I’m gonna go with #NINE - though I’m torn. Went to Michigan with Jett’s dad. Goes against my loyal nature. Thing is, I like the vision of a stretch five down the line who can play D out to the perimeter more than an all O no D player. I’ll go with Clowney on a squeaker.
I'm still honestly confused about why the Denver challenge last night failed with JB up for the three and kicking his leg out. Were the ref's claiming an issue with landing space? I didn't see that (and all three commentators were shocked at decision). If Denver lost that clip would have been running on a loop in the sports media. . .
Butler's leg did "kick out", but it's definitely a part of the shooting motion and not an exaggeration... he's shooting a catch and turn shot, so his body is going to be turning and he's giving the shot some extra "oomph"... and Gordon is absolutely drifting into Jimmy's landing space. It's a tough foul... and I'd like to see a no call, but by the book, Gordon is creating the contact there, imo.
I thought it was a good call. Gordon was very close to his landing zone. If it was Steph going up for a shot, we would have wanted that call. I was pretty surprised that JVG and MJ were so vociferous that it should go the other way.
The leg kick out was nothing. If you jump that close to a guy, you can get hit. Butler wasn't trying to kick him, just keep his balance.
Since Draymond picked LA over Denver in the WCF the Nuggets have lost once and hoisted the Trophy. Was he really that impressed by LeBron and Co or just dismissive of how flawed this playoff version of the Warriors was?
This felt like that 73-9 season in regards to Jokic except in reverse. Should have been the clear regular season MVP and this shoulda been the icing on the cake.
Congratulations, Denver. You now have an official target on your back and teams will load up with the intent of beating you in the postseason. Welcome to the Warrior's world.
If Warriors had to play either one of those teams with the level of physicality the refs were allowing, down 25 by half. Don't get me wrong, I love Senior Golf, but sheesh. Let's get some more 30 somethings on our team, can't wait.
Listening to a Podcaster from the volume take about her excitement about Denver winning the chip and describing how she can't believe it happened when dynasty like the warriors exist...girl doesn't know how tortured fans 30 plus are. It's still weird hearing people speak about the warriors in the same breath as the bulls to me.
Bulls were a dynasty when Jordan was there, but have only even got to 3 non-Jordan conference Finals in the their 45 non-Jordan years. It's really just been the Lakers who've consistently had championship contenders... the Celtics like to brag about their 17 championships, but they won the vast majority before 1970, and only one since 1986.
Here's a crazy Lakers stat:
The Lakers have missed the playoffs 12 times in their 74 year history: 6 straight times between the 2013/14 and 2018/19 seasons, and 6 more times spread out across the remaining 68 seasons of their entire history.
The Lakers even were dominant when in Minneapolis before the Celtics dynasty in the first few years of the league. George Mikan saw to that. Five titles in six seasons.
Contrast that with the Kings, formerly the Royals. They won one title in 1950-51 when they were the Rochester Royals. And we went and knocked the poor dears out of the playoffs this year. We're just so mean.
If I took a time machine and went back 15 years, and told NBA super fans all over the world that in the 2010s there would emerge a dynasty that would match the Bulls record for wins in a season, match/surpass the Lakers for greatest single season playoff record ever, set records for most wins in a 4 year span, set a record for most consecutive playoff series with a road win, and feature 2 of the 5 greatest shooters of all time along with the greatest modern defensive big man this side of Rodman and Hakeem, and then told them to name me the franchise who would produce that dynasty, virtually no one would have ever named the Warriors.
Hell, I bet the Warriors would have been the second least likely answer (behind the Clippers), even among Warrior fans lol. I mean, it seems like just yesterday that Bill Simmons wrote this masterpiece:
And to anyone who thinks it couldn’t have been that bad, trust me, it was worse. When you have to spend your days wondering if the likes of Bimbo Coles and B.J. Armstrong can give you good enough guard play to let you sneak into the 8-seed, or hoping that the likes of Joe Smith, Tom Guggliotta, and Erick Dampier can fill the hole left behind by Chris Webber, you know you don’t have much hope.
To go from that to what we’ve seen in the last 10 years… it’s been a hell of a ride, thats for sure.
