Another Nikola Jokic Masterpiece | The Bill Simmons Podcast
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- Опубліковано 8 чер 2024
- The Ringer’s Bill Simmons is joined by Justin Termine to discuss Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets after taking a commanding 3-2 lead against the Timberwolves.
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Jokic overcame adversity during the bubble, back to back 3-1 comebacks against the Jazz and the Clippers. This isn’t his first rodeo.
Right!! Nobody ever talks about this in the media
I agree mostly, but back then the combacks was icing on the cake, no one would've held it against Jokic for losing those, whereas losing to the wolves now would be on him, which is a huge increase in pressure. Jokic himself said this was the most important game of his career so I think he kinda thinks the same way
@@zhenchen7769 but they did, nuggets have played well throughout jokic plus murray era
Also against the Clipers...they were "done" in that one...3:1 down and 20 down in game 5😂
It’s crazy to me people thinking it’s their first bit of adversity. These guys have gone through pain together, they are a true team.
Shaq poked the bear. Joker responded like a champion
That's a whole fact
That flies in the face of everything Jokic has shown us. There's probably an 80% chance Jokic doesn't even know what Shaq thinks and a 100% chance he doesn't care. It's part of what makes Jokic great.
@@David-iv6jeShaq tolk Jokic to his face that he didnt deserve the MVP.
@@je5406We're talking about the "there's a parade?" guy. Jokic is emotionally centered and Shaq is a fat old guy who took Ozempic.
@@David-iv6je hm i don’t think you actually watch a whole denver game then cause you would’ve known after winning mvp what shaq said to jokic straight to to his face
"Passing is pretty infectious on this team.. outside of Michael Porter Jr"
LMAO
Oh come on.....he had one assist last night. 😂
That ain't his job
@@tommydavidwalker2445 Take a joke chief, Michael Porter is a big boy itll be ok
MPJ is passing more than Murray these days, that joke is so old it still thinks MPJ is farm equipment.
MPj deserves a lot of respect given the stress he must carry knowing his brothers are idiots who ruined their lives - he has a been a real pro.
Jokic just eventually figures things out which is why Denver should be the favorite over any team. He's insanely efficient and consistent. Jokic almost shot 70% from the floor against the DPOY while dropping 40 points and his next level passing allows his teammates have such an easier job. What an absolute offensive juggernaut.
He shot 79%
Let's give some credit to Coach Malone as well. This is a great TEAM. Edit: I loved Simmon's observation that KCP took the ball so Jokic didn't get a turnover. AG has gone to Serbia in the Summer. TEAM.
@@Honestly__now 88% when Gobert was primary defender.
13 dimes with zero turnovers. That some prime Stockton levels of efficiency right there.
@@mj23goat3 Right? He's so boring about doing it we can lose track of how remarkable it is.
Jokic backs AD down. Who isnt he backing down? Jokic has elite strength how are people not seeing this?!
Because he’s literally shaq with a jump shot and great touch. He might be the strongest player in the nba when he actually tries to
He's just a heavy dude, he ain't strong like Steven Adams. But weight moves weight and he isn't afraid to throw it around. With the threeification if the NBA bigs are generally getting skinnier and more mobile, but that doesn't help when you have a dude that wants to bang.
@@taylorcurtis7179 Exactly. I see it, you see it, but talking heads constantly miss it or discredit it by blaming the defender for their "weakness" instead. In fact I was completely won over by Jokic in 2020 playoffs against Lakers when he backed AD down from 3 point to basket.
@@mosquitojoyride exactly it’s always throwing hate on the defenders when there actually good but jokic is just that unstoppable. You can’t double him anywhere because he’s to tall and can throw the ball over any defenders. I personally think him gaining all that weight was better for him then being skinny because you can’t move him from his spot
I was wondering this too, is there anyone in the NBA who's even consistent enough to make him look human?
I think they forgot the nuggets in the bubble, who came back from consecutive 1-3 series, but eventually fell to the Lakers. Those, series were the first flashes, for me, of Jokic's greatness.
and jamals insanely great and tough shot making skill by running around the whole floor and fading multiple directions that shit was so cold!
they only fell to the lakers thanks to a last second AD super lucky shot that if he tried 10 more times he'd never make again
@@VincenzoBarbatoWait that shot decided the series? That’s amazing I didn’t know that. It was game 7?
Oh wait no it wasn’t. It’s ok to admit the lakers were better in 2020 lmao weirdo
@@misinfluence they were better but Jokic was the second best player on the floor. Only AD was better to me.
@@BoxOffice22Jokic was not even close to better than Lebron that series. Lebron was putting up 27 10 and 9 playing great perimeter defense please stop these weird narratives. Jokic is great right now yes but trying to rewrite past series is ridiculous he wasn’t the player he is now in 2020
People went from hating the Gobert trade to loving the trade back to hating the trade in a span of a week.
