is all well and good on paper, it’s just hard to fully buy in until you see it happen for a while

disnotyaboy | Timberwolves

5 | 16 hours ago

Minnesota isn’t far behind them

Icy_Marsupial7560

233 | 17 hours ago

Adelman should be in COTY discussions.

HectorBananaBread

99 | 17 hours ago

I agree. However I don’t wish that on any quality coach. Means they’ll be fired in a year.

Iron_Maniac | Thunder

26 | 17 hours ago

Mark Daignault won it and then won the championship the following year. I think he’s safe for a few more years.

sleepydogg | Nuggets

31 | 15 hours ago

Nope, gotta fire him after this year, sorry.

rfgrunt | Nuggets

5 | 15 hours ago

The hardest test is going to be when everyone’s healthy. Pwats in a contract year and picket not far behind. How do they handle their minutes and touches being reduced when everyone is back?

Krillin113 | 76ers

2 | 14 hours ago

For me it’s Ott by a country mile.

dbgager | Nuggets

96 | 17 hours ago

this team has so much heart…

Felyndiira | Nuggets

28 | 17 hours ago

The Power of Friendship runs through their veins.

FernBlueEyes

24 | 17 hours ago

Heart of champions

AnkitPancakes | Thunder

87 | 17 hours ago

impressive stuff by adelman

Narrow-Theory-3533

81 | 17 hours ago

Denver prior to losing Gordon and CB in the span of 1 week were on trajectory of winning 67 games, they got injured and their winning trajectory went to 62 win pace, Jokic and Cam then got injured.

Ayjel89

34 | 17 hours ago

Countering the meta with a progressively worse roster.

ChristianLesniak | Nuggets

1 | 3 hours ago

And so began the injure your starters era

DMmeNiceTitties | Warriors

61 | 17 hours ago

Honestly, good for them, they’ve been working hard without Jokic, and doing surprisingly well. I wouldn’t have been able to say that a few years ago.

AwkwardSpecialist814 | Nuggets

40 | 17 hours ago

Hell 8 months ago you couldn’t

FernBlueEyes

57 | 17 hours ago

Jamal Murray is an All Star ♥️🇨🇦

OUEngineer17 | Nuggets

7 | 15 hours ago

He’s got my vote!

ReapsWithCrows

3 | 4 hours ago

Jamalstar

Suitable_Snow7761 | Rockets

52 | 17 hours ago

Yeah I can’t lie it’s crazy seeing the hospital nuggets continue to hoop and win with jokic out.. absolutely impressive!

JaderMcDanersStan | Timberwolves

46 | 17 hours ago

For real. They keep winning and it is very annoying haha

Lose god damnit! Wolves can’t move up the standings because the damn Nuggets keep winning even without Joker and other starters. Ademan should win COTY

runevault | Nuggets

30 | 17 hours ago

For me Watson and Adelman are the two stories here. Watson’s offensive improvement enables a lot, but Adelman making all of this work with a rotating cast of characters as he gets Jamal rest and deals with guys like Braun being in and out of the lineup while continuing to win so far requires a lot. Especially when several of the guys who’ve been important in this (see: Pickett) were dudes Malone hated.

Slightly-Adrift | Nuggets

1 | 13 hours ago

As long as we’re next to each other in the standings. I don’t think my poor heart can take another first or second round Wolves match, we better see yall in the WCF

ConcLaveTime | Nuggets

1 | 6 hours ago

Also we have that sweet sweet tie breaker over you guys for beating you three times in a row this year.

-XanderCrews- | Timberwolves

1 | 5 hours ago

The jokic factor. All the team have designed their play for jokic being on the court. It doesn’t surprise me they are doing as well without him because it’s a completely different team and strategy against.

IAmTheRealBooRadley | TOR

37 | 17 hours ago

I think a great marker of a team’s championship aspirations is when you can really count on role players to step up.