I always liked Chris Porter!! But yes, thank you WCP for this always timely reminder. I was in high school at this time so all I knew growing up were very dark days. I will never take winning for granted
And with that, Jokic becomes the undisputed greatest ever Denver Nugget (As if there was any real doubt before with his back to back MVP’s, but leading the Nuggets to an NBA title on top of it seals the conversation).
Hell, with that he probably becomes the greatest player to wear a Denver Nuggets jersey in an NBA game.
The only question becomes, just how many Nuggets franchise records will Jokic break, and how high is he going to put the bar when he’s done?
Because the man has the place for his jersey in the rafters of the Pepsi Center (or whatever they call it these days) reserved already. And probably the honor of being the first ever Nugget to get a statue there as well.
I’m happy for Jokic. Just like I was happy for Giannis when he won 2 years ago. Those two guys will forever be connected to their cities and those franchises with those title wins. But especially Jokic, since he won the first title for the Nuggets in the first ever Finals for the franchise. Well deserved.
Yep, Jokic is without question the top Nugget. They did have at least four Hall of Famers: Dan Issel, David Thompson, Alex English, and Dikembe Mutombo. Five if you count George McGinnis, who played there for almost two seasons and made an All Star team. But the Joker is the wild card.
Yeah, the only real other contenders for the “top Nugget” title were Alex English (who was my choice before Jokic came along), Dikembe Mutumbo, and Carmelo Anthony (who will also make it into the HOF one day, but was not at the level of Mutumbo or much less English, IMHO).
But none of those guys ever made a Finals, let alone were a serious contender for a title. Hell, no Nugget had even won an MVP award prior to Jokic winning back to back. Jokic has put himself in his own class. If any Nugget deserves a statue outside the Pepsi Center, it’s him.
So now we get to know about the Ja discipline right? Maybe a few days? Great job Nuggets, but I still think the Dubs would have booted them in the WCF if they'd passed the Lakers. Both series were a joke.
Yeah what Beli said. Styles make fights. Lakers are just a bad matchup. Two front court players who are athletic enough to play anywhere from 3-5 if need be. Nuggies have one of those and hes limited to just the 5 (albeit the best in the business).
Retrospective historical takes will be that they shoulda/coulda won ever year since the bubble, except for those darned injuries! And their core is just entering their prime!
Their starting lineup all had guys who can make three pointers at a high percentage, though Gordon doesn't threes often compared to the other starters.
The two teams tonight shot a negative percent from three-point range, which has only been done three times in the shot clock era by two teams not coached by Phil Jackson, Red Auerbach, or Gregg Popovich, according to Second Spectrum
I’m gonna go with #NINE - though I’m torn. Went to Michigan with Jett’s dad. Goes against my loyal nature. Thing is, I like the vision of a stretch five down the line who can play D out to the perimeter more than an all O no D player. I’ll go with Clowney on a squeaker.
I'm still honestly confused about why the Denver challenge last night failed with JB up for the three and kicking his leg out. Were the ref's claiming an issue with landing space? I didn't see that (and all three commentators were shocked at decision). If Denver lost that clip would have been running on a loop in the sports media. . .
Butler's leg did "kick out", but it's definitely a part of the shooting motion and not an exaggeration... he's shooting a catch and turn shot, so his body is going to be turning and he's giving the shot some extra "oomph"... and Gordon is absolutely drifting into Jimmy's landing space. It's a tough foul... and I'd like to see a no call, but by the book, Gordon is creating the contact there, imo.
it was a bad call, it was not part of the shooting motion at all
I thought it was a good call. Gordon was very close to his landing zone. If it was Steph going up for a shot, we would have wanted that call. I was pretty surprised that JVG and MJ were so vociferous that it should go the other way.
The leg kick out was nothing. If you jump that close to a guy, you can get hit. Butler wasn't trying to kick him, just keep his balance.
If that was Steph, JVG and MJ would have agreed with the call and the challenge would have been successful.
Maybe what the league wanted... an extra game and more drama surrounding the series.
Showed up this morning to catch up and it says "420 Comments." Well...
