Jokic Vs. Wemby Olympic Exhibition | Are the Nuggets Going to be Definitively Worse Next Year?

Jokic Vs. Wemby Olympic Exhibition | Are the Nuggets Going to be Definitively Worse Next Year?

Serbia takes down France in one of the most interesting matchups I think on the world stage and joic I think he’s about business and he looks really good so far to start off the Olympic exhibitions and I think there’s some things that are going to carry over into the season and also y’all the Denver Nuggets are getting a lot of talk about they’re going to be facing their downfall this year some people are even saying might fall out of the top six but is that true are the Denver Nuggets is dead in the water as a lot of people are suggesting they might be this is swiper we’re going to talk about all that and more here at lockon nuggets you are locked on nuggets your daily Denver Nuggets podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day what’s going on y’all welcome in to locked on nuggets this is your host swiper this is your team every day I hope you are having a spectacular day a spectacular Friday if this is a Friday evening and you are in Serbia you’ve been staying up all night watching Serbia take on France if you’re in France watching Victor wiim minyama the promised one to come play really well versus Serbia then this is your show if you’re a Denver Nuggets fan and you are just yearning missing watching Nicola yogic and Jamal Murray earlier this week play basketball this is your place y’all this was a great great great game y’all this was a great exhibition between France and Serbia and you got a chance to see a lot of different kinds of basketball being played and the game started off really interesting you know Rudy goar Victor wanyama the twin towers that might be the most formidable pairing in the front Court since rashed Wallace and Kevin Garnett I don’t know if y’all remember that Celtics team at the end of the the late the late 2000s era Celtics team but that’s what it reminds me of you got two DPO basically Victor wiimin Yama second in dpoy you got Rudy gobear first in dpoy four dpoy winners but they were they are just such a big lengthy strong relative to like the rest of the world right front court and they present so many challenges and they have really been putting a lot of pressure on teams so far in the exhibition but this game in particular man you got a chance to see Nicola joic bogdon banovich play versus this team and it was a really interesting game to watch now overall Serbia is able to win this game and I love how aggressive Nica yic was especially inside of that second quarter Nica yic finishes this game he did foul out 20 points 12 rebounds just one assist again a different type of basketball at the international level being played played almost 30 minutes in total hey eight of 13 from the field seven of 11 from three from two one of two from three just three of eight from the free throw line now that was the funny thing about today all around uh for team Serbia Serbia today y’all they were 12 of 23 from the free throw line for Serbia for 52.2% 52.2% if they just make their free throws at a 75% clip this game would have been done even more than what it was earlier than what it was they ended up winning 79 to 67 but they just really just could not convert those free throws U but it was a really good game uh bogey off the bogy had 15 points one rebound and two assists played 27 minutes and 27 26 seconds he actually was 59 from the field four5 from two one4 from three minus two in his minutes but still played really well uh they actually had some really good quality comp quality play uh from Alesa uh let’s see uh rovic if I got that correctly I’m not GNA say these names correctly I’m gonna learn this roster as we’re going throughout the summer promise y’all but he played well nine points for him you had uh Marinkovic had eight points and three rebounds and one assist they actually played fairly well now the person that I think a lot of people were hoping was going to have a better showing today was meich meich today Five Points three assists one rebound 20 minutes played he was two of six from the field but he just like when when you’re watching this game they were playing their best when they’re running clear DH with niika yic and I think that’s also a function of the fact and we’re going to talk about this a little bit later as well niika yic he just has not had like true top end topend single player Talent next to him and you even see this in this game as well let’s see if I can get this oh ramoo a bch a rich yeah we’ll figure it out we’ll figure it out we’ll figure it out so again serbians forgive me for for not knowing everything right away I’m Gonna Learn I promise you and I think what I love about this game is you got a chance to see like Denver Nuggets yic Denver Nuggets yic where he’s like going at The Rim he’s being aggressive beating players one-on-one he’s backing down Victor wanyama backing down Rudy goar taking on double team he’s spinning off his strong shoulder getting to that floater he even hit like a nice little step back three on France today as well so it’s just a really good allaround game Victor womman Yama today though 14 points on his own end 10 rebounds and three assists played about 29 minutes he was three of eight from the field one of five from three he was a minus 18 Again like he was the best player in the court for them but at one point in time Serbia went on like an 180 run I believe I believe he they were the the Serbia was down seven at one point and then they just boomed and like absolutely took over their defense started clamping up they started running in full court and they were creating opportunities for themselves and then they also were able just to get themselves in situation where they’re in half court to find advantages and at one point I think in the first half y’all I want to say that France scored two two pointers two two-pointers two in the first half where Serbia was dominating