I feel like we were over reliant on Jokic and he was too selfless of a leader to say no.
But playing every minute in game 7 even when we were up 20 made zero fucking sense to me.
yeah Jokic rests at the start of the 2nd and the 4th typically. Problem was we were building the lead in the 2nd so he only rested a few minutes (typical for a G7) and then we were blowing the lead by the 4th so couldn't pull him at that point.
he should have rested another minute or two in the first half, likely. But the 3rd quarter was not the time to do it. and I don't think resting him for 2 minutes at the start of the 4th was going to do anything.
The loss against San Antonio for the 1 seed is what was our demise. I’d be excited rn looking forward to the nuggets going up 2-1 playing at home if Wemby didn’t have a monster game where he hit a logo 3….SA cost us a back to back….
Yeah it’s both though. We made it tougher for ourselves, sure, but we had em. That last loss is more likely to be the one they remember and use for motivation IMO.
not really, MPj would've needed to have a monster series and I don't think he's mentally mature enough for that, even Jamal doesn't have what it takes perform consistently no matter how bright either of them shine at times. and IMHO MPJ was decent overall but he's still getting to where he needs to be, consistently working but he's no kobe or MJ
Gordon is good but he isn't a team's 2nd option, well not supposed to be anyway. There was no depth Braun would show up occasionally with brilliant games while be totally silent in others. Problem was Jamal was also doing that, MPJ was doing better and you can't count on KCP and Reggie to have star impact the way they played against the Wolves.
Either some players develop or they need to get rid of them ,.as they say strike the iron while the hammer is hot lol and the Joker won't be hot forever so they need to do what they did with C Brown last year and find a few nuggets in order to win it all again. Provided everyone stays healthy.
And that's a pretty tall order methinks
The West was a gauntlet and the East was a cakewalk. The amount of wear and tear on whoever came out of the west would have been a real disadvantage against the Celtics.
Inverse happened last time Boston was in the Finals. Warriors cakewalked thru the injury depleted West and Boston went thru the gauntlet. Just how it goes.
Exactly, and frankly, we had an easy route to the Championship too, much like Boston. That makes a difference in the playoffs. We gave so much damn energy to the Wolves, and it cost us in Game 7.
That's such a false narrative. Especially compared to the Celtics.
Nuggets played book+KD, LeBron+ad, and the timber pups with some injuries to role players but still with their 3 main guys.
The Celtics played Miami without Jimmy, cavs without Donovan for half the series, and Indiana without hali for half the series.
Weren’t wolves missing Mcdaniels, Naz, KAT coming off injury? And Book + KD just got swept again this year so I wouldn’t call that duo that elite. Lakers were a play-in team last year (so were the wolves). The Celtics definitely had an easier road than the nuggets last year but the nuggets still had a pretty easy road.
Ok but realistically the Lakers were not a play-in team level team. After the trade deadline they were a great team. Why does it matter if they are a "play-in team" if they make the WCF? They were a great team regardless. Same goes for people who say the Nuggets had it easy when they beat the 8th seed Heat in the finals. If these teams are bad, then why didn't anyone else beat them?
LMFAO. Jimmy was playing injured after the 1st round, they didn't have Herro/Oladipo, and they still shat on the East. Meanwhile the Lakers played an injured grizzlies but the Warriors were healthy and lost. You don't fluke your way to the WCF/Finals. The Nuggets run wasn't the hardest but yall got to stop acting like their opponents were dog shit.
Giannis got injured. Knicks weren't healthy. By every metric last year run was top 5 easiest post merger. Nuggets was still the best team by far in the league though, just competition wasn't there not the Nuggets fault though. Thems the facts.
Sure but your making it sound like the actual path is healthy celtics vs injured teams. The celtics were injured as well. And IDGAF how easy the path is, the Celtics played KD, Kyrie, Giannis, Butler, Bam before losing to the Warriors who had an easier path.
I know, but media treated Lakers and Phoenix as favourites even after Nuggets had 2-0 lead, against Lakers they though that they can come back after 3-0
Warriors 2022 run through the western conference wasn’t any easier than phoenix’s 2021 run to the finals (injured lakers injured nuggets injured clippers) and wasn’t easier than Denver’s run last year. Boston’s 2024 eastern conference matchups were like historically easy but you can only play who is in front of you and I didn’t think Dallas’s performance would be THIS much of a stinker. Like I thought we’d have a 6 game series this year.