I hate it, man. It's like those who rag on dudes who get dunked on. Playing defense should never be mocked and needs to stop being mocked or else 82 games will be the NBA All Star game on repeat. Rudy Gobert busted his ass trying to stop Nikola Jokic, didn't get lazy nor quit. That should be appreciated.
Lol sooo true
I hated it the whole time. And I still think he’s deserving of 1 DPOY max. That trade only pays off if the wolves win a chip. Until they do it sucks. You’ve got an actual burgeoning superstar and now you’re locked up paying $90m+ to 2 centers who both have playoff flaws. Oh and your vet PG is a free agent. They made building around Ant messy as hell going forward
Bill "I knew this would happen even though I said Denver would be swept" Simmons
Right? This show should be called "all cap, no facts." 😂
He clearly stated he was surprised den came back after 1st 2 games - typical internet random casuals just making up sht bcuz they don't like a sports pundit , but yet they watch all his content
@@notoriousLSGshow after game 2 he was one of the morons talking about a sweep. That's the only reason I even know about this podcast. Bills stupid face was in the montage of morons calling for a sweep, so for the last 3 games I've been paying visits to all these chumps just to watch them squirm.
Anyone who thought Minnesota had a chance should be laughed at for eternity.
@@notoriousLSGshow you must be new here. Sit this one out, Champ.
Bill Simmons is the captain of prisoner of the moment.
Playoff media coverage is always the same, lose one game and overreact like it's the end of the world.
The home team losing 2 to start is pretty significant
and if you win one game, and you are american and black. you are the best in the world..the next jordan.
@@sammyttheg412exactly. people acting like winning 3 straight games after dropping the first 2 at home is normal lol
Me 😅? I z m z b z@@MaxJulien2701
@@sammyttheg412 normally sth like this ends up as a 3-1 series or sth. This is jus jokic becoming Thanos
I wish people who said it would be swept would eat jokic’s shoes live on tv
"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve" - Isoroku Yamamoto
phenomenal quote. However the credit really belongs to a script writer for "Tora Tora Tora!" The general never said that... but he shoulda.
Wanted to Crown Ant Edwards and make him Kobe/MJ so bad y’all disrespected the obvious best player on the planet
Yeah it's funny how fast the narrative switches. 2-0, MJ's son, Joker doesn't deserve the MVP. Now, it's Rudy Gobert is a basketball terrorist, Minny still doesn't have a good enough roster and Joker's a god.
If you listen to the players and not the talking heads, everyone acknowledges Jokic is the best in the world right now, and ANT really is the next up-and-coming great one. Both can be true.
If Jokic has an “off night” in the next game (25pts, 12reb, 8ast) and the Nuggets lose, the narrative will quickly switch back to: “Jokic is trash/overrated/fat. The Nuggets can’t beat teams with a winning record, etc…”
When Minnesota won those first two games on the road, lots of people jumped at the opportunity to bury Jokic and anoint Anthony Edwards as the next generational superstar. The selective amnesia is unreal.
Kobe so overated
@@JonathanHerschhahahahahah Mj’s son
People are so fucking dumb
Can't wait to see the Twolves crush the Celtics.
Can’t wait to see Simmons react to Denver crushing Boston.
Can't wait to see Simmons reacting to how he's reacted
It's going to be fun to watch...Nuggets in 6 over Boston is my pick..
What are the Celtics doing that makes you think they will get “crushed “?
I think that will be a pretty fun match up. Can I promise the Celtics will beat the Nuggets? Of course not but it is funny to me that Celtics are hitting every mark of a ascending champion. They are first in every metric you can use. Tatum has won more playoff games and scored more playoff points than anyone since he got in the league and if they win this year he will get one faster than Lebron/Curry/Shaq/Jordan. They’re the only team that wins consistently and the narrative is “yeah but I don’t like how they won. 😂😂😂
The surprising thing is that your surprised. How did you forget how excellent a team the nuggets are?
Jokic is so good it's nuts, and it"s nuts you didn't know how good he was, plus Shaq pissed him off.
People in denver know what a competitor Joker is and that he can have a bad temper when pushed.
I mean Jamal couldn’t move after game 2. I don’t think bill forgot Jokic was good, he’s been a leading bandwagon member of is for a while.
It is still very hard for a team to go back-to-back on a championship, it is also rare for a team to win after being 0-2 at home(although it isn't done yet) and it is also rare to turn the situation 180° like that so I can understand the prediction done (outside of they're getting swept, that was too much). Because they were really getting crushed in those 2 games so it seemed unprobable that Nuggets would go 3-0 from there, but they did, that really shows their mental strength and good coaching too.