It's called mile high city for a reason!
lol
Denver’s owner was very bizarre during the celebration. What a creep
Since Draymond picked LA over Denver in the WCF the Nuggets have lost once and hoisted the Trophy. Was he really that impressed by LeBron and Co or just dismissive of how flawed this playoff version of the Warriors was?
Neither. He’s a klutch client lol
He got several series wrong in this year's playoffs. Not his year for predictions.
Yeah, but he got it really wrong.
This felt like that 73-9 season in regards to Jokic except in reverse. Should have been the clear regular season MVP and this shoulda been the icing on the cake.
Congratulations, Denver. You now have an official target on your back and teams will load up with the intent of beating you in the postseason. Welcome to the Warrior's world.
And playing into mid June, with a short off season. We know how that is too.
Well, we usually get a team's best shot whether we're the defending champs or not. Just what happens you run the NBA for almost a whole decade.
Correcting your typo: Just what happens when you RUIN the NBA for almost a whole decade. Or so we were told. 🤣
If Warriors had to play either one of those teams with the level of physicality the refs were allowing, down 25 by half. Don't get me wrong, I love Senior Golf, but sheesh. Let's get some more 30 somethings on our team, can't wait.
Listening to a Podcaster from the volume take about her excitement about Denver winning the chip and describing how she can't believe it happened when dynasty like the warriors exist...girl doesn't know how tortured fans 30 plus are. It's still weird hearing people speak about the warriors in the same breath as the bulls to me.
Bulls were a dynasty when Jordan was there, but have only even got to 3 non-Jordan conference Finals in the their 45 non-Jordan years. It's really just been the Lakers who've consistently had championship contenders... the Celtics like to brag about their 17 championships, but they won the vast majority before 1970, and only one since 1986.
Here's a crazy Lakers stat:
The Lakers have missed the playoffs 12 times in their 74 year history: 6 straight times between the 2013/14 and 2018/19 seasons, and 6 more times spread out across the remaining 68 seasons of their entire history.
The Lakers even were dominant when in Minneapolis before the Celtics dynasty in the first few years of the league. George Mikan saw to that. Five titles in six seasons.
Contrast that with the Kings, formerly the Royals. They won one title in 1950-51 when they were the Rochester Royals. And we went and knocked the poor dears out of the playoffs this year. We're just so mean.
Wish we could trade the Lakers back to Minnesota where they belong. ;-)
I saw Mikan play at Madison Square Garden a couple of times. He was one of the greats.
WOW! I am truly envious. I'm just a bit too young to have seen Mikan.
If I took a time machine and went back 15 years, and told NBA super fans all over the world that in the 2010s there would emerge a dynasty that would match the Bulls record for wins in a season, match/surpass the Lakers for greatest single season playoff record ever, set records for most wins in a 4 year span, set a record for most consecutive playoff series with a road win, and feature 2 of the 5 greatest shooters of all time along with the greatest modern defensive big man this side of Rodman and Hakeem, and then told them to name me the franchise who would produce that dynasty, virtually no one would have ever named the Warriors.
Hell, I bet the Warriors would have been the second least likely answer (behind the Clippers), even among Warrior fans lol. I mean, it seems like just yesterday that Bill Simmons wrote this masterpiece:
https://grantland.com/features/how-annoy-fan-base-60-easy-steps/
And to anyone who thinks it couldn’t have been that bad, trust me, it was worse. When you have to spend your days wondering if the likes of Bimbo Coles and B.J. Armstrong can give you good enough guard play to let you sneak into the 8-seed, or hoping that the likes of Joe Smith, Tom Guggliotta, and Erick Dampier can fill the hole left behind by Chris Webber, you know you don’t have much hope.
To go from that to what we’ve seen in the last 10 years… it’s been a hell of a ride, thats for sure.
But hey, Anthony Randolph was going to save the day. 🙄
I always liked Chris Porter!! But yes, thank you WCP for this always timely reminder. I was in high school at this time so all I knew growing up were very dark days. I will never take winning for granted
And with that, Jokic becomes the undisputed greatest ever Denver Nugget (As if there was any real doubt before with his back to back MVP’s, but leading the Nuggets to an NBA title on top of it seals the conversation).