I saw this when I watched 90% of raptor games in 2019 and it’s applied to every team we’ve seen win since. OKC and Boston had players who, in most cases wouldn’t be, could become a second to third option for the game. The bench is always ready for action and play up to the minutes given.

I’m sure every championship team can remember a game where each of their role players dominated a game for them, especially when the big guy (kawahi) is stepping out for a game.

All that to say, I like Denver’s chances this year.

qqqasdfqqq

5 | 13 hours ago

The 2023 nuggets were very thin.

kakyointhedonutman | Nuggets

2 | 4 hours ago

The Bruce show was legit back then, though. Dude would come off the bench and drop 22 easily

Portmanteau_that | Hornets

2 | 7 hours ago

Old Warriors teams come strongly to mind

Ready-Constant-7124

32 | 17 hours ago

Michael Malone should never get a job again in the NBA. Obviously Denver got deeper this offseason, but Adelman has won several games when even that depth is hurt as well while Malone couldn’t figure out how to use a talented team if you took away just Jokic.

It’s becoming very clear how much he held back their supporting cast for years.

RapsareChamps_Suckit | Clippers

59 | 17 hours ago

I mean he won a championship unless u don’t remember it since the mods basically ghosted them

Ready-Constant-7124

9 | 17 hours ago

Malone is a lot like Coach Bud. He won a championship with a playoff path that obscured most of his weaknesses, but it doesn’t make him a great coach by any means. His flaws were on full display basically every time Denver matched up against a high seed in the playoffs.

RapsareChamps_Suckit | Clippers

7 | 17 hours ago

I mean coach Carter was a good coach but he was too much of a hard ass

1manadeal2btw | Nuggets

5 | 16 hours ago

I would compare him to Thibs. Both very rigid. Both very dependent on starters.

Downisthenewup87 | Nuggets

6 | 17 hours ago

So did Doc Rivers

RapsareChamps_Suckit | Clippers

1 | 17 hours ago

so did Joe Bananas

itsnotyellowfever | MEM

24 | 17 hours ago

No one remembers how fatally dependent the Nuggets were on Jokic towards the end of his tenure.

Jokic played the worst defense of his career but it was complemented by an offensive gameplan that was “Get the ball to Jokic and hope he does something” for 48 minutes a night. It’s how the Pacers destroyed them in Malone’s last game as coach last season.

Adelman empowering other guys to not hang on to Jokic like a meth addiction and actually learn how to be self-sufficient on offense is working wonders for them

sorakaisthegoat | Supersonics

15 | 17 hours ago

It was so obvious how shit he is if you spent any time watching them play without Jokic. Straight up no identity, genuinely not even mediocre at anything, it was criminal. I firmly believe that moron robbed Jokic of at least another ring.

IllegitimateRisk | Nuggets

8 | 17 hours ago

So many doomers thought Adelman was going to go down the Malone path and just run the vets into the ground and leave us with like 6 serviceable players when Jokic got back. But if they actually listened to what he says during his interviews, his entire philosophy is constant rotations to figure out who is hot and who is a good fit for the moment.

Narrow-Theory-3533

6 | 17 hours ago

Adelman had Picket and Watson handle the ball to give Murray rest. That kind of thinking would have never occured under Malone.

QuiffLing | NBA

1 | 14 hours ago

AG handled the ball a lot in the past few years as well, especially against Timberwolves when they were guarding Murray full court.

Edit: Him to Murray.

Recallingg | Nuggets

10 | 17 hours ago

I think framing it that way takes a lot of credit away from Adelman tbh. He seems like a genuinely spectacular coach. Players and opposing coaches both gush about him regularly, including that interview where Spoelstra said he was (paraphrasing) a child prodigy when it came to understanding basketball at a high level. The fact that the Nuggets have adjusted to a new style of play so quickly speaks to his excellence in particular. There aren’t many coaches who can make that happen over months, let alone in such a ridiculously short amount of time.