It wasn't Jokic, its that Jamal Murray looked bad.
Feel bad for Rudy this morning. 7-7 18 pts 12 reb 4stks. And all anyone's talking about is how bad he got torched 🤣
You have not seen the game it seems! Rudy was atrocious, bad, really really bad! No passion, no effort no motivation no motor! The worst Timberwolf
Going 7/7 oversells how effective he was on offense though.
His inability to make plays in the short roll or punish smaller defenders on post ups really hurts Minnesota.
Rudy wasn't even bad on defense, Jokic is just that good.
@@eugeniovaldez7205Bomani Jones calls him and Townes 14 feet of disappointment haha
what a performance, against an elite defense too. hes incredible
And he doesn't get injured like Giannis and Embiid does
Here are the 3 things that happened that changed the series .
1. Denver adjusted to the wolves length. It took 2 games after playing a much smaller lakers team.
2. They started setting better screens and taking care of the ball. This allowed their 2 man game to continue. More separation for Jamal means the pocket pass on the roll, the opening for the 3 shot, which means Murray’s defenders have to come over the screen and it pulls Jokes defender higher to show on D, this opened driving lanes and back cuts. Denver’s offense got going and Jamal and Joke did their thing.
3. Wolves were a bad offense all season. Once Denver reduced turnovers it eliminated the wolves transition opportunities. Since Denver’s offense started clicking because of reason 2, they scored, when they score they can setup their defense putting the wolves more often into half court offense (they are awful). Take away Conley and the wolves have only one playmaker left. Ant. Now the nuggets can double him and the gamble paid off as no one else was able to create their own shot or hit open 3s.
4. Honorable mention. The officiated we saw in GM 2 did not continue, this played away from the wolves strength of being more physical.
You missed literally the most important thing that changed. They started having Gordon bring the ball up the court which killed the wolves pressure defense and gave Murray more energy for the shots. He was the back up point guard for Orlando so when you have to bring the ball court it means no turnovers or trapping and more energy on offense for the shooters.
Yeah biggest differences have been Gordon handling more and then Jokic/Murray/Gordon all being more deliberate with their dribble and passing. They were just being sloppy in games 1-2. Obviouslt twolves were playing great defense but so much of it was because the nuggets were leaving themselves in vulnerable positions everywhere on the perimeter
Number 4 is by far the biggest difference. Once officiated normally everything fell back into place. Game 2 was insane. Wolves were fouling every play and they still had twice as many free throws at half time.
I'll add one, having Gordon begin taking the ball up the floor which shifted the offense in ways the Wolves still don't seem clear how to handle.
@@ChristopherM720 it can’t be handled. He handles well enough to avoid strips (and is guarded by a big), and is tall enough to pass over traps. There’s just no way to pressure the ball properly without creating horrible mismatches on the other end. It has the added bonus of keeping Murray from getting worn down and missing easy shots.
As a long time jazz fan I’ll tell you jokic been doing this to gobert a long time, he’s had lots of huge games.
Gobert did his job 18pts 7/7 12 reb 2blks and 2 stls. But Jokic is unstopable, the man can dominate anyone with his skills, strengh and Game IQ.
Everyone knows offensive superstars are never truly stopped by one person. Most of the time the only one who can them is themselves. Absolutely bizarre Gobert is held to that standard.
Gobert numbers misleading. Nuggs were consistently leaving gobert open in the pick and roll and he could not make the necessary passes and we all know he can't create for himself. Goberts lack of post game and offensive skill is sad
Rudy didn’t even play bad defense on Jokic all game yesterday. Jokic just hits crazy contested shit and has eyes all over his body. How are you supposed to guard this man honestly when he’s hitting CONTESTED rainbow floaters and rainbow jumpshots as a 7 footer? Just truly unstoppable, and I wish Rudy didn’t get as much flack because Jokic does this to everyone (AD, Bam, Wemby, Embiid, etc.)
He gets flack because he’s a 4 DPOY over those guys when a bunch of them have shown they’re stronger isolation defenders
@@gators9570 agree. But Jokic also cooked those guys too. The fact of the matter is that Jokic just has the tools to deal with any defender, even the best ones in the league. We should focus on giving him more praise rather than degrading his competition because (especially in the case of last game) he just is too good, no matter how you play him.
@@gators9570 Isolation defense is overrated, especially for Big Men. Good defense is to keep Giannis, AD, Gobert, off of the post threat, allowing them to come over and contest without fouling. Defending as part of a team is what's important, since the offense is constant movement, passing, and screening.
There is no other big man who is as deadly in the Post as Jokic. Not Embiid, not anyone. So when AD is cooked by Jokic, and then Gobert is cooked by Jokic, who do you think would defend or stop Jokic? Who is a good defender then?