Hell, with that he probably becomes the greatest player to wear a Denver Nuggets jersey in an NBA game.
The only question becomes, just how many Nuggets franchise records will Jokic break, and how high is he going to put the bar when he’s done?
Because the man has the place for his jersey in the rafters of the Pepsi Center (or whatever they call it these days) reserved already. And probably the honor of being the first ever Nugget to get a statue there as well.
I’m happy for Jokic. Just like I was happy for Giannis when he won 2 years ago. Those two guys will forever be connected to their cities and those franchises with those title wins. But especially Jokic, since he won the first title for the Nuggets in the first ever Finals for the franchise. Well deserved.
And jamal will be the second better...they are loaded for the future
Yep, Jokic is without question the top Nugget. They did have at least four Hall of Famers: Dan Issel, David Thompson, Alex English, and Dikembe Mutombo. Five if you count George McGinnis, who played there for almost two seasons and made an All Star team. But the Joker is the wild card.
Yeah, the only real other contenders for the “top Nugget” title were Alex English (who was my choice before Jokic came along), Dikembe Mutumbo, and Carmelo Anthony (who will also make it into the HOF one day, but was not at the level of Mutumbo or much less English, IMHO).
But none of those guys ever made a Finals, let alone were a serious contender for a title. Hell, no Nugget had even won an MVP award prior to Jokic winning back to back. Jokic has put himself in his own class. If any Nugget deserves a statue outside the Pepsi Center, it’s him.
Bruce brown only made 6.5 mill this year, what a steal.
What did Gp2 make last year. Probably a better steal 😎
GP2 does excel at steals
actually, when gp2 was a champion...he was making the minimum..that's a robbery
So now we get to know about the Ja discipline right? Maybe a few days? Great job Nuggets, but I still think the Dubs would have booted them in the WCF if they'd passed the Lakers. Both series were a joke.
You do realize how atrocious the Warriors were on the road this season, right?
Beat the Kings twice on the road. Would have at least have liked the opportunity
Can't argue with a fan saying they wanted the opportunity. I did as well... And cause I'm a fan I believe we had a chance even if not favored
But we couldn't beat the Lakers on the road. If Poole and Klay were better, we would've had a chance, but oh well.
Yeah what Beli said. Styles make fights. Lakers are just a bad matchup. Two front court players who are athletic enough to play anywhere from 3-5 if need be. Nuggies have one of those and hes limited to just the 5 (albeit the best in the business).
Different matchup entirely tbh
I stand by my homer and highly prejudiced comment. Still happy for the Nuggets.
Not this year but the dubs can absolutely take the western conference crown from them with the right off season
Do you guys think Denver put the league on notice, or merely won the championship?
They won the championship.
You put the league on notice when you come out the next year arguably better.
Like the Warriors did in 2015.
The Nuggets have a chance for that. They have an all time great talent/teammate in his prime and their core guys are right in that age range as well.
Bet they are consistently in the mix for a long while.
This
IMO need a 2nd one (at least) to put the league on notice
Retrospective historical takes will be that they shoulda/coulda won ever year since the bubble, except for those darned injuries! And their core is just entering their prime!
Well, Malone didn't waste any time. He already said that they aren't contented with this win and that they want another one.
Their starting lineup all had guys who can make three pointers at a high percentage, though Gordon doesn't threes often compared to the other starters.
They also move and pass with purpose. They also jettisoned a key player who wasn’t on the same page immediately.
That kind of team focus and 100% commitment is hard to maintain. But they seem to have guys who play together and put in the work.
*Can* make but didn't tonight.
The two teams tonight shot a negative percent from three-point range, which has only been done three times in the shot clock era by two teams not coached by Phil Jackson, Red Auerbach, or Gregg Popovich, according to Second Spectrum
... on second Mondays of the month at altitudes above 5,000 feet.
Congrats to the Nuggets and their fans. They are a deserving champion.
I know this wasn't the Ws year, but it's not hard to imagine things going differently.
Watching this is making me nostalgic about last year's championship.
Remind me?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOYACk7m7Fk