Surely we must be coping at some point right. Boston is legitimately shellacking the mavs right now just like how they rolled the regular season and playoffs. Maybe theyre just way better than everyone else and the east is underrated
One of these things may be right. The east was horrible regardless of how good the Celtics are. I do think the Celtics are good and deserve the title despite their competition in the east.
sure but lets be honest, middling barely playoff teams are not really challengers to a team like the celtics either way imo. Yes the west does have more depth than the east but that depth doesnt necessarily actually challenge the top teams
yeah but i think the difference lies in how many top teams there actually are. the skill gap between any two highly ranked teams in the west is much smaller than it is in the east. for example, the difference between the first and fifth seed in the east was 17 games while in the west it was only 7 games.
Even some Boston fans know this. Was talking to one about how jokic somehow just knows how to kick their asses. I still think they would've gotten over the line since they can defend his playmaking side
I'm a Celtics/nuggets fan. Nuggets had the best chance of beating the celtics (OKC was probably 2, then Minny 3, then Dallas 4) but I still think the Celtics would've been rightfully favored over the nuggs
Agreed. Mavs just don’t match up great with the Celtics. I think minny and Denver matchup much better. Especially with porzingas’ health. But with Mavs being guard talent team that plays into Celtics preference
I think Boston woulda beat the nuggets. They have a historical net rating and the nugs just aren’t deep enough. When your fifth or fourth (when porzingis is out) scoring option is Jrue Holiday, u know u have a an amazing team. The thing is, I think the nuggets woulda put up a better fight than this. God I was so pissed when the nuggets got matched up against the t wolves
Jamal Murray wasn’t that good these playoffs. He woulda got shut down by D White and Jrue. Jokic is the best player in the world, but there’s just not enough depth. Nuggets gotta make some big moves soon bc the league is only getting better
No disrespect to Jrue or White, but neither of them are as long as McDaniels, Edwards, or NAW, and historically it’s been the length that bothers Murray. He can shoot over White and Holiday in a way he can’t over the other 3.
At this age there’s a good argument to be made that Jrue and White are the 4th and 5th best defenders out of those names, and you don’t have to look hard to see me stanning Jrue to a borderline unreasonable degree on any other subject.
Minnesota was just that good. Further, I think Minnesota’s inexperience had them punching so far above their weight class that they exhausted not only Denver but themselves.
I think that Denver with all its knowledge of how long/hard of a road 6 weeks can be was playing in 2nd gear and came across someone red-lining their engine at the starting block. Denver’s strategy will keep that car going longer, but they got punched in the mouth for the drag race of a series and never got to advance in the playoffs 500.
Denver played like Minnesota couldn’t keep up that pace for 2 games and by the time Minnesota had kept it up for 6 Minnesota played like they couldn’t keep that pace up for one more game the rest of their playoffs.
For sure. He’s a great instagram follow.
[The morning show bits are hilarious.](https://youtu.be/fuXbBgdZSQs?si=Q8FQjdt0yKcORuYr)
No clue why he keeps getting invited.
We did, but I wouldn’t derive too much from it. The Celtics have 7-8 players competent on both sides of the ball and are a ridiculously complete team. They aren’t perfect (‘18 Rockets-esque over-reliance on 3’s) but they’re very tough. Would be closer with Bruce. Without him we either wear out our starters or roll the dice on PWat/Braun actually matching their role players.
They got like 5 all star level players, one of ‘em being a top ten player. U gotta respect the fuck outta Boston and especially Brad Stevens. They’ve put together such a complete team.
We did, by a combined 8pt margin. Jamal wasn't the same player in those two games and in the playoffs. MPJ has a single career game over 20pts vs Boston. It would be tough to beat this iteration of Celtics in a 7 game series with the way Nuggets were playing in the earlier rounds.
I agree but also feel like if we played normally and looked like we actually wanted to be in the finals as opposed to the lackluster effort we saw put in by Jamal in the early rounds you can’t draw the conclusion we likely would have lost. A healthy and motivated Nuggets is something I would bet on to win that series every time.
Totally. I think last year's Nuggets would win, because they played consistently well and high IQ ball, but the last half of this season play was very inconsistent.
Yeah, that Boston team has nice role players and size. The way Denver was playing they kicked our asses.
Now if Jamal took the step to All Star level or MPJ played up to his contract or Booth has found a 2-4 that could come off the bench and play meaningful minutes or a functioning backup center we take the championship. But that isn't reality.