You just don't stop the greats 1 on 1. If you do, they're not one of the greats yet.
Jokic is a machine at this point but it's also the scheme that's in place to take advantage of Gobert and the Wolves Defense as well..
Mike Malone made Aaron Gordon either be the screener or the ball handler and that forces Gobert to have no choice but to be involved early in the action and away from his comfort zone as a roamer.. It looks over Thursday for the Wolves but will see..
Gobert became half of the jokers hall of fame video last night
Jokic’s numbers are mesmerizing. They’re almost Ohtani-esque. They’re so good and consistent that it’s almost unreal.
What are you even talking about? How does he compare to Ohtani in any way? Ohtani is trying desperately to become Jokić-esque! Don’t get it twisted with dumb takes
@@rorydougherty lol ohtani is probably the greatest baseball player ever, Jokic isn’t close to being the greatest basketball player ever
@pulse3554 Ohtani is a wanna-be Babe Ruth. He's not even close to being the best baseball player ever. What a stupid thing to say dude fr
@@aaronparker1221 LMAO Babe Ruth was a fat guy who was in the league at a time when black people weren’t even allowed, and the sport was not global. Think about how ridiculous that is and the level of competition. He wouldn’t be in the MLB today.
@@aaronparker1221 also you paint it like I’ve said something outlandish - which is actually the outlandish part. This is a common opinion from all sorts of actors in the sport. Writers, players, coaches, fans, etc
Without suspending Embid, they couldnt suspend Murray.
Denvers run last year was dominant, period. Including beating this same Wolves team in 5 games
When Magic Johnson developed his outside shot he became unstoppable. Thats who Jokic reminds me of.
Magic and Kareem. Combined
unstoppable? JOrdan beat him in the finals. That's the definition of stopping someone.
@@elizabethchase6528 there’s a great story on a video from Porter Jr’s podcast where the owner is talking about trying to decide if they were going to stay with Jokic or the other good Center they had at the time and the analytics team brought a breakdown of Jokic and one other player by every statistical category to help him decide. He figured out that player A was joker because he had better statistics so he asked who was player B and they told him it was Larry Bird.
@@teddylovesit well Jordan was the best imo. Jordan would beat The Joker too.
Jordan was the darling of the nba. He played with different rules than everybody else. I bet you think he deserved 6 titles. 😅.
@@knowsmebyname
I've seen a similar thing with 2019 Bucks vs Raptors. MVP Giannis went up 2-0 against Kawhi and the Raptors and then they came back and won 4 straight.
Shaq seething in embarrassment, all ng with Charles....😂😂😂
A unique feature of Jokic is indeed his unselfishness, he doesn't care about having x amount of shots per game, if they can win and he scores 0 points it's fine, if one of his teammate is hot the Nuggets will feed him, I think it plays a lot in increasing the odds that a teammate will go hot in any given night.
I can see more and more players not throwing heave at the end of a quarter to not hurt their field goal percentage and it tells something about their mentality. Today Joker was 2/3 from 3 but one of those shot was actually a full court heave, he doesn't care.
He's the modern day Larry Bird. He can dominate the game with just 15 points/12 rebs/8 assists. He always goes after the mismatch and allows his teammates to get their volume and rhythm. Bird reached that selfless chess master level in the mid 80s. This is prime Joker at the top of his offensive powers. So skilled and so much smarter than 99% of the rest of the league.
Jokic threw a fade away jump shot pass, bro… What the heck can Gobert do with that? 😂😂😂
Jokic dominated last night
Bill acting like he wasnt part of the media shitting on Denver
Someone once called Jokic “an inevitability” and I think about that often.
This series ain’t over.
It’s over … Conley is injured and gobert is in Jokic’s chamber hahaha
@@kennyduarte6744 I’m cheering for Denver. But the wolves are no joke.
@@17NateJohnsonthey aren’t a joke. But the nuggets are locked in now. They’re not losing 2 straight imo. And KAT + Gobert are not who you want supporting Ant in do or die games.
Meanwhile... Shaq is somewhere crying while hugging his pillow after tonight ...
I took a 2 week vacation to Australia where I was too busy to consume sports content and boy did I miss Bill, Ryen, and the Ringer. Best in the business. Appreciate you all.
.... They have UA-cam in Australia.
Just saying
Minnesota couldn't keep up with the same defensive intensity cause Denver took away the ball from Jokic's and Murray's hands early in the possession and gave it to Gordon, so that Murray would not have the burden to bring it up the court. That shifted the pressure away from the Denver's 2 man game and made it easier for them to operate from there. It helped a lot that Gordon was so up to the task and had a wondeful game 3.
Also because that intensity level was unsustainable.