Putrid_Caramel3301 | Nuggets

24 | 17 hours ago

PWAT most improved player, Jamall star, adelman coty

TheMoonWasBlue

18 | 16 hours ago

Hardaway 6MOTY

laz10 | DEN

6 | 16 hours ago

Jamallnba

icedcoffee_god | Thunder

21 | 17 hours ago

They’re going to be a scary team to face in the playoffs.

topazswissmas | Toronto Huskies

33 | 17 hours ago

They haven’t been an easy team to beat in a series for a few years.

penguin_torpedo | Nuggets

21 | 17 hours ago

I feel like we stumbled onto something. If you have depth you might want to sit a couple of your starters I this stretch, cause the bench brings energy that no starting group has at this point of the season.

I_Could_Say_Mother | Nuggets

17 | 17 hours ago

Above on beyond my expectations. Everyone stepped up and we really are deep this season now that Pickett, Nnaji and Jones stepped up and we also have all star campaigns for Murray and Watson who are both playing their best basketball of their careers.

spiralism | Nuggets

1 | 13 hours ago

I think this is the year we have to retire that stat about Jokic never playing with a current all star, even though Jamal might not make it simply cos he doesn’t play for the Lakers or Knicks. He’s like 15th in the voting on a career year where he’s stepped the fuck up in our hour of need.

Watson has zero chance on that token.

If that happens and we’re just sending Jokic once again, it’s not due to their shortcomings so it’ll be time to stop bringing up that stat imo.

qqqasdfqqq

3 | 13 hours ago

I dunno. Who amongst the at least 4x MVP winners has had weaker teams than jokic? I find it gets trotted out in MVP arguments when the lack of rings is brought up.

SpeakWithoutFear

17 | 17 hours ago

Adelman for COTY.

dbgager | Nuggets

16 | 17 hours ago

All I can say is if this happened last season or any other prior season we would be out of the playoffs by now. ITs nice to have depth finally.

alphalobster200 | Nuggets

10 | 17 hours ago

this is the Calvin Booth revenge season

Extra-Tax-9259

10 | 17 hours ago

Anyone know how much longer joker is out for?

reviewbarn | Nuggets

26 | 17 hours ago

The original timeframe was ‘reevaluate after 4 weeks,’ Which was basically through the end of the month then check progress.

FernBlueEyes

6 | 17 hours ago

Maybe he’ll be back a week from today against FTL at home.

Mrcoolstuff09

5 | 17 hours ago

At least early February

Slightly-Adrift | Nuggets

2 | 13 hours ago

I saw end of January but I don’t believe anything official has been announced. Too early

spiralism | Nuggets

2 | 10 hours ago

OKC on Feb 2nd seems to be what the signs are pointing to. It was a 4 week reevaluation on the 30th of December, that allows an extra week cos they will play it safe and I would imagine that game has been circled on the schedule for a long time.

They’ve also recently spoken of “early february” being the timeline so it checks out. 5 games before the ASB where he’s probably on a 20 minute snap count.

Misanthrope-_- | Nuggets

2 | 7 hours ago

Assume Post All-Star break. If the team is doing this well without him, don’t think they’ll rush him. He still has a noticeable limp. Or at least minutes restriction.

Extra-Tax-9259

1 | 7 hours ago

As a thunder fan it’d be nice to play against him but if he’s still gotta recover then that’s more important

kyleyle | Raptors

8 | 16 hours ago

I’m very much looking forward to who survives the WCF

petarisawesomeo | Nuggets

7 | 17 hours ago

Yeah, having a 3x MVP just made it too easy so we sat him and made Peyton Watson one of the best iso scorers in the league over the course of 2 weeks.

WhoUCuh

6 | 17 hours ago

Jokic MVP stock took a major hit. This team could rest him until the playoffs.

naderni | Nuggets

6 | 17 hours ago

I feel like posting this in NBA sub will just attract more Jokic slander. The team is so scrappy every win feels so hard we got killed in the paint and on the glass every game.

