We were hanging right with them and then we went absolutely frigid. Still, it was a good game from DA and we looked good with how much we moved the ball.
NevermoreSEA
Things were good until they weren’t. Shoutout to Ayton.
Piano9717
Here are my thoughts on this game:
Positives:
* Much better game plan defensively ā more Ayton on Jokic possessions, and not switching 1-5 constantly and letting Jokic cook our guards in the paint. I like the adjustment, but still Iām a bit puzzled as to why this needed to be an adjustment in the first place because the defensive game plan in the first game was just really obviously never going to work. * I thought Ant did a much better job hitting the short roll early. Last night he looked a little bit confused by the Nuggetsā defensive coverages especially in the first half, and didnāt do a very good job of hitting Ayton in the short roll and I thought we left a ton of points on the table that way. Ant usually does a pretty good job hitting his shots (as he did today), but where I think heās been inconsistent this year is leveraging his shooting ability to get good looks for his teammates (even if heās not directly getting assists), and I think he did a great job at that today. * Speaking of Ayton, I thought he did a fantastic job in the short roll today. Last night he was actually open in the short roll a lot, but Ant missed him a ton ā today he really capitalized on those opportunities. I was pleasantly surprised by how aggressive he was with the 4-on-3 advantage ā he actually put the ball on the floor and took it to the rim several times instead of settling for jumpers, and he did a pretty good job sealing his man off in the paint if he didnāt immediately get the ball. * Thybulle has some of the best anticipation you will ever see, when he plays at the top of a 2-3 zone. Itās insane how well he just reads the other teamās eyes and anticipates the next pass.
Negatives:
* Scoot didnāt shoot it very well, but he was aggressive getting to the rim and he did a pretty good job facilitating. He looked decisive when he got the ball which I think is important, and he got to his spots which are both good signs. But man we could have really used some of those shots to fall. * I like that Jabari and Toumani are shooting threes without hesitation, and I think itās a necessary step for both of their development, but some of those jumpers are pretty ugly. Toumani made a couple shots today, but Jabari was throwing up some really ugly bricks. * Speaking of Jabari he had a really bad night on both ends of the floor. Probably the worst game I’ve seen from him this season. * Ayton played super hard and gassed himself out so Reath had to close the 3rd quarter guarding Denverās starting lineup with Murray and Jokic. That is never going to work, lol.
No-Cryptographer7218
fun game! had them sweating
BunkHammer
3rd quarter we turned into an ice chest
Still had quite a few moments that looked good though.
cphipps
I have never seen a team go from adept to inept faster in my life.
cheezneezy
Bill fucking Walton letting us know
bassicallyinsane
I would like to formally apologize for my lack of AppreciAyton before now
Trick_Weapon
Ayton played great. We really missed Grant and Brogdon in the second half. Scoot had a bad shooting night and with basically only one scorer out there, Denver shut us down.
cyena
You know whatā¦ we are super competitive with teams that are basically a decade into their run, playoff testedā¦ with a bunch of kids and also rans. And weāre not even completely healthy. Iām content with the blazers.
applejackhero
I actually have been feeling tentatively good about the team recently. Ball movement seems to be clicking more, Scootās shot has been improving, Ayton has actually been playing basketball, Walker and Camara looking like versatile 6th men
lentshappening
At one point we had a line up of all rookies + Jabari. And it wasn’t terrible.
Sa-Tiva
Game was an excellent watch for 3 quarters, then we fell apart in the 4th. Thats alright, we’re a rebuilding team and they are the defending champs.
Ayton was incredible tonight. He attacked the basket with force, and he has such a special combination of size, strength, and speed that when he does that hes really hard to stop. The easy thing to say is its just his mindset, but its also schematics – we barely tried to involve ayton last game but we made him a focal point tonight. That makes a big difference.
I was disappointed that Scoot was back to smoking every layup and bricking nearly every shot tonight. He got good looks but just couldnt convert. Last game has taught me though i just need to be patient and wait and see with him. I hope its at least a healthy mix of efficient/inefficient nights from him going forward.
PatrickVieira
Scoot agonizingly close to a triple doubleĀ
LegitimatePotato3632
Besides that disastrous road trip earlier this year, this team has been competitive as hell. Future is bright.
YouDontKnowDino
Itās been fun being a competitive team the past couple of weeks
zRipCity
Ahhhhh!..What an amazing first half!.. I was so hyped!.. We went from an inside-out rim running scoring system in the 1st half to shooting a bunch of threes and missing losing confidence and gaining confusion in the 2nd half.. two totally different halves.. still fun to watch. Wish we would’ve walked away with the dub though
SlamDunkleyKong
The kids played hard. Gotta be happy with it.
Rcy4122
Random stat that I just found: Justin Minaya has never scored 20 points in a college or professional basketball game. Might be the only player in the league who played a full college career who can say that
5rip0citizen3
Great showing on the road for a series against the champs and the best player in the world. Really happy with these last 2 games
shelvino
See if we had Sharpe out there, it wouldāve been the perfect look at the rebuilding roster. Sure we have a better chance with Grant and Brog but we donāt get valuable experience for the young guys and now we get to feed two 25 year olds in Simons and Ayton who carried the offense all night. This is why I have been so down to trade the two 30 year olds for draft capital because we can see more development for the younger players. Iām happy we fed Ayton so much and heās playing with so much more aggression lately. Rough shooting night for Scoot but still valuable experience vs the defending Champs
TheTestPest
Scoot giveth and scoot taketh away
flawson_9
Was at the game and once I saw that lineup come in I knew the nuggets were about to go on a run. Regardless good fight considering our injuries and such!