They are still picking up full court but the bigger difference is 1) in the rotations and 2) that Rudy can't move like KAT, Naz and Anderson. In game 2 every player was giving 2, 3, 4, 5 efforts on every play and they were moving as one. Now they look like a normal defense again.
The emotional energy boost they got from Rudy being out is something you can't fake or replicate and they have only been able to get to that level in spurts since.
yea mostly this. You can bully Murray if you pick him full court with a big.
You aren’t bully Aaron Gordon. He bullies you.
Great point- love seeing how the goats respond to adversity
It's fascinating to watch him and Jalen Brunson right now. The two are incredibly unconventional, not living by the three, gets others involved and for the most part, doesn't say a damn word. I am far from an NBA fan, cannot stand the product, but those two are well worth the watch.
Never underestimate the etc etc
And never underestimate the refs going from '90s era whistle swallowing to calling every tic tac incident.
@@grahamjl766 It's the chicken and the egg. Did the Wolves win so big because of a change in officiating, and now the officiating is back to normal, or was it vice versa?
I think Game 2 was unusual officiating, and it might have been the case in the Suns series as well. Maybe this Wolves postseason run has been fraudulent all along.
Bill Simmons is NO WHERE NEAR the front of the Jokic bandwagon. The receipts are on UA-cam. Jus sayin'... Keep it 💯 ⛏️🏀🏆✌️
I’m a Mavs fan. I hope we win the OKC series. But it won’t matter. Denver and Jokic are too good.
It's not as complicated as it sounds, we just forgot. It's an exceptionally well-coached team. A very high IQ starting 5 with a top 10 all-time passing big, a non-all star all-star point, and a high IQ and flexible other 3. Gordon in particular can match up with anybody and Jokic is unstoppable if he's got 4 good guys to pass to. All 5 starters can bring the ball up, cut, pick, roll/dive whatever. 3 smart bench guys who can play D, dive on the floor, and will hit open shots. Cork up one thing and they'll try a series of others.
Murray was terrible in the first 3 games, but I also think Malone and the Nugs had not figured them out. (The officiating was also much looser in the fist two, which favored the Wolves. ) But since Murray came back, they've had a Murray game, a Gordon game, and a Jokic game, but Jokic was extremely good in all 3. He's the heart, but any of those 5 below peak performance will throw them off the rails. Look at Porter:Bbad series? Nope, he's playing good D and they have a guy tied to him because he's a lights out shooter when open. That opens the floor. If the Wolves adjust to leave Porter open we'll see him score 20 on great efficiency. KCP is always strong.
And maybe the Wolves are a little young. Of the old guys, Conley is the wise old PG as he's always been, but Gobert and KAT can be idiots. Their success depends on the ratio of Ant being a 1st team all-NBA player vs. KAT and Gobert doing dumb stuff.
Bill Simmons is a gem
Loves sports and knows the history, is funny and smart… my favorite podcast right now
I'm a Nuggets homer, but the back against the wall segment not including either of the Nuggets 3-1 comebacks is insane. At the very least, every analyst in the world said the Clippers were going to finish the Nuggets off and they had no chance, before they overcame everything and stole that series back.
2019. Toronto and Kawhi did it to Milwaukee, down 2-0. Won 4 straight. Wasn’t that long ago. And you probably counted them out, too.
😂😂😂
Nope, Bucks won first two games at home, not on the road. And also, the most recent 0:2 to 4:2 was again Bucks against Suns in 2021.
Yea but at home going down 2-0 has happened like 5 times ever
No going down 0-2 at home and coming back has only happened 5 times.
@@kmozandinthis but he did it with the clippers in 21 against Dallas.
Never saw the right dude on screen. I thought he was 20 years older by his voice.
What's the name of his show?
There's a reason he's not shown on screens
Joker has been ABSOLUTELY locked the hell in
Because it's all about hot takes for views. The media and fans are so obsessed with "the next Jordan" narrative. If they could stop that and these insanely idiodic/played out Lebron vs MJ debates, basketball would be better for it.
I knew game five was over when I heard Conley was out and went back to my laptop to get ahead on work. Ant was getting praised by the media toward the end of the season just for making simple reads and chucking less (which is a positive development and something to be applauded). They don't have another quality primary ball handler, and making a 22 year old shooting guard known to not always make the best decisions as your leading ballhandler in the playoffs had zero chance of working
The T-Wolves talk after game 2 was absurd. Suddenly Minnesota was the best defense you’ve seen in 20 years. Wild takes.
What they did in game 2 is still as good as any game the Bad Boys, 04 Pistons or MJ Bulls have ever played.
They are every bit as good as the 04 Pistons and I say that as a Pistons fan
They *are* a historically great defense. They are 2.3 points better than the #2 defense and 6.3 above league average. They will likely have 2 guys on first team All-Defense and have two other guys who should get votes.