The Bucks lost by 30 otherwise we will see another post from wemby2029mvp again. ‘How Jokic is overrated and the worst MVP of all time’…

TheoMoneyG | Knicks

6 | 17 hours ago

It already is, from the “but I heard jokic is playing with 4 redditors” side lol

Chickenmcnugs34

14 | 14 hours ago

To be fair, people frequently said a Nugget’s team with MPJ, Murray, Watson and Braun was terrible to boost Joker’s MVP case. I get why but it also pretty obviously wasn’t true.

Murray and MPJ are probably allstars this year and either or both could sneak onto an all nba team depending on who plays 65 games. If Gordon was healthy he could be a fringe m all-star, too.

Otherwise-Radio-8787

6 | 17 hours ago

Well well welll

Rococoss | Warriors

5 | 16 hours ago

Peyton Watson earning himself a lot of money

guidethyhandd | Timberwolves

5 | 16 hours ago

Nuggets are very scary

Zack_of_Steel | Thunder

5 | 17 hours ago

“Jokic lItTeRaLly playz wiht GLEAGUERS”

Dabootyinspecta

3 | 17 hours ago

The last time they played the Cavs it was the Grand Rapids Gold vs Cleveland Cavaliers.

whobang3r | Nuggets

4 | 6 hours ago

Love the insecure okc posters lol

Zack_of_Steel | Thunder

1 | 6 minutes ago

Just matching the insecurity of the Nuggets fans trying to downplay SGA for the past 3 years lmao. That’s what those two little marks at the beginning and end of the sentence mean. They’re called quotation marks.

Iamkonkerz | OKC

5 | 15 hours ago

So Jokic does have help!?!?

RyzeEQ | Hawks

4 | 11 hours ago

Why aren’t all of the sports media accounts posting Anti-Jokic narratives about how the Nuggets are better without him like they did with Trae Young

VentiFan123 | Nuggets

6 | 9 hours ago

cause the record still isnt better without him than with him?

RyzeEQ | Hawks

3 | 8 hours ago

He started 8 games this entire season😭😭 Reasonable sample size to come to that conclusion for sure. And he came back in the middle of a massive Hawks losing streak that they continued even without him. Just admit your white boy can do no wrong

MysticShrek

4 | 7 hours ago

I thought Jokic had no help?

u_n_p_s_s_g_c | Nuggets

3 | 17 hours ago

David Adelhim

JackHughman69 | Clippers

3 | 15 hours ago

Damn Jokic getting injured made them even more dangerous. Wouldn’t want to play this team when he gets back

LeFxckYouThree | Lakers

3 | 15 hours ago

Jokic MVP when his team is doing well without him?

ThatGuyFromCanadia

2 | 14 hours ago

No chance, obviously he wasn’t going to win anyways because of how many games he’s going to miss even if he does end up play 65 but his team playing just as well/better without him out the nail on the coffin of his MVP chances

che9y

3 | 13 hours ago

Honestly this is insane, they’re playing like a championship team even without their best player. Jokic effect is real but this roster has serious depth 🔥

Misanthrope-_- | Nuggets

1 | 6 hours ago

without their best player

I think this by itself wouldn’t have been impressive. It’s more so that multiple starters are out and the depth is shot to hell without a center on the floor, and they’re still doing this.

Neatojuancheeto | Warriors

3 | 9 hours ago

Jokic plays with bums narrative destroyed

maz_menty | Timberwolves

3 | 9 hours ago

Denver is a terrifying machine and I could t hate them even if i wanted to. They’re just a great basketball org.

TheMainMan91 | Raptors

3 | 7 hours ago

I think the spooky thing for much of the West should be that Adelman is finding his best line ups without Jokic. He’ll get lots of different looks… so in the playoffs he’ll know his most efficient lineups while resting Nikola!

Barrelled_Chef_Curry | Warriors

3 | 4 hours ago

Trade Jokic to the dubs. He’s redundant. Well even toss in a super athletic 23 year old

zoeybeattheraccoon | Nuggets

2 | 11 hours ago

Their next 7 games are DAL, WAS, CHA, LAL, WAS, MIL, and MEM.

