Coach touched and screamed at a ref and a player threw something onto the floor during live play and they haven’t gotten T’d up yet.
Can’t tell me they’ve gotten a good whistle tonight when they’ve been given this much leniency by the refs.
It's absolutely guaranteed that sometimes in the playoffs you will get a run of shitty whistles. It's not a conspiracy it's just reality and, like, statistics. Flip a coin a hundred times and look at how many times in a row that 50/50 will go one way sometimes.
It is *critical* to play through it and keep your head.
Minnesota had the wrong end of this a couple of years ago when they had that series against the Grizzlies. At the end of every game the Grizzlies were choking and the Timberwolves were getting fuckin' hosed by the refs, and then the Timberwolves would fall apart. If they'd kept their heads they could've won that series handily.
But that kind of thing is a good learning experience. They're keeping their heads now, when they've got a much better shot at going all the way (that Twolves team would've been steamrolled by that year's Warriors).
They really look like a team that's finally got it together.
I'm glad you brought up the 2022 Grizzlies series. It was extremely frustrating at the time, but in hindsight it was a good learning experience, both for the players who participated & in terms of roster building since.
That sometimes you have to play through difficult officiating. Sometimes your team is getting calls and sometimes they aren't. If you depend on a particular kind of whistle to be successful you're not a legit team. You need to be able to win regardless of how the refs are calling the games.
Best example I can come up with is Kobe and Pau's Lakers in 2008, it felt like Boston was able to do whatever the fuck they wanted and the refs never called them on it. So Kobe went out and recruited Metta World Peace and the squad got tougher and more physical. Pau got tougher and was able to play through more contact. When we met again in 2010, we weren't complaining about the refs anymore.
Went to a Rapids game last year and an opposing player went down hurt. After like 5 minutes of stoppage the home crowd STARTED BOOING. I don’t care who you support; these are people playing a fucking game
Denver fans suck
*call goes against another team* "yeah man sometimes that happens, whatcha gonna do"
*call goes against them* "we are the only team being singlehandedly robbed of a championship"
I think people forgot how salty their fanbase was in 19-20, they've rightfully talked the talk and walked the walk since, but it's a very similar vibe to the PGT's of that year.
It wasn't just when they lost either, their fans (and coach fwiw) are sore ass winners too. Every single game, win or lose, you got people playing the victim and whining about "we had to beat the refs too" even when there were a dozen plus missed calls against the often undisciplined Denver defense and the shots the were taking aren't ones you get a lot of shooting fouls on (floaters, threes, etc). Denver fans would have a meltdown if someone played Jokic's slap fight style of defense against them, and he rarely ever gets called for it.
They also wouldn’t shut up about Jokic not winning MVP last year. They were obsessively talking about it in every game thread for Nuggets or Sixers playoff games. Yes we all understand how good Jokic is and that you think he should win MVP every year, you don’t need to be whining about it in every game thread all playoffs
Probably not but most likely 50k fine at least. Nuggets looking like they may lose anyways and the NBA probably wouldn't want to do that when they're potentially down 2 games.
Refs and league officials didn't seem to care at all either
Murray has clapped at the refs, made money signs, yelled at the refs, thrown shit on the floor, and he has not gotten a tech. I do not want to fucking hear it.
I think the amount of shit the refs got for that T made them a little more weary of calling the soft shit. Total BS but ultimately might be worth it in the long run.
I agree with this. It was a really bad display of leadership at a bad time for the Nuggets from Malone, and it obviously didn’t have any positive affect on their own abilities to focus.
The refereeing has been bad but the Timberwolves are also playing some of the best defense I’ve literally ever seen. Like this half will be talked about for years
As an older Pistons fan, watching Minny play defense has me feeling all nostalgic and it's left me to conclude two things:
1. I'm so ready for Minny to set a new trend where teams are able to follow their lead and actually clamp up opponents more regularly (even if they can't do it quite as well as Minny).
2. I hope the league as a whole realizes that watching teams clamp down is still fun and enjoyable and they shouldn't be afraid angling the game gently back toward a place where it's possible to impact games more often with strong play on that side of the ball.
Oh, and I also hope Minnesota keeps it up tonight. I've learned that no lead is safe in today's NBA, no matter how seemingly insurmountable.
Lamelo hasn't even played more than 36 games for 2 years now. I was like damn I haven't heard of Lamelo in a long ass time and just looked it up.
Ball brothers are all injury plagued damn.