Denver is just that good.
Jokic is not the Joker anymore... He evolved. Now he is..... Optimus Prime !!!
Is wild what happend in basketball media after first two games in Denver.
Anyone who said “sweep” after 2 games is a dummy, including Simmons (and of course Nostradamus Barkley). If it’s 3-0, then you can safely say that. I thought at the time all it meant was the series would go 6 or 7, and only question was who was going to win. Before the series, I had Denver in 6, didn’t think Minnesota would have a real chance because none of their mediocre playoff history beset with immature outbursts (remember the playin “championship celebration”?) and flameouts suggest they could beat the defending champs.
Yeah but Pat Beverley now plays for Bucks ... And they gone
A 24second violation is a team turnover, not a player turnover. It doesn't matter who's holding the ball when the shot clock expires.
This is the second time I've heard this,I love this random fact for some reason.
MyPlayer used to give you a TO for that.
quickly pass it to your SF and watch him mope.
Incredibly surprised Bill of all people doesn't know that.
Correct. Thank you for posting that.
Didn't know that. It makes sense, because the last guy holding it as the time expires is usually a victim of some other player's poor decision.
I'm loving watching the Twolves transforming into the San Jose Sharks of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs. This is why you never write off a team that has won a championship in the past three years no matter how dire it seems for them... Since Bill Simmons has been playing a lot of tennis recently, I would like to say this is the equivalent of the mens French Open Finals of 2004. The Twolves are Guillermo Coria and the fans in Minnesota started doing the wave around the arena in Game 3 which was the catalyst to the ultimate choke job.
Wow the 2014 Sharks and the 2004 French Open Finals mentioned in the same paragraph..Interesting
@@OCPARKWAY Coria is my second favorite tennis player of all-time. I feel so bad for him in that final lol.
The level of smugness despite the Game 6 result.... Geeeeee whiz.
How can it be the ultimate choke job when the series goes to Seven Games!
What a doorknob of knowledge you turned out to be 👍👍👍
@@raven4475 Did the Twolves win the series? I merely stated that they were transforming into the 2014 San Jose Sharks and them losing this series will be the ultimate choke job. They will lose Game 7 to the Nuggets. My advice to you is to look in the mirror and see the smugness that emanates from you. Good day sir, good day!
@@soysaucehairdye7869
You wanna label a team choked when a series goes to Seven Games??? Are you stupid? Tell me this .... What's your label for the Lakers, 76ers, Suns, Cavs, Magic. I'm super curious "dickhead"
The 4 day layoff between games 2 and 3 allowing Denver to mentally regroup and simultaneously killing the T-wolves momentum was a huge factor if not the #1 factor.
Justin Termine could do an awesome impression of The Critical Drinker...
Good choice of guests
Feel bad for the youngsters who don’t appreciate the Harold Lederman impression.
😭😭😭😭
Oh ya, it was perfect!
It was spot on
Everybody but you Bill, classic
Bill is right, this is one of the most unusual playoff series in NBA history.
Walking around whistling after Game 6...
Wonder how goofy Shaq feels. Talked shit to the MVP, and Jokic jud laughed it off and pulled his team out of a 0-2 hole lol
favorite player to watch since bird.
19:35 You guys forget, Ants threw chair that did injure a fan last year and only got fined 50k.
I never thought any shot he put up was going to miss.
What the hell does Reggie Lewis have to do with anything in 94? No disrespect to the man passing away, but that doesn’t affect anything on the court that year in terms of contending teams.
The problem with sports media is the propensity to over-react to every single thing for views and engagement. Claiming the nuggets looked done after game 2 was not an unreasonable opinion to have, but then going overboard and saying jokic wasnt a good player and murray was overated was insane. anybody who watched game 2 could assume the nuggets would lose the series, just from how good the wolves were playing. but claiming a sweep was idiotic
Jokic's comp is Tim Duncan
AND HAKEEM OLAJUWON
Pay attention! MPJ has been reading the court and making plays at a new level! His passing has improved tremendously playing w Jokić!
Are we still playing? I thought Michael Jordan and the Wolves had already won the championship.
9:34 regarding the fullcourt pressure, Denver made Gordon bring up the ball, that was one of the big adjustement they made, since it's usually Gobert guarding Gordon they had difficulties to adjust to that because Gobert and KAT are too slow to keep up with Gordon on the full court, Edwards is too small so they'll had to switch once Gordon passes mid court, they would want Jaden or NAW on Gordon ideally but they want to keep them on Murray and MPJ, so basically they don't pressure Gordon most of the time and Gordon did a good job playing point guard, moreover it lets Murray more fresh.