I think they had 26 first half points so in the first quarter in the first quarter uh both teams were kind of going at it uh France had nine offensive rebounds ser had six but then everything started to change because in the second quarter Serbia had 20 field goals attempted and they made nine of them whereas France they couldn’t even get shots off they couldn’t even get shots off France was one of nine from the field for 11% and France was one of five from Two and Serbia was six of 13 and Serbia also went three to s from the three-point line in that in that quarter well in the second quarter for 43% so they just literally started clamping and they took over the game and what was so interesting is that even with France being able to get on the offensive glad as as much as they did today you know what sery did a really good job limiting them as a whole France today nine of 21 from two 42% 42.9% nine of 21 Serbia 20 of 30 from two with Victor Wim minyama and Rudy Gober on the court that’s impressive that is impressive for them to be able to do that and again three-point line wasn’t super strong today they didn’t get a chance to like put up a lot of uh really really solid solid three-pointers today but man again Serbia just has a lot of tenacity they play with they’re very physical team the only thing Serbia is truly missing is like a high-end athlete like a high-end athlete that’s able to take advantage of a lot of their passing and their cutting but look they have enough good players that are able to buy into the system and what they’re supposed to be doing where they’re able to put up some really really good performances in situations like this but I am of the mindset that Serbia is going to be a very formidable team a very formidable team in this run in the Olympics they just have like a lot of the things that they’re going to need and again obviously this is predicated on their health they’re going to have to stay healthy but but again they’re going to have the best player in every series and every game that they’re going to be in they’re going to be in a situation where they’re going to have matchup advantages because of their size and then on the other end of this look defense is about commitment and defense is about how you’re willing to protect the rim collectively because they don’t have a true rim protector but can they keep you from getting there and can they show hands when you do get there and then you get out and you contest three-pointers so uh just a really good game and I think this is the kind of game that you’re looking for if you’re a fan of the team um France has a really solid Squad uh again Victor whama uh Frank uh Nicola Tina Kina is on the roster Evan for is on the rocket Nicholas pum is on the roster uh balow K is on the roster like they got a lot of players that are NBA players more so than Serbia does but again as you’re gonna a lot of people know in international basketball it’s about how you play together how you buy into a system uh so y’all on the other side you know we’re going to talk about some of my takeaways from this and including Nika yic facing the Twin Towers lineup this early and how good he looks versus at already we’re gonna talk about all that and more here at lockon nuggets y’all you know I love going to concerts I love going to MLB games I love going to soccer matches I like just just going and doing stuff I like being out and about especially in the summer and especially in the evening because I don’t know where you are but you know y’all know I’m in Atlanta Georgia it’s super hot and humid here all the time but y’all in the evening Friday nights Saturday nights I like to go and do stuff and I think there are things like game time that really help you so much in getting the best ticket possible for your experience game time is an authorized ticket Marketplace of Major League Baseball which makes getting tickets faster and easier and prices on game Time app actually go down the closer it gets to first pitch so again take the guesswork out of buying MLB tickets with Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase terms apply again create an account and redeem code locked on NBA l o c ke d o n NBA for $20 off download game time today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed we’ll be right back y’all for more here on lock on nuggets what’s going on y’all we back here in locked on nugget this is your boy swiper this is your team every day shout out to y’all y’all if you are listening to this on the Apple iTunes side please give us a festar review that way more and more people can listen to what we’re doing here on lockon nuggets with Adam Matt and myself and if you’re watching this on YouTube y’all we are trying to get to 10,000 subscribers by the end of next season and the only way to do that is making sure we’re building the lockdown nuggets community on this side on YouTube so make sure you like share and subscribe y’all but y’all yic look like a man on a mission man on a mission 20 and 12 in 30 minutes played Just 13 shots but eight of 13 yo what I love what I love is that Nicola jic has not has not let the downside of losing in the second round and the disappointment of giving up a 20-point lead affect him at all Nicola yico he might have missed his free throws today but yish looks just as dominant just as inspired just as strong and just as in shape as we would hope he would and joic being able to play against Rudy go bear and Victor wanyama again the most formidable defensive front line in the world in the world and him coming out as aggressive as he did I think this is a sign of things to come and i’ be curious to see how he plays the rest of the way but I think that there’s going to be a lot of things that are going to be available to him because the team is going to be able to respond differently next year and I think jic man you know a lot of people are like riding him off and riding the Nuggets off but based on what I’m seeing he just looks like a man that’s like fresh