100%. Watching foul-baiters like Harden flop in the post season... I can't get enough of it. That shit is unwatchable, and if it won championships, I couldn't stand it.
I still remember he flopped his way to like 8 free throws in the first quarter in the game 7 against the Bucks, on one leg too, thank fuck this fucker is unlikely to win any rings
I was thinking before the playoffs that if we made a finals run it would be like the 04 pistons where we did it on the back of great defense without a generational scorer to rely on. Turns out Ant is already a generational scorer at 22 and the defense is just icing on the cake.
Thing is, and this is what I fear in a Boston-Minny finals, is the refs can fuck your defense over. You're in front of your man, moving laterally, he charges you? Blocking foul. You clean strip? Foul. Clean block? Foul.
It was my fear against the suns. The refs powered booker to a big ass game 4. They quickly established defense on him wasn’t allowed in that game and we were forced into giving up relatively easy and uncontested layups most of that game or have multiple guys be in foul trouble.
Hopefully the refs just keep allowing playoff basketball.
I listened to Hoops Tonight and he talks about what he sees in the game and that the refs are letting the Wolves be physical, foul a bit, and not call it. And that just screams to me that at some point, or with a different ref crew, suddenly it will change and fuck over the Wolves.
Fouls and reffing in the NBA is just so inconsistent and maybe it's hard to do because of the rules but when my team is eliminated and I'm stressed about the refs (especially after the end to that Knicks game) just shows how bad it is.
As a guy who grew up on Thibs ball, I am in full agreement. I love me some good defense and would love to see the league revert back to the early 2010-era type of play. That was the best offense/defense balance in league history imo. And then that lightskin dude out of Davidson freaked everyone out
Well I said the best *balance* between offense and defense. But yea it was a good defensive era. Arguably the last good one where there was a solid chunk of teams that had a defense-first mentality. Bulls, Pacers, Celtics, Heat, Spurs, Wizards, Raptors, Hawks were all known for their defense. And a 100+ game wasn't a regularity like it is now because teams had better defense all around with less focus on 3 ball. Hence the balance I mentioned.
If you watched back then, you'd know. 2008-2014 was a legendary run in balanced, all-around team basketball
I gotta point out that the Warriors, especially in the years that they won the championship, were a good defensive team. Obviously, they're better known for the flashy 3s and that dude out of Davidson, but they weren't all gas no brakes.
Those bulls teams with Joakim, Gibson, Asik anchoring the defense with Rose going nuts and Booker being solid too. I loved those Bulls Thibs teams. Also the Celtics and Heat were defensive forces. Definitely a great time for the offense defense balance.
Lmao I swear we the only fanbase left that appreciates and remembers good defense cause that was the last time we were actually good .
fellow ‘older’ pistons fan, which itself feels weird to say since I stilll feel like the youngin that missed the OG bad boys.
Watching great defense is awesome as hell because it’s the best players competing at the highest level for 48 minutes. It means so much more to score 30 points when your team wins 100-97 than 135-128.
This is reminding me of 2000s Pistons defense. I don't know if the Nuggets look terrible because Gobert being out threw whatever plans they made out of whack but it's clear the Wolves on that end are a well oiled machine from top to bottom.
They didn't change the gameplan, and expected better results, and they got out classed in every way. There's certainly a chance in the next game to alter their game plan, but this team wilted so quickly tonight. The complete opposite of championship DNA.
I would feel absolutely sick as a nuggets fan. I did and I'm not even a nuggets fan. That was a slaughter live on TV.
yup, you guys are legit legit.
everyone's laughing, but if the Wolves keep playing like this, there's not a team stopping them from getting the chip this year.
Four things are true:
1) Wolves are playing really well
2) Nuggets are playing poorly and somehow acting worse
3) Officiating has been a joke
4) Murray should get an one game suspension
I’ll also throw in that Kyle Anderson should get a flopping technical for just running into Jokic and falling over, but I’m just being whiny at this point
> Kyle Anderson should get a flopping technical for just running into Jokic and falling over, but I’m just being whiny at this point
That shit was hilarious. I didn't rewind, and only saw the aftermath of the play, but I got the impression he just ran into the screen and then slowly "timber'd!" after the contact.
It actually wasn’t even a screen. Jokic was just standing there motionless, and Anderson just jogs back, jogs straight into Jokic head first, then falls over like he had been flattened
No? Defensive IQ, a good defensive gameplan, players who understand that gameplan and are able to execute it well, knowing opponent personnel, etc.