Dallas did something similar. Because of Luka’s injury, it’s much easier to trap in or just harassing going up the floor so they have Kyrie or one of the small forwards bring the ball up that immediately pass it to Luca when they get across halfcourt. A small but necessary adjustment with the added bonus that you don’t put extra physical pressure on the valley who’s already playing on one leg.
Your the goat when your good and get a free pass when your bad this is how the Kevin Durant world come to exist
Absolutely crazy how we went from Edwards being on the verge of being the next Jordan and Kobe and the Timberwolves very possibly becoming an unbeatable dynasty…to…this in less than a week. Lmao.
Its been a geeat series. I dont think its necessary to bash either team. They are both great! LETS GO NUGETTS!!!!
Bill forgot to mention the 2011 Mavs. Got beat bad by the Heatles in game 1 but end up winning in 6.
Justin has been talking with that "Sports" voice for so long that it has literally changed the shape of his face (kind of like Mad Dog)
the change happened on Denvers side, they having AG bring up the ball which has drastically changed the series, it allows denver to set up half court. they don't want Rudy or Towns playing full court. if u have someone else pressure Gordon it creats advantageous mis matches for the Nuggets. Point AG was the match that lit the fuse.
Couldn't you explain the flip, in part, to the big break in the schedule between games 2 & 3 - which helped Murray's legs, at least?
Lf/Rt hook shots off the backboard is ridiculous...then a nonchalant 3 pointer. He still looks like he'd rather be at the horse races. Too good.
How come no sports media personality knows that shot clock violations are not individual turnovers but go under team turnovers?
5:40 KCP wasn't given a turnover for that, those sorts of plays are logged as team turnovers. Still a dope gesture from KCP.
If an opponent picks up the ball before the 24 second clock expires, the turnover goes against Jokic. Happened a couple times this year because he just drops the ball and walks away.
Shaq disrespected the Joker in his face on TNT, saying that SGA deserved it more😊
The 2019 raptors vs bucks series looked like a wrap after the first two games, then it went double OT in toronto and the Raps ended up dominating the Bucks in 6
You can’t judge the amount of help a player has by purely accolades
So Jamal Murray is better than Kobe and we should just ignore the MVP, scoring titles, 15 All-NBA's, 12 times All-Defense, 18 all star games and 4 all star MVP's?
Those accolades don't measure how good Kobe was?
No one is saying Murray sucks but no one really thinks that without Jokic he's better than Jalen Brunson or Ja Morant either
Aaron Gordon is awesome, but he's not James Worthy or Kevin McHale or Draymond Green or Dennis Rodman
KCP isn't Klay Thompson or Dennis Johnson or Michael Cooper or Joe Dumars
Yes, Murray is better than his accolades in the same way Manu was but the guys who have 4, 8, 12 All-NBA nods *are* better than him.
Best defense ever! Who is that gut!!
Nuggets had 1700+ championship odds after game 2, now its 260. Nuggets gonna repeat I don't trust the Celtics
I was so surprized by that. If I didn't live in cali I would've thrown the house on denver.
Jokic did turn it up a notch after. The interview on TNT after Shaq said he did not vote for him for MVP
I think it was KCP in Game 3 that made this over the head backwards no look pass to I think MPJ on the wing after he’d gotten doubled on the drive. It was just so Jokeresque I couldn’t help but have this same thought. 5:55
Jokic❤
The thing Bill didn’t see was that AG started bringing up the ball. KAT/Naz tried to pressure him, and he burned them multiple times going to the rim. Tried others on him, and it scrambled their assignments on the back end. No adjustment for this so far…
"Destroys the toilet" 😂
You did say 💯 sweep.
The bit BIll did last week on the Wolves when they were up 2-0 is aging like milk.
Maybe wait just a little longer for the crazy projections next time.
A sweep seemed crazy. But Murray didn’t look healthy, and I’m surprised people don’t mention Murray’s possible (likely?) suspension for game 3, or the fact that Golbert didn’t play in game 2, as significant contributing factors to that prediction.
Hey don't be bringing any logic or nuance into the discussion!
Porter Jr. Forgot about passing last night and he got the bench in place of Braun who cooked in the moment. Malone just making the right adjustments and well timed timeouts.
Reggie Jackson explained what happened. It was mainly the Nuggets playing flat, unmotivated, basketball the whole first round and start of the second until they got embarrassed in game 2. They the same in the first series for the most part, its just that they couldn't get away with it with Minnesota. Nothing away from Minnesota, they're a good team, hell of a defence, but only team that can stop the Nuggets the last couple seasons is the Nuggets. They can figure out any defence and team they want to if motivated.
Every time Jokic scores a bucket on offense, the Wolves have to come right back in their half court set and put pressure on him with any of their bigs (Gobert, Towns, Reid).
The fact that Denver is making a conscious effort to double Anthony Edwards on the perimeter means you have man to man coverage on the low post. This actually facilitates the 1-1 matchup on Jokic you need to pressure him with.