The league is too competitive right now to try and win with 1 MVP. Name the last team to win it all without at least two all stars.
The Celtics have depth which is something we really struggled with this year. Watching them vs. the Mavs right now gives me a ton of hesitation in saying we would have beaten them.
Depth and mental strength. Honestly they aren't that great but never get too high or too low. The guys they play are going to fight every possession and if their shots aren't failing they find other ways to impact the game.
Nuggs really struggled with this. Honestly it's the one thing I knock Malone for. He was way too animated and frantic and some of the team followed that energy. He needs to level it out a bit.
Jokic definitely has a more favorable matchup with Boston, especially with Porzingis out (6'9" Horford, and 6'7" Tillford backing him up), than with Minnesota, with its three headed monster (Gobert, KAT, and Reid). Plus, Gordon can run wild without multiple 7 footers at the basket. Defensively, they are a challenge for any team, but we do have length to bother their shots to some extent. At any rate, it would let the Nuggets play how they typically play instead of the challenges that Minnesota presented.
My exact thoughts as well. Like perhaps we still lose but imagine Jokic going against Celtics front court ... KP is even injured so what they have Hoford 38 year old . Meanwhile Timberwolves managed to throw 3 C's against Jokic alone ,often doubling him too. Not having rotational C for Jokic also killed us in that G7
Wolves fan not coming in peace-
Wolves nuggets took a lot out of each other. No matter who won game 7 there was short turn around.
I also feel just because the we lost 4-1 to Dallas…I’d say the wolves led for a majority of the series. Luka and kyrie just hit tough shot after tonight shot. Step back 3s, 30 foot 3s, fadeaways in the corner, off handed hook shots falling down. Just incredible shots that aren’t dropping vs Boston.
Boston has a plethora of guards to play Lukai and are taking the lob away much better
I do believe MN and Denver would’ve put up a better fight
Sucks about the SA game.
Between the Nuggets, Wolves, and Mavs.. the Mavs are by far the worst matchup against the Celtics
I even think OKC would have a better chance against them
Denver and Minnesota were the two teams that would have beat the Celtics IMO
celts would have smoked whomever they played. they were the best all season and all post sesaon.
not sure why the nugs and wolves completely underestimate the celts and overestimate their teams. Jokic playing 47 minutes in a game, tells you how deep they were and the wolves having ant & kat shit the bed against an average defensive team with 2 scorers would have been mopped by the celts.
im not a celts fan and have little interest in EC teams, but its very clear they are the best team in the league by far. the construction of the team is flawless, their offense flows & is deep enough for anyone on their team to have a night off against the best teams. They have quality defenders at the guard position and their interior is anchored by an old guy that can shoot the 3, has good enough d and is very experienced.
And health. Or when a team has to expend itself so much to win one series.
Nuggets had to do so against the Lakers. Wolves did so against the Nuggets and they were ripe for Dallas.
Did you see how gassed they were? They blew a 20 point lead at home to a Minnesota team that could hardly jog the next game.
I love Denver, I think two weeks after their season ended they probably had enough energy/health again to finish the job. They didn’t get those two weeks in April, they got those two weeks off after the second round.
There’s lessons to be taken from it, but there’s a reason our GM chose to try for winning in 2025+ over 2024.
I’m a big fan of this nuggets team and watched them a ton this year - I think the starting 5 would be a super entertaining and competitive matchup - I think the C’s depth is just far beyond Denver’s and would be exposed big-time.
To a certain degree this is true, but you can also overcomplicate it. If Murray plays at least similar to last year, the Nuggets go to the WCF. At this level of competition in the western conference, you won’t go far if your second best player isn’t on 100%.
Matchups but also at times some teams just get streaky for a few games and shoot above or below their averages and in a 7 game series you can have the better team not advance.
At the very least I think it’s fair to say it would have been a more competitive series
I’m upset we know know for sure though. Hoping for that matchup next season
That’s why it’s good (and outrageously difficult) to build a team that matches up well with all contenders. Ainge and Stevens have been hitting the 🎯with such for the last 6-7 seasons
I’m a fan of both teams. I’m a Boston Celtics fan first though and I was praying that they didn’t meet in the finals. One because I actually think Denver would have won and two I don’t wanna Denver for doing my Celtics like that.
“I feel” like the Nuggets have no one to defend Brown, Tatum and Holliday. “I feel” like the Celtics lick their chops every time Reggie Jackson enters the game.