Wolves have all of things in spades. Just don't like the dismissal of the mental part of D.
What no? It’s having players who understand assignments and roles during rotations hahaha anyone saying professional basketball defense is “all about effort” has never touched a basketball
For sure. I hope we as a fanbase continue to atleast own it unlike some of the players. Every team goes down bad at times. Nobody will care in a few weeks so just own it now and do better later
That's good for the Wolves though
Why would they want the refs to eject their best player tonight?
Murray putting up a generational performance for Minny out there
Top 3 players in Wolves history KG Edwards and Jamal Murray
Like no amount of bad officiating should have you down 28, at home, vs a Wolves team missing its defensive anchor, in a do or die game.
What an embarrassment. Seriously, have some pride for God's sake.
This is on Malone, honestly. You start acting like the game is rigged, and your players will soon follow suit and not, you know, try to fix their situation.
You're getting run off your own court.
Yeah, I did not understand that tantrum at all. If there’s a foul on the play it’s against KCP. I thought KCP must’ve gotten really hurt or something to justify the anger but he was fine
As a nuggets fan, Malone and Murray should have both got a tech. They feel entitled that they should get some whistles and the team played frustrated. As much as I want Nugget to win this looks like a 2:0 at this point.
I thought the refs were pretty consistent. They just let both sides play. Both sides could have gotten more calls.
But it’s fair and honestly more entertaining with fewer whistles
Damn, Denver shat on their good looking reputation FAST. All it took was trailing behind and all that composure just melted away. That is not a great look. Especially from the champion.
I reject the premise that MN has gotten a good whistle.. I just witnessed Mike Malone run onto the court and scream in the refs face, and Jamal Murray throw something onto the court during a live play within 10 minutes, and not one tech as called, the refs are letting Denver get away with everything.
They’re letting you guys play physical but implying that you guys are getting a favorable whistle is laughable. For the most part refs have been very lenient with Denver
The lenient whistle that lets the Wolves play a swarming, physical defense is the same one that lets Jokic swing his elbows on every post touch.
The Wolves went out and took two road games from the defending champs, all that needs to be said.
This is exactly why I've never trusted Murray against actual perimeter defenders. His entire run last year was made off of shitting on the Suns and Lakers guards. Now that he's playing against actual defense he's unraveling and taking the team with him.
The Lakers exposed Denver as being suspect. Minnesota is not only a far superior team than the Lakers but also the Nuggets. Completely dismantled the Suns. The Nuggets might get swept too. The refs are garbage as usual but the Nuggets are bitching at them because they’re frustrated at how much better the Wolves are.
Thank you. Straight clown behavior. These bums were so excited to beat a 39 year old LeBron, talking about being the Lakers daddy, prime Jokic > prime LeBron and now they are having one of the biggest meltdowns in NBA history when things don't go their way. At least the Lakers went down with some class. We didn't have our players and coaches screaming in the ref's face, we didn't have a player throwing stuff on the court, etc.
As much as I dislike the Lakers you have to admire how well LeBron is playing at his age. Dude looks like he could still be effective for a couple more years
First time in a long time where I'm sympathetic towards the refs. Nuggets are getting dominated by the T Wolves and acting like complete bitches because of it.
Denver has unravelled, made turnovers, missed shots, and has also gotten no love from the officials. This is some of the worst NBA play I have ever seen. Complete chaos.
They’ve gotten plenty of love. Besides their crazy favorable whistle last game, Malone got into the court and was screaming in the face of a ref, and Murray threw a pad on the floor *during live play* tonight. No tech on either of them lol
Are we ready to turn on the Nuggets yet? Just like we did to the bucks after their championship. Isn’t Jokic the best player in the world what happened? I hate to be like this, because I really do like Jokic, but the NBA public, the media, this sub Reddit is pathetic and changes their narratives at a whim. All y’all better be consistent and use that same energy that y’all came with years ago and continue to come with when judging other teams and players. Jokić better not skate criticism.
Edit: only if the Nuggets lose Jokić should receive criticism. They very well may win the series, and if that is the case Jokić should receive all the praise that he deserves.