23 Comments
We were hanging right with them and then we went absolutely frigid. Still, it was a good game from DA and we looked good with how much we moved the ball.
Things were good until they weren’t. Shoutout to Ayton.
Here are my thoughts on this game:
Positives:
* Much better game plan defensively ā more Ayton on Jokic possessions, and not switching 1-5 constantly and letting Jokic cook our guards in the paint. I like the adjustment, but still Iām a bit puzzled as to why this needed to be an adjustment in the first place because the defensive game plan in the first game was just really obviously never going to work.
* I thought Ant did a much better job hitting the short roll early. Last night he looked a little bit confused by the Nuggetsā defensive coverages especially in the first half, and didnāt do a very good job of hitting Ayton in the short roll and I thought we left a ton of points on the table that way. Ant usually does a pretty good job hitting his shots (as he did today), but where I think heās been inconsistent this year is leveraging his shooting ability to get good looks for his teammates (even if heās not directly getting assists), and I think he did a great job at that today.
* Speaking of Ayton, I thought he did a fantastic job in the short roll today. Last night he was actually open in the short roll a lot, but Ant missed him a ton ā today he really capitalized on those opportunities. I was pleasantly surprised by how aggressive he was with the 4-on-3 advantage ā he actually put the ball on the floor and took it to the rim several times instead of settling for jumpers, and he did a pretty good job sealing his man off in the paint if he didnāt immediately get the ball.
* Thybulle has some of the best anticipation you will ever see, when he plays at the top of a 2-3 zone. Itās insane how well he just reads the other teamās eyes and anticipates the next pass.
Negatives:
* Scoot didnāt shoot it very well, but he was aggressive getting to the rim and he did a pretty good job facilitating. He looked decisive when he got the ball which I think is important, and he got to his spots which are both good signs. But man we could have really used some of those shots to fall.
* I like that Jabari and Toumani are shooting threes without hesitation, and I think itās a necessary step for both of their development, but some of those jumpers are pretty ugly. Toumani made a couple shots today, but Jabari was throwing up some really ugly bricks.
* Speaking of Jabari he had a really bad night on both ends of the floor. Probably the worst game I’ve seen from him this season.
* Ayton played super hard and gassed himself out so Reath had to close the 3rd quarter guarding Denverās starting lineup with Murray and Jokic. That is never going to work, lol.
fun game! had them sweating
3rd quarter we turned into an ice chest
Still had quite a few moments that looked good though.
I have never seen a team go from adept to inept faster in my life.
Bill fucking Walton letting us know
I would like to formally apologize for my lack of AppreciAyton before now
Ayton played great. We really missed Grant and Brogdon in the second half. Scoot had a bad shooting night and with basically only one scorer out there, Denver shut us down.
You know whatā¦ we are super competitive with teams that are basically a decade into their run, playoff testedā¦ with a bunch of kids and also rans. And weāre not even completely healthy. Iām content with the blazers.
I actually have been feeling tentatively good about the team recently. Ball movement seems to be clicking more, Scootās shot has been improving, Ayton has actually been playing basketball, Walker and Camara looking like versatile 6th men
At one point we had a line up of all rookies + Jabari. And it wasn’t terrible.
Game was an excellent watch for 3 quarters, then we fell apart in the 4th. Thats alright, we’re a rebuilding team and they are the defending champs.
Ayton was incredible tonight. He attacked the basket with force, and he has such a special combination of size, strength, and speed that when he does that hes really hard to stop. The easy thing to say is its just his mindset, but its also schematics – we barely tried to involve ayton last game but we made him a focal point tonight. That makes a big difference.
I was disappointed that Scoot was back to smoking every layup and bricking nearly every shot tonight. He got good looks but just couldnt convert. Last game has taught me though i just need to be patient and wait and see with him. I hope its at least a healthy mix of efficient/inefficient nights from him going forward.
Scoot agonizingly close to a triple doubleĀ
Besides that disastrous road trip earlier this year, this team has been competitive as hell. Future is bright.
Itās been fun being a competitive team the past couple of weeks
Ahhhhh!..What an amazing first half!.. I was so hyped!.. We went from an inside-out rim running scoring system in the 1st half to shooting a bunch of threes and missing losing confidence and gaining confusion in the 2nd half.. two totally different halves.. still fun to watch. Wish we would’ve walked away with the dub though
The kids played hard. Gotta be happy with it.
Random stat that I just found: Justin Minaya has never scored 20 points in a college or professional basketball game. Might be the only player in the league who played a full college career who can say that
Great showing on the road for a series against the champs and the best player in the world. Really happy with these last 2 games
See if we had Sharpe out there, it wouldāve been the perfect look at the rebuilding roster. Sure we have a better chance with Grant and Brog but we donāt get valuable experience for the young guys and now we get to feed two 25 year olds in Simons and Ayton who carried the offense all night. This is why I have been so down to trade the two 30 year olds for draft capital because we can see more development for the younger players. Iām happy we fed Ayton so much and heās playing with so much more aggression lately. Rough shooting night for Scoot but still valuable experience vs the defending Champs
Scoot giveth and scoot taketh away
Was at the game and once I saw that lineup come in I knew the nuggets were about to go on a run. Regardless good fight considering our injuries and such!