Next game against a really good team (I suppose the Lakers are decent) is Detroit on the 28th. Jokic could be back by then.

GoldTheLegend | Canada

2 | 9 hours ago

I heard so many times about how this team would be complete ass without Jokic and the Thunder would still win 55 games without SGA. Proving at least one part of that untrue.

hatsofftoroyharper41

0 | 17 hours ago

But I thought the team would “easily” be a lottery team without Joker blah blah

dbgager | Nuggets

0 | 16 hours ago

Your living in last season and prior seasons…lol

hatsofftoroyharper41

2 | 16 hours ago

Yeah maybe , hard to keep up with which way the slander swinging

WealthImpressive9166

5 | 8 hours ago

Every comment critical of joker gets downvoted on this sub

laz10 | DEN

1 | 16 hours ago

The best player on the best team should get MVP

Jamal Murray

ballknower871

1 | 16 hours ago

The wolves are also a half game back and their fans have acted like they’re a 14 win team this season. The western conference is just hell.

TraditionalError9988

1 | 15 hours ago

They are very good and if they are all healthy come playoff time, they will be a tough out, as will a few other teams.

Health is important for all teams of course.

OKC is still great, just not an all time great team, but they are still a contender of course, so is Houston, so is Denver.

As always it depends upon health, a bit of luck, sometimes it depends upon the draw for certain teams.

If healthy or even mostly healthy depending upon who is out, the Nuggets are a real contender.

pichukirby | Knicks

1 | 15 hours ago

No way Murray doesn’t get the All Star nod

99LedBalloons | Timberwolves

1 | 15 hours ago

And their schedule is light for like the next 10 games …

trentyz | Nuggets

1 | 14 hours ago

It’s making me so happy to see this team develop with the starters in and out.

NexusOne99 | Timberwolves

1 | 11 hours ago

The playoffs have already started in the west. Anyone who isn’t playing like that is already out.

Extremelycloud | Timberwolves

1 | 10 hours ago

As a Wolves fan, this is fuckin killing me

No_Caramel_1782 | Wizards

1 | 8 hours ago

Mike Malone was stealing paychecks.

_19911118 | Raptors

1 | 7 hours ago

Spurs being 2nd in the West is still so unbelievable like ppl were putting them 6th and that was a stretch to a lot of ppl

jrblockquote

1 | 6 hours ago

This ragtag team has developed a completely new identity in less than 10 games. It’s really remarkable to see.

stick_it_in_your_bum | Nuggets

1 | 6 hours ago

Vote for Jamal for all star. He deserves it this year!

azurricat2010 | Lakers

1 | 5 hours ago

“Trade Jokic”

--Nico

PaperMoon-

1 | 4 hours ago

I love this team

Julen_23

1 | 4 hours ago

MAL personally closed game vs Pelicans last nite.

thealternateopinion

1 | 3 hours ago

For those who do not play fantasy basketball, Peyton Watson has been a top 15 player in the last few weeks. He’s filling up stat lines like a beast

bluemonk912

1 | 3 hours ago

Jokic is delaying his return because he doesn’t care about awards or regular season record. He is acutely aware that his absence has had the effect of his team being motivated to perform individually and as a unit; that with other key players missing, the “next men up” mentality is contagious and inspiring. He is in Watson’s ear, and this time off the floor and in this young man’s corner will be the primary reason for his impressive, career-altering leveling up. He saw it coming and is cultivating it. It’s beautiful. This team’s season is a great story. Exactly what they need for another chip, when a healthy and confident full roster are hitting on all cylinders after the break. (Also: Watching Nnaji play with some degree of confidence is life-affirming. He was an albatross. Now he’s, as Scott Hastings would say, a little butterfly.)

The Denver Nuggets are now tied for the 2nd seed in the west despite playing without multiple starters, including Jokic the last 8 games (5-3 record since he went down).