and ready to play basketball there was a play today where Nia yic he in a pick and roll setting he got a a deflection off basically playing hands got a deflection and then he tried to sprint out of bounds and get to the ball on the sideline before the ball went out of bounds and he lost it out of bounds and then yic gave off a little bit of a yell and you could just tell with the energy he’s played with he just hasn’t played since the NBA playoffs and the last time we saw him he had 34 19 and seven but his team lost but his team lost and I think that as of right now you know the dude just looks like he’s a man that is just ready for the moment I think he’s ready for this season and I’m excited to watch it you know I I think there’s just been a lot of things said about the Denver Nuggets and you know to get into that right now look you know I watching the gills Arena uh today you know I’m obviously a fan of the show uh I talk to a lot of different people about a lot of basketball stuff and the consensus around the Nuggets because they lost kcp is that they’re just going to be demonstrably worse they’re just going to be a worse team they don’t have the defensive upside they are losing kcp who’s one of the best perimeter defenders in the league obviously one of the best three-point Shooters in the league obviously but I think some of this is like people are like legitimately questioning like not only again not only are the Nuggets not contenders but will the nuggets are they guaranteed to make the playoffs in the west Minnesota timber roles OKC Thunder you know you’re even going have to deal with this new Kings team with Demar D rozan you’re going to have the Clippers you’re going to have a defensive lead team with kawhai and James Harden and then you’re going to have Memphis Grizzlies they’re on their way back the Golden State Warriors you know they’re going to be competition the Lakers always going to be competition you know we’re going to see what the Rockets end up doing we’re gonna see what all these teams the Pelicans de jonte Murray they’re going to be in there like so are the Nuggets going to have enough top end talent to be able to stay afloat and compete and this is so interesting to me because kcp absolutely was a part of what put them over the top and I also have been on the record saying I think the team is going to be different and I think they’re going to be worse in some ways than they were last year but like that much worse and I and I put on and you know you beat me to it but I put on my Twitter that yic in 2022 with Monte Morris Austin Rivers Will Barton Jeff Green Aaron Gordon faku Kazo bones Highland DeMarcus Cousins that they won 48 games that year they won 46 when yish played and I know that was a different season the NBA was different 1,000% obviously but they were the six seed so like again 48 wins as the six seed it’s very impressive that is very impressive and I think a lot of people are just kind of at this mindset that I think more people are more so wanting the Nuggets to fall out uh because of maybe some agenda things you know who knows but y’all 48 wins last year would have made the nuggets the seven seed and they would have been in the playing but if you’re telling me that the the nuggets are going to fall from 57 wins if again this is obviously jic and Murray play give you 59 games again Michael Porter Jr 70 games Aaron Gordon 70 games that they’re going to fall all the way out to where they’re not going to be like in contention yeah that’s tough that’s real tough and you know I’m really curious to see you know how the team is going to respond to that and if anything history shows us that when they’re down and out and when they’re being counted out that they actually end up playing better than what a lot of people expect so I’m excited to see it because I think that the nuggets are going to be very good and again another thing you know Jamal Cy will be just fine last year Jamal Murray and Nika yic were 44 and 15 when they played together 44 and 15 when they played on the court together that’s a 61- win pace they were incredulous they were incredible they were abominable they were amazing they were nightmares for other teams and I do think this team is going to be different but I’m excited to see how they respond because a lot of this is going to be what will Christian Brown do as we talked about earlier this week as Matt and Adam talk to you about what would Julian strawther be you know should they get Russell Westbrook which is what they’re aiming to do how will they be able to configure some lineups that way they will be better by the time they get to some of those spots I mean all those things are going to be in question but I do think the Thunder have improved with Caruso and Isaiah hardenstein 1,00% honestly you ask me right now I think the okt Thunder will be the number one seed in the NBA in the well maybe in the NBA next year in the west they will I believe I think the the Thunder can win 61 games next year like they’re going to have like so much talent but maybe they don’t maybe they regress because again they were extremely healthy this last year maybe they don’t the Minnesota timber wolves are they going to win 56 games again I mean it’s definitely possible you know Memphis is gonna be back Zack Ed now is gonna be their they they’re big next to Jaren Jackson Jr will they be better 1,00% John Morant back all NBA level again Desmond Bane Vince William GG Jackson Marcus Smart they’re going to be tough I think the Kings with dearen fo Kavon herder uh Keon Ellis demard de Rosen Keegan Murray damont sabonis Malik monk yeah super solid team and so there will be stiff competition but I just think the nuggets are a lot better than people are giving them credit for y’all y’all we’re going to talk about how maybe the Denver Nuggets can be better this next season on the other side we’ll talk about all that and more in segment three here on locktown nuggets y’all by the way today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase terms apply so the question that I have put forth is can the Nuggets be better next year can they be better next year and to answer the question simply is yes why swiper well because last year their bench was Reggie Jackson Christian Brown Payton Watson Justin holiday Zeke Naji DeAndre Jordan this year their bench is going to be maybe Russell Westbrook Julian strawther Payton Watson donon Holmes Dario orange and then on top of that they’re also going to be able maybe to deploy Jaylen picket this year should he deserve more playing time Hunter Tyson should he deserve more playing time and then you know what you know we’ll see how it works out blacko chanar he had some really good minutes during the NBA Finals run of that year during next season maybe he can come back and be that high level athlete high level smart athlete that can finish plays and be a good floor spacer for the team again maybe and then Zeke Nagi you know he’s on the roster right now but maybe they move that his 8.8 million Caple that he has and then get rid of that 2031 first round pick who knows don’t know what they’re going to do but there’s a lot of options available to them and I think that they can make marketable improvements because Christian Brown is a really good Defender he’s a better Defender at in some ways than kcp it’s like Rim protection and his overall strength and being able to cut you off at the point of attack for a lot of players but he’s not a good as good of a chaser I mean kcp was just like H lacious especially guarding like Steph Curry and all that he just wouldn’t let you out of his sight he was that good at it but the bench man like if they’re able to give you just even like a slight positive better than they were last year then the team is better in the regular season so there’s a difference between being regular season better regular season good and then on the other end of this playoff versatility good now playoff versatility good that is going to be 100% dependent on donon Holmes pyton Watson and Julian stur that’s going to be 100% dependent on it Russ is probably not going to be a consistent enough playoff player you can lean into regular season though Russell Westbrook will be like TR mendous because he’s going to play with so much energy so often and he’s going to be playing with his hair on fire all the time so that’s going to be very helpful and I just think that if you’re asking me if you give a dho specialist and the three-point specialist with Sarge and then you get pton Watson with his defense it’s improved offense this next year and then dealing with you know Julian strawther seconde development where he’s able to like actually buy into a system trust the process Michael Malone continuing to get him involved in the play development and putting him in opportunities to flourish as an off ball force bacer all that stuff can make incremental improvements to the team incremental improvements to the team so I do think that the nuggets are going to have to figure some things out they’re going to be a different looking team not having kcp is going to be different but man like I I think the the pendulum has swung so far away from the nuggets and being a great team that now it’s like they’re being like pretty severely overrated and this is a good question uh Cy I believe what’s taking the Russell Westbrook deal so long so just to give you some context the Denver Nuggets are currently waiting on Russell Westbrook to get traded and then waved so traded to another team and then waved or they’re also looking for him to get waved because right now unless the I mean unless the Clippers wanted to take on the the deal that zek Naji has which is a 4-year 32 million in total then right now they don’t have a contract that they can move I mean again Dario just signed but that’s five .3 and you’re not going to do that obviously like he just saw and you got to wait so they they’re just not in a position to be able to give the money necessary in order to make the Russell Westbrook trade happen and so as of right now they just have to be smart with their assets and again they already traded out three second round picks to get off of Reggie Jackson contract which everybody knows how I feel about that so a lot of this is how can they continue to be prudent with the they do have and making really smart moves going forward into the future y’all but I’m really excited man I I do think that this team can be better it’s going to be a different team again kcp was in many ways the heart and soul of the defense like he was a communicator he would get over the top of every screen he didn’t die on screens and on top of that he was so ferocious in attacking the basketball in the full court and in transition so not having that it’s going to make a difference but Christian Brown if anything he’s shown is that he’s able to be a really good Defender and if he can continue to buy in what the diver nuggets are asking him to do and the things they need him to do then hey then I think they can be fine you know the Thunder the Wolves the Clippers the Mavericks the Suns Lakers Pelicans Kings I have a really strong feeling that Denver Nuggets can be better than if not all then most of those teams come regular season and then playoffs now you get into matchups and all that but y’all let me know what y’all think in the comment section do you think the Denver Nuggets can be better next year what do you think the Denver Nuggets are gonna need to do and who’s going to need to step up for them to be better this next season and how did y’all feel about joic versus wimy Serbia versus France and exhibition game for the Olympics y’all y’all know what time it is this is your boy swiper I’mma see y’all on the other side

Nikola Jokic, and Serbia take down Victor Wembanyama and France. Can this be the summer of gold for Serbia?

There has been A LOT of talk about the Nuggets bein worse next year but…has there doom been overstated?
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