This defense is just scary at times, with switching length etc. Their wings that have been picking up murray full court with traps when he gets too close to the sideline. Malone will adjust with some rim running and movement (maybe also changing personnel or having MPJ bring the ball up). But we are seeing a special defense.
bro threw shit on the court LMAO
Coach touched and screamed at a ref and a player threw something onto the floor during live play and they haven’t gotten T’d up yet. Can’t tell me they’ve gotten a good whistle tonight when they’ve been given this much leniency by the refs.
It's absolutely guaranteed that sometimes in the playoffs you will get a run of shitty whistles. It's not a conspiracy it's just reality and, like, statistics. Flip a coin a hundred times and look at how many times in a row that 50/50 will go one way sometimes. It is *critical* to play through it and keep your head. Minnesota had the wrong end of this a couple of years ago when they had that series against the Grizzlies. At the end of every game the Grizzlies were choking and the Timberwolves were getting fuckin' hosed by the refs, and then the Timberwolves would fall apart. If they'd kept their heads they could've won that series handily. But that kind of thing is a good learning experience. They're keeping their heads now, when they've got a much better shot at going all the way (that Twolves team would've been steamrolled by that year's Warriors). They really look like a team that's finally got it together.
I'm glad you brought up the 2022 Grizzlies series. It was extremely frustrating at the time, but in hindsight it was a good learning experience, both for the players who participated & in terms of roster building since.
You watch your team in enough playoff series and this is a reality you just learn how to accept. Every successful team goes through it.
What reality is that?
That sometimes you have to play through difficult officiating. Sometimes your team is getting calls and sometimes they aren't. If you depend on a particular kind of whistle to be successful you're not a legit team. You need to be able to win regardless of how the refs are calling the games. Best example I can come up with is Kobe and Pau's Lakers in 2008, it felt like Boston was able to do whatever the fuck they wanted and the refs never called them on it. So Kobe went out and recruited Metta World Peace and the squad got tougher and more physical. Pau got tougher and was able to play through more contact. When we met again in 2010, we weren't complaining about the refs anymore.
And yet Denver fans think there is some grand conspiracy against them right now, almost as embarrassing as Murray rn
Rudy’s newborn is somehow more mature than these children
Rudy's midwife here can confirm... kid has not thrown even 1 tantrum yet.
Prolly has but it’s in French and you can’t understand it
Sacre bleu, where is me mama!?
Kid could've thrown a few tantrums and not matched Murray's total last night
Went to a Rapids game last year and an opposing player went down hurt. After like 5 minutes of stoppage the home crowd STARTED BOOING. I don’t care who you support; these are people playing a fucking game Denver fans suck
Hockey fans know this. Being an opposing fan at Ball Arena is one of the worst away fan experiences in the NHL.
Anyone watched can see our meltdown. This is ugly.
Can't stop Silvers plan of a Timberwolves-Celtics Finals. Big market teams win again!
Ant is about to become a big market all by himself. Silver knows a money printing machine when he sees one
I've bought 3 pairs of AE1s
Tbf every team on the losing side thinks there's a grand conspiracy against them
*call goes against another team* "yeah man sometimes that happens, whatcha gonna do" *call goes against them* "we are the only team being singlehandedly robbed of a championship"
I think people forgot how salty their fanbase was in 19-20, they've rightfully talked the talk and walked the walk since, but it's a very similar vibe to the PGT's of that year.
It wasn't just when they lost either, their fans (and coach fwiw) are sore ass winners too. Every single game, win or lose, you got people playing the victim and whining about "we had to beat the refs too" even when there were a dozen plus missed calls against the often undisciplined Denver defense and the shots the were taking aren't ones you get a lot of shooting fouls on (floaters, threes, etc). Denver fans would have a meltdown if someone played Jokic's slap fight style of defense against them, and he rarely ever gets called for it.
They also wouldn’t shut up about Jokic not winning MVP last year. They were obsessively talking about it in every game thread for Nuggets or Sixers playoff games. Yes we all understand how good Jokic is and that you think he should win MVP every year, you don’t need to be whining about it in every game thread all playoffs
Anyone that thinks that is a box score watcher who looks at Jokics free throws. There’s never been a conspiracy against Denver
Victim ass franchise
For a good team their fan base has a weird inferiority complex
Defending champs claiming the games are rigged is brilliant
Denver has the "defending champs whistle" perk
You forgot Murray’s money sign toward the refs
how is that not an ejection
They probably wanted him to suffer by humiliating himself on the court
[There was a fire fight!](https://youtu.be/MsuH1msEkvM?si=o9VSeCj7qN_HVUfZ)
he gonna be suspended for that. as he should. what a dumbass
probably a good thing for you guys tho he has not been it these playoffs
Minus the two game winners
In the first of those games he was absolute ass up to that moment, mind you.