Should they decide to help the low block, that results in Edwards being free to create on the perimeter/mid range.
Denver does this perfectly with Jokic and Murray in their offense, yet Minnesota played a forced offense with 3s that are rushed when they don't have good ball movement.
That is why Denver is the smartest team in basketball and championship calibre, while Minnesota is struggling to be consistent in this series.
The Wolves should be winning this series, but Denver is outsmarting them, and thus the Nuggets are up 3-2.
A big part of it is Minnesota just doesn't have the playmaking.
Ant only being 6'4" matters on the perimeter because he just can't see the passing angles they way bigger players can but even once he gets off ball Minnesota can't make the next play fast enough to punish Denver
Their best offensive lineups and best defensive lineups are not the same.
@@michaelahurt
Michael Conley not playing last night was a brutal loss for Minnesota.
Edwards has the speed, athleticism and ball handling skills to get seperation, or a split, of the double team.
Last night their perimeter players were pounding the ball on the court and trying to create a bad three point shot, instead of quickly swinging the ball to the weak side, and dropping the ball into the weak side low post.
High school players do a better job of that very thing, than what Minnesota did last night.
When KAT is on the perimeter, Edwards is on the other side of the court. Edwards has to do a better job getting the ball back to the middle when the double comes, while KAT has to get into a low post/weak side position.
If the ball gets back to the middle, since Denver doubled Edwards on the original strong side of the defense, all of a sudden it is 3 Wolves on 2 Nuggets, with a 7 footer in the low post ready to "eat BBQ chicken".
At that point, it is Academic on the defense's weak side: the swing man drives the line, or the big gets an easy layup.
Edwards isn't facilitating in these circumstances, while Denver can do it with either Murray or Jokic at the top of the key.
That's why Denver got back, and is winning this series 3-2.
The Coaching staff in Minnesota is blowing this series.....like last year.
@@zissiskonstantinou3311 It's not just last night but yes, having Conley or Morris or Anderson in those spots makes a huge difference because the ball moves side to side quicker.
Although KAT would need to get a really good seal and go quick or they will bring would a double. But that's my point. The ball doesn't move because Minnesota has a bunch of guys who have to think about the next read vs already knowing the answer.
I think the coaching issue is more about how do we get Ant involved by using him off ball. Which is where having Conley or Morris or Anderson comes in because you have to be organized and intentional. First get the switch for KAT then post him then swing swing back to Edwards so he can attack a weakside closeout before they can load up. Which sounds easy on paper but there's nuance because the defense isn't stupid.
You need the collective playmaking to overcome the weak links in the chain. Those split seconds where the ball sticks is what allows the defense to recover.
It's why we've seen a gradual move toward playmaking bigs and SF playing PF and away from Ilyasova, Mitotic, Ryan Anderson style stretch bigs because you have to be able to keep the defense in rotation. Defenses can recover to the shooter in time because the rotations are smarter than in 2014.
Which is why I say the lineups don't match. You want Ant, KAT, Anderson and two of Morris/Conley/NAW on offense but you want McDaniels and Gobert on defense.
You can coach it all you want, McDaniels and Gobert and to a lesser extent Naz and Towns are never going to read the game like guards who grew up making those reads. It's why bigs like Draymond and Jokic who can do that are so valuable.
@@michaelahurt
When you have two bigs (KAT and Gobert/Reid) and two athletic players in Edwards and McDaniels, your number one priority has to be a "rebound and run" approach, with a steady handed PG like Conley pushing the break.
By pushing the fast break, Jokic gets worn out, especially should he be taking a shot in the low post.
He doesn't have the speed to chase down a fast break. Considering that Minnesota has 4 bigs, they have a lot of bodies to throw at Joker this way.
If Denver gets back (Murray, KCP, Porter are fast enough to do so), then your half court set is a pick and roll on the wing, while you have a triangle set on the other side should the weak side come with the double team in the pick and roll.
Denver has exceptional facilitators in Murray and Jokic to play the "hi-low" game at all times in the half court.
I find that Minnesota hasn't game planned for the circumstances where an opposing defence comes with the double on Edwards.
That is preparation, or coaching.
@@michaelahurt
Remember also, re Play Making Bigs:
In Minnesota's biggest win of the series, Anderson got the start because Gobert was home tending to the birth of his new born.
The personnel isn't the issue for Minnesota, it is about adapting to changes that Denver has done the last 2-3 games.
The Timberwolves were woefully unprepared, and uninspired when they took the floor in Games 3 and 4 at home.
2005 Mavs Rockets and 2012 Thunder Spurs are pretty similar to this series as well
This is what happens when you rely on Gobert and Kat in the playoffs!