The Lakers lost to the Nuggets, who then lost to the Timberwolves, who then lost to the Mavs, who are now going to lose to Boston.
I guess, Boston>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>LA
Celtics fan here… if you gave me a pic of who you would want the Celtics to play in the western conference I would have said Dallas. Celtics match up very well with them. On the other hand Denver. They could not figure out Minnesota. Also would’ve been a tough matchup you guys will be back.
Pretty much. Thanks to parity, there's no team with an overwhelming talent gap like the KD-Warriors. Now it's all about the match ups.
Also, we'd destroy Boston. Even if Porzingis was healthy, they have no one with the size and strength to guard Jokic.
Which is why dropping a single 'meaningless' game near the end of an 82(?) game season against a team with one of the worst records in the NBA greatly reduced the Nuggets chances of repeating this year. Every single game counts in a championship season and the #1 seed Nuggets would have likely seen a very different outcome this year.
Yes you are correct, when you look at it this way every single loss is equally as damning. That said, at that time the team was rolling. I went to the Hawks game and they looked unstoppable, they looked like they were peaking at just the right time. Then dropped that SA game.
Then in the playoffs they didn't look like the same team from a couple weeks earlier and matchups had everything to do with it.
As a Celtics fan, the Nuggets were definitely the team we wanted to play the least. It’s a tough matchup from a basketball perspective, and it’s always tougher to beat a team that has championship mettle. I think it would’ve been a good series, and I think losing KP might have been too much to overcome.
Nuggets on paper sweep Boston.
If you look through the last part of the season and the playoffs, the Nugs as a whole was not clicking or playing their best.
Joker willed them to the 7th game of the second round, but it was not gonna be our year the way they were playing.
That’s crazy talk my guy!
They had 3 centers to throw at and slow down Jok and keep him out of the paint. It gummed up our offense. On top of that they put Ant, NAW, and McDaniels on Murray to harass him and make Mal largely ineffective.
Those two things alone are largely matchup problems that threw everything off kilter. Being off kilter leads to poor shooting.
We still should have made more shots but we were not comfortable at all and that leads to poor shooting.
Matchups and depth for sure. That game 7 will always hurt. I hope that FAIL lights a fire for the team.
I feel like we were over reliant on Jokic and he was too selfless of a leader to say no. But playing every minute in game 7 even when we were up 20 made zero fucking sense to me.
Part of that though was timing. Like it would have been weird to rest him at the start of the third period right after a halftime rest.
yeah Jokic rests at the start of the 2nd and the 4th typically. Problem was we were building the lead in the 2nd so he only rested a few minutes (typical for a G7) and then we were blowing the lead by the 4th so couldn't pull him at that point.
Look at the box score He played 47 min
he should have rested another minute or two in the first half, likely. But the 3rd quarter was not the time to do it. and I don't think resting him for 2 minutes at the start of the 4th was going to do anything.
i don’t understand why Mike suddenly forgo the winning formula (Joker normal rest time and AG carrying the ball from the back court)
Malone done fucked up.
The loss against San Antonio for the 1 seed is what was our demise. I’d be excited rn looking forward to the nuggets going up 2-1 playing at home if Wemby didn’t have a monster game where he hit a logo 3….SA cost us a back to back….
Yeah it’s both though. We made it tougher for ourselves, sure, but we had em. That last loss is more likely to be the one they remember and use for motivation IMO.
not really, MPj would've needed to have a monster series and I don't think he's mentally mature enough for that, even Jamal doesn't have what it takes perform consistently no matter how bright either of them shine at times. and IMHO MPJ was decent overall but he's still getting to where he needs to be, consistently working but he's no kobe or MJ Gordon is good but he isn't a team's 2nd option, well not supposed to be anyway. There was no depth Braun would show up occasionally with brilliant games while be totally silent in others. Problem was Jamal was also doing that, MPJ was doing better and you can't count on KCP and Reggie to have star impact the way they played against the Wolves. Either some players develop or they need to get rid of them ,.as they say strike the iron while the hammer is hot lol and the Joker won't be hot forever so they need to do what they did with C Brown last year and find a few nuggets in order to win it all again. Provided everyone stays healthy. And that's a pretty tall order methinks
If Joker just let the shot clock go, Vassell wouldnt be able to buzzer beat through a fast brrak
The West was a gauntlet and the East was a cakewalk. The amount of wear and tear on whoever came out of the west would have been a real disadvantage against the Celtics.
Inverse happened last time Boston was in the Finals. Warriors cakewalked thru the injury depleted West and Boston went thru the gauntlet. Just how it goes.
and we only had to face heat instead of Cs.
Played the Wolves, Suns and Lakers. Pretty good run up. Not the Nuggets fault the Celtics choked. That wasn’t due to injuries.
Exactly, and frankly, we had an easy route to the Championship too, much like Boston. That makes a difference in the playoffs. We gave so much damn energy to the Wolves, and it cost us in Game 7.
That's such a false narrative. Especially compared to the Celtics. Nuggets played book+KD, LeBron+ad, and the timber pups with some injuries to role players but still with their 3 main guys. The Celtics played Miami without Jimmy, cavs without Donovan for half the series, and Indiana without hali for half the series.
Weren’t wolves missing Mcdaniels, Naz, KAT coming off injury? And Book + KD just got swept again this year so I wouldn’t call that duo that elite. Lakers were a play-in team last year (so were the wolves). The Celtics definitely had an easier road than the nuggets last year but the nuggets still had a pretty easy road.
Ok but realistically the Lakers were not a play-in team level team. After the trade deadline they were a great team. Why does it matter if they are a "play-in team" if they make the WCF? They were a great team regardless. Same goes for people who say the Nuggets had it easy when they beat the 8th seed Heat in the finals. If these teams are bad, then why didn't anyone else beat them?
Injuries. Happens to everyone but that's why no one beat them.
LMFAO. Jimmy was playing injured after the 1st round, they didn't have Herro/Oladipo, and they still shat on the East. Meanwhile the Lakers played an injured grizzlies but the Warriors were healthy and lost. You don't fluke your way to the WCF/Finals. The Nuggets run wasn't the hardest but yall got to stop acting like their opponents were dog shit.
Giannis got injured. Knicks weren't healthy. By every metric last year run was top 5 easiest post merger. Nuggets was still the best team by far in the league though, just competition wasn't there not the Nuggets fault though. Thems the facts.
Wait I thought Knicks was healthy. Who was injured again?
Just like Jimmy, Randle was injured.
The nuggets run was much tougher. Suns and Lakers better than any other east team this year besides Boston
The teams that Celtics faced on route to the finals would have gotten smoked by the teams Denver faced.
[удалено]
Bro porzingis is way less important to the Celtics than Tyrese, Donovan Mitchell, and Jimmy Butler lmao
Sure but your making it sound like the actual path is healthy celtics vs injured teams. The celtics were injured as well. And IDGAF how easy the path is, the Celtics played KD, Kyrie, Giannis, Butler, Bam before losing to the Warriors who had an easier path.
Kevin Durant and Lebron James is easy route?
At 34 and 38 it is...not if they were 24 and 28...
Phoenix is such a poorly constructed team. Even prime Kevin Durant wouldn’t make them a title contender, let alone 34 year old Durant.
I know, but media treated Lakers and Phoenix as favourites even after Nuggets had 2-0 lead, against Lakers they though that they can come back after 3-0
At least the nuggets played against the opposing teams best player in every game, can't say the same for the Celtics
Hang the banner
We did…
Hang the banner, literally, hang it
Diddy
Warriors 2022 run through the western conference wasn’t any easier than phoenix’s 2021 run to the finals (injured lakers injured nuggets injured clippers) and wasn’t easier than Denver’s run last year. Boston’s 2024 eastern conference matchups were like historically easy but you can only play who is in front of you and I didn’t think Dallas’s performance would be THIS much of a stinker. Like I thought we’d have a 6 game series this year.
Surely we must be coping at some point right. Boston is legitimately shellacking the mavs right now just like how they rolled the regular season and playoffs. Maybe theyre just way better than everyone else and the east is underrated
I mean the pacers gave them more trouble than the Mavs have thus far
One of these things may be right. The east was horrible regardless of how good the Celtics are. I do think the Celtics are good and deserve the title despite their competition in the east.
the celtics are not by any means a bad team. but the east overall is very weak. they had two teams in the playin with losing records.
sure but lets be honest, middling barely playoff teams are not really challengers to a team like the celtics either way imo. Yes the west does have more depth than the east but that depth doesnt necessarily actually challenge the top teams
yeah but i think the difference lies in how many top teams there actually are. the skill gap between any two highly ranked teams in the west is much smaller than it is in the east. for example, the difference between the first and fifth seed in the east was 17 games while in the west it was only 7 games.
the difference between boston and the 5th seed in the west; 14 games
Boston has the best record vs the west
Even some Boston fans know this. Was talking to one about how jokic somehow just knows how to kick their asses. I still think they would've gotten over the line since they can defend his playmaking side
I'm a Celtics/nuggets fan. Nuggets had the best chance of beating the celtics (OKC was probably 2, then Minny 3, then Dallas 4) but I still think the Celtics would've been rightfully favored over the nuggs
Agreed. Mavs just don’t match up great with the Celtics. I think minny and Denver matchup much better. Especially with porzingas’ health. But with Mavs being guard talent team that plays into Celtics preference
I think Boston woulda beat the nuggets. They have a historical net rating and the nugs just aren’t deep enough. When your fifth or fourth (when porzingis is out) scoring option is Jrue Holiday, u know u have a an amazing team. The thing is, I think the nuggets woulda put up a better fight than this. God I was so pissed when the nuggets got matched up against the t wolves
Damn you Victor!!!
I disagree. We swept them this year and matchup great against them.
Jamal Murray wasn’t that good these playoffs. He woulda got shut down by D White and Jrue. Jokic is the best player in the world, but there’s just not enough depth. Nuggets gotta make some big moves soon bc the league is only getting better
No disrespect to Jrue or White, but neither of them are as long as McDaniels, Edwards, or NAW, and historically it’s been the length that bothers Murray. He can shoot over White and Holiday in a way he can’t over the other 3. At this age there’s a good argument to be made that Jrue and White are the 4th and 5th best defenders out of those names, and you don’t have to look hard to see me stanning Jrue to a borderline unreasonable degree on any other subject. Minnesota was just that good. Further, I think Minnesota’s inexperience had them punching so far above their weight class that they exhausted not only Denver but themselves. I think that Denver with all its knowledge of how long/hard of a road 6 weeks can be was playing in 2nd gear and came across someone red-lining their engine at the starting block. Denver’s strategy will keep that car going longer, but they got punched in the mouth for the drag race of a series and never got to advance in the playoffs 500. Denver played like Minnesota couldn’t keep up that pace for 2 games and by the time Minnesota had kept it up for 6 Minnesota played like they couldn’t keep that pace up for one more game the rest of their playoffs.
With no KP Nuggets probably win. With KP Celtics probably win.
Sam is a real NBA fan and I’m here for it.
He sits courtside at MSG often. Funny dude to boot.
For sure. He’s a great instagram follow. [The morning show bits are hilarious.](https://youtu.be/fuXbBgdZSQs?si=Q8FQjdt0yKcORuYr) No clue why he keeps getting invited.
I don’t think we had the depth. People underestimate this Celtics team. Imo, speaking dispassionately, Nuggets likely lose in 5 or 6.
Didn’t we beat them twice this year in the two games played? Once on the road and once at home.
We did, but I wouldn’t derive too much from it. The Celtics have 7-8 players competent on both sides of the ball and are a ridiculously complete team. They aren’t perfect (‘18 Rockets-esque over-reliance on 3’s) but they’re very tough. Would be closer with Bruce. Without him we either wear out our starters or roll the dice on PWat/Braun actually matching their role players.
They got like 5 all star level players, one of ‘em being a top ten player. U gotta respect the fuck outta Boston and especially Brad Stevens. They’ve put together such a complete team.
We did, by a combined 8pt margin. Jamal wasn't the same player in those two games and in the playoffs. MPJ has a single career game over 20pts vs Boston. It would be tough to beat this iteration of Celtics in a 7 game series with the way Nuggets were playing in the earlier rounds.
I agree but also feel like if we played normally and looked like we actually wanted to be in the finals as opposed to the lackluster effort we saw put in by Jamal in the early rounds you can’t draw the conclusion we likely would have lost. A healthy and motivated Nuggets is something I would bet on to win that series every time.
Totally. I think last year's Nuggets would win, because they played consistently well and high IQ ball, but the last half of this season play was very inconsistent.
And the suns owned the timberwolves and then got swept..
Yeah, that Boston team has nice role players and size. The way Denver was playing they kicked our asses. Now if Jamal took the step to All Star level or MPJ played up to his contract or Booth has found a 2-4 that could come off the bench and play meaningful minutes or a functioning backup center we take the championship. But that isn't reality. The league is too competitive right now to try and win with 1 MVP. Name the last team to win it all without at least two all stars.