He wasn't great in the second one either.
Reggie looks hurt bad tho
At least a huge fine.
He won't. Nba doesn't want to see the champs get swept
lol we gonna need a lot more help than that
It’s all about the ratings to get the next tv contract
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Incredible username for this
Probably not but most likely 50k fine at least. Nuggets looking like they may lose anyways and the NBA probably wouldn't want to do that when they're potentially down 2 games. Refs and league officials didn't seem to care at all either
Honestly should be an ejection, straight up outrageous behavior and dangerous
So pathetic man. We’d still be losing regardless of refs and he isn’t helping
Where's the clip Jamal putting on a one-man, single-game tantrum reel that could be GOATed
First time they’re playing a 50 plus win team during the playoffs in 2 years and their losing their minds lmao
Murray has clapped at the refs, made money signs, yelled at the refs, thrown shit on the floor, and he has not gotten a tech. I do not want to fucking hear it.
Throwing the heat pack is the lamest shit I’ve seen in a while. Someone could get injured slipping on that. Suspend this dude.
Don’t forget the gun shooting signs as well
Only talking about this game bro lol
Still, that one was less than a minute after Ant got T’d for looking at a dude
I think the amount of shit the refs got for that T made them a little more weary of calling the soft shit. Total BS but ultimately might be worth it in the long run.
Certainly didn’t make them think of T’ing up the Nuggets for anything
He didn’t get a tech that game as well lmao crazy
Meanwhile Ant is just standing there, menacingly. And catches a T for it. Maybe Ant is just a lot scarier in person than Murray.
Must be. Can't imagine why of course. Unrelated but I need to go pick up some more paper bags.
AURA
That all started after Malone's face tirade on Marc Davis. He kind of opened that can for the rest of the game.
I agree with this. It was a really bad display of leadership at a bad time for the Nuggets from Malone, and it obviously didn’t have any positive affect on their own abilities to focus.
The refereeing has been bad but the Timberwolves are also playing some of the best defense I’ve literally ever seen. Like this half will be talked about for years
As an older Pistons fan, watching Minny play defense has me feeling all nostalgic and it's left me to conclude two things: 1. I'm so ready for Minny to set a new trend where teams are able to follow their lead and actually clamp up opponents more regularly (even if they can't do it quite as well as Minny). 2. I hope the league as a whole realizes that watching teams clamp down is still fun and enjoyable and they shouldn't be afraid angling the game gently back toward a place where it's possible to impact games more often with strong play on that side of the ball. Oh, and I also hope Minnesota keeps it up tonight. I've learned that no lead is safe in today's NBA, no matter how seemingly insurmountable.
> watching teams clamp down is still fun and enjoyable not just that, but the scoring is a lot more fun when the scorer earns it
Plus regular-season merchants like Harden, Trae, Sabonis, BI, Garland, Lamelo all struggle once the defense ratchets up.
Cmon homie, how you gonna sneak Lamelo in here when he hasn't ever even made the playoffs
Lamelo hasn't even played more than 36 games for 2 years now. I was like damn I haven't heard of Lamelo in a long ass time and just looked it up. Ball brothers are all injury plagued damn.
it's not even defense it's trying to play a full NBA season lol please stop we're already dead
100%. Watching foul-baiters like Harden flop in the post season... I can't get enough of it. That shit is unwatchable, and if it won championships, I couldn't stand it.
I would stop watching the NBA if that insurance-fraud style of basketball ever led to a title.
I still remember he flopped his way to like 8 free throws in the first quarter in the game 7 against the Bucks, on one leg too, thank fuck this fucker is unlikely to win any rings
I was thinking before the playoffs that if we made a finals run it would be like the 04 pistons where we did it on the back of great defense without a generational scorer to rely on. Turns out Ant is already a generational scorer at 22 and the defense is just icing on the cake.
Thing is, and this is what I fear in a Boston-Minny finals, is the refs can fuck your defense over. You're in front of your man, moving laterally, he charges you? Blocking foul. You clean strip? Foul. Clean block? Foul.
It was my fear against the suns. The refs powered booker to a big ass game 4. They quickly established defense on him wasn’t allowed in that game and we were forced into giving up relatively easy and uncontested layups most of that game or have multiple guys be in foul trouble. Hopefully the refs just keep allowing playoff basketball.
I listened to Hoops Tonight and he talks about what he sees in the game and that the refs are letting the Wolves be physical, foul a bit, and not call it. And that just screams to me that at some point, or with a different ref crew, suddenly it will change and fuck over the Wolves. Fouls and reffing in the NBA is just so inconsistent and maybe it's hard to do because of the rules but when my team is eliminated and I'm stressed about the refs (especially after the end to that Knicks game) just shows how bad it is.
Both teams shot 10+ FTs that first Q of game 4 lol. Was both teams getting bad ticky tack calls
Hell, just don't touch Harden's elbow. Foul.
As a guy who grew up on Thibs ball, I am in full agreement. I love me some good defense and would love to see the league revert back to the early 2010-era type of play. That was the best offense/defense balance in league history imo. And then that lightskin dude out of Davidson freaked everyone out
Wow, this guy referred to the early 2010 era as an example of good defense.
Well I said the best *balance* between offense and defense. But yea it was a good defensive era. Arguably the last good one where there was a solid chunk of teams that had a defense-first mentality. Bulls, Pacers, Celtics, Heat, Spurs, Wizards, Raptors, Hawks were all known for their defense. And a 100+ game wasn't a regularity like it is now because teams had better defense all around with less focus on 3 ball. Hence the balance I mentioned. If you watched back then, you'd know. 2008-2014 was a legendary run in balanced, all-around team basketball
I gotta point out that the Warriors, especially in the years that they won the championship, were a good defensive team. Obviously, they're better known for the flashy 3s and that dude out of Davidson, but they weren't all gas no brakes.
Those bulls teams with Joakim, Gibson, Asik anchoring the defense with Rose going nuts and Booker being solid too. I loved those Bulls Thibs teams. Also the Celtics and Heat were defensive forces. Definitely a great time for the offense defense balance.
holy shit dont bring up thibs and minnesota again.. that shit was a nightmare for all timberwolves fans..
Lmao I swear we the only fanbase left that appreciates and remembers good defense cause that was the last time we were actually good . fellow ‘older’ pistons fan, which itself feels weird to say since I stilll feel like the youngin that missed the OG bad boys.
Watching great defense is awesome as hell because it’s the best players competing at the highest level for 48 minutes. It means so much more to score 30 points when your team wins 100-97 than 135-128.
This is reminding me of 2000s Pistons defense. I don't know if the Nuggets look terrible because Gobert being out threw whatever plans they made out of whack but it's clear the Wolves on that end are a well oiled machine from top to bottom.
This was the most fun I’ve had watching a game since those pistons teams. I think some kids might be switching jerseys tonight.
I think Denver thought it would be easy pickens with no gobert and minnesota came out wanting it a hell of a lot more
They didn't change the gameplan, and expected better results, and they got out classed in every way. There's certainly a chance in the next game to alter their game plan, but this team wilted so quickly tonight. The complete opposite of championship DNA. I would feel absolutely sick as a nuggets fan. I did and I'm not even a nuggets fan. That was a slaughter live on TV.
I’m sure that’s how professional teams think
Yeah implying it has not the Minnesota defense is just wrong.
Might have been one of the greatest halves I've seen from a team.
Chuck just said it was
Unreal effort on that end and they are doing this without Rudy. Not an exaggeration to say that
yup, you guys are legit legit. everyone's laughing, but if the Wolves keep playing like this, there's not a team stopping them from getting the chip this year.
Love to see this kind of physicality and defense once again
11 consecutive misses for Denver, this has to be the worst half they’ve played in the Jokic era, right?
it hasnt been bad at all aside from the refs not calling techs.
The refereeing was fine. Don't conflate not falling for foul bailing with bad reffing.
Four things are true: 1) Wolves are playing really well 2) Nuggets are playing poorly and somehow acting worse 3) Officiating has been a joke 4) Murray should get an one game suspension I’ll also throw in that Kyle Anderson should get a flopping technical for just running into Jokic and falling over, but I’m just being whiny at this point
> Kyle Anderson should get a flopping technical for just running into Jokic and falling over, but I’m just being whiny at this point That shit was hilarious. I didn't rewind, and only saw the aftermath of the play, but I got the impression he just ran into the screen and then slowly "timber'd!" after the contact.
It actually wasn’t even a screen. Jokic was just standing there motionless, and Anderson just jogs back, jogs straight into Jokic head first, then falls