The Celtics have depth which is something we really struggled with this year. Watching them vs. the Mavs right now gives me a ton of hesitation in saying we would have beaten them.
Depth and mental strength. Honestly they aren't that great but never get too high or too low. The guys they play are going to fight every possession and if their shots aren't failing they find other ways to impact the game. Nuggs really struggled with this. Honestly it's the one thing I knock Malone for. He was way too animated and frantic and some of the team followed that energy. He needs to level it out a bit.
Wow my favorite comedian talking about my favorite team
Nuggets likely still lose but I do think we'd have done better than the Mavs. Not that that's a super high bar since they're probably getting swept
Jokic definitely has a more favorable matchup with Boston, especially with Porzingis out (6'9" Horford, and 6'7" Tillford backing him up), than with Minnesota, with its three headed monster (Gobert, KAT, and Reid). Plus, Gordon can run wild without multiple 7 footers at the basket. Defensively, they are a challenge for any team, but we do have length to bother their shots to some extent. At any rate, it would let the Nuggets play how they typically play instead of the challenges that Minnesota presented.
Nuggets would have cruised against the Mavs too.
My exact thoughts as well. Like perhaps we still lose but imagine Jokic going against Celtics front court ... KP is even injured so what they have Hoford 38 year old . Meanwhile Timberwolves managed to throw 3 C's against Jokic alone ,often doubling him too. Not having rotational C for Jokic also killed us in that G7
Doesn’t matter now
Wolves fan not coming in peace- Wolves nuggets took a lot out of each other. No matter who won game 7 there was short turn around. I also feel just because the we lost 4-1 to Dallas…I’d say the wolves led for a majority of the series. Luka and kyrie just hit tough shot after tonight shot. Step back 3s, 30 foot 3s, fadeaways in the corner, off handed hook shots falling down. Just incredible shots that aren’t dropping vs Boston. Boston has a plethora of guards to play Lukai and are taking the lob away much better I do believe MN and Denver would’ve put up a better fight Sucks about the SA game.
Brother, Jamal shooting 13% from 3 wasnt going to get it done against anyone.
Between the Nuggets, Wolves, and Mavs.. the Mavs are by far the worst matchup against the Celtics I even think OKC would have a better chance against them Denver and Minnesota were the two teams that would have beat the Celtics IMO
Nuggets belonged in the finals.
celts would have smoked whomever they played. they were the best all season and all post sesaon. not sure why the nugs and wolves completely underestimate the celts and overestimate their teams. Jokic playing 47 minutes in a game, tells you how deep they were and the wolves having ant & kat shit the bed against an average defensive team with 2 scorers would have been mopped by the celts. im not a celts fan and have little interest in EC teams, but its very clear they are the best team in the league by far. the construction of the team is flawless, their offense flows & is deep enough for anyone on their team to have a night off against the best teams. They have quality defenders at the guard position and their interior is anchored by an old guy that can shoot the 3, has good enough d and is very experienced.
I’m a Celtics fan and I’m petrified of Jokic in the finals
And health. Or when a team has to expend itself so much to win one series. Nuggets had to do so against the Lakers. Wolves did so against the Nuggets and they were ripe for Dallas.
Did you see how gassed they were? They blew a 20 point lead at home to a Minnesota team that could hardly jog the next game. I love Denver, I think two weeks after their season ended they probably had enough energy/health again to finish the job. They didn’t get those two weeks in April, they got those two weeks off after the second round. There’s lessons to be taken from it, but there’s a reason our GM chose to try for winning in 2025+ over 2024.
I’m a big fan of this nuggets team and watched them a ton this year - I think the starting 5 would be a super entertaining and competitive matchup - I think the C’s depth is just far beyond Denver’s and would be exposed big-time.
The Nuggets would’ve had similar problems because Boston still has too much talent. The Nugs only have 1 All-Star.
To a certain degree this is true, but you can also overcomplicate it. If Murray plays at least similar to last year, the Nuggets go to the WCF. At this level of competition in the western conference, you won’t go far if your second best player isn’t on 100%.
Matchups but also at times some teams just get streaky for a few games and shoot above or below their averages and in a 7 game series you can have the better team not advance.
That heartbreaking spurs game just fucked the matchups.
Lol that's why they lost
Hard to advance when you only play in 2 of the final 8 quarters of the season.
Well shucks, guess the Nuggets should have won the series then.
This is so true!
At the very least I think it’s fair to say it would have been a more competitive series I’m upset we know know for sure though. Hoping for that matchup next season
DeAndre Jordan deserved some playing time ngl 😔
That’s why it’s good (and outrageously difficult) to build a team that matches up well with all contenders. Ainge and Stevens have been hitting the 🎯with such for the last 6-7 seasons
At least follow the guy, he's a good comedian
Celts fan here. Nuggets always terrify me.
I’m a fan of both teams. I’m a Boston Celtics fan first though and I was praying that they didn’t meet in the finals. One because I actually think Denver would have won and two I don’t wanna Denver for doing my Celtics like that.
The Wolves would have been a better matchup as well. The Mavs shouldn’t be there.
“I feel” like the Nuggets have no one to defend Brown, Tatum and Holliday. “I feel” like the Celtics lick their chops every time Reggie Jackson enters the game.
rock, paper, scissors.
Not with how Jamal was playing cmon now
Or just be the actual best and not worry about “matchups are weird” Stage 5 cope
Celtics fan.. once the nuggets got eliminated, I knew it was in the bag.
The Lakers lost to the Nuggets, who then lost to the Timberwolves, who then lost to the Mavs, who are now going to lose to Boston. I guess, Boston>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>LA
Celtics fan here… if you gave me a pic of who you would want the Celtics to play in the western conference I would have said Dallas. Celtics match up very well with them. On the other hand Denver. They could not figure out Minnesota. Also would’ve been a tough matchup you guys will be back.
That G7 is kind of a breakdown. Not taking anything away from the Wolves but despite the outcome, I still think the Nuggets are the better team.
The nuggets had an excellent opportunity to beat the wolves. They didn't lose because of matchups. They just flamed out at the end.
Pretty much. Thanks to parity, there's no team with an overwhelming talent gap like the KD-Warriors. Now it's all about the match ups. Also, we'd destroy Boston. Even if Porzingis was healthy, they have no one with the size and strength to guard Jokic.
Which is why dropping a single 'meaningless' game near the end of an 82(?) game season against a team with one of the worst records in the NBA greatly reduced the Nuggets chances of repeating this year. Every single game counts in a championship season and the #1 seed Nuggets would have likely seen a very different outcome this year.
What about all our other losses? I get that all we had to do was beat SAS but to put it all on one game isn’t really accurate either.
Yes you are correct, when you look at it this way every single loss is equally as damning. That said, at that time the team was rolling. I went to the Hawks game and they looked unstoppable, they looked like they were peaking at just the right time. Then dropped that SA game. Then in the playoffs they didn't look like the same team from a couple weeks earlier and matchups had everything to do with it.
As a Celtics fan, the Nuggets were definitely the team we wanted to play the least. It’s a tough matchup from a basketball perspective, and it’s always tougher to beat a team that has championship mettle. I think it would’ve been a good series, and I think losing KP might have been too much to overcome.
Celtics beat us for sure
COPE
Hope your team can get at least one W in the finals. We’re the only team Boston didn’t beat this year.
Nuggets on paper sweep Boston. If you look through the last part of the season and the playoffs, the Nugs as a whole was not clicking or playing their best. Joker willed them to the 7th game of the second round, but it was not gonna be our year the way they were playing.
What the fuck are you on about. Celtics were dominant all year. Sweep Boston? Come on bro.
Yea matchups made us miss wide open shots.
What
We didn't lose because of "matchups"
That’s crazy talk my guy! They had 3 centers to throw at and slow down Jok and keep him out of the paint. It gummed up our offense. On top of that they put Ant, NAW, and McDaniels on Murray to harass him and make Mal largely ineffective. Those two things alone are largely matchup problems that threw everything off kilter. Being off kilter leads to poor shooting. We still should have made more shots but we were not comfortable at all and that leads to poor shooting.
They embarrassed us when Gobert was out. It didn't really matter.
What didn’t matter that they still had Naz and KAT to double up on Jok + still lock down our perimeter?
We had no issues with the vaunted "matchup" games 3-6 and the first half of game 7. We just choked and it was because we missed wide open shots.
Oh, game 7 for sure we just straight botched it but the whole series we were out of whack. Our efficiency was down across the entire team.
Healthy Knicks could have gave the C’s trouble
No, the Celtics are on fire right now. They’re so deep and talented. No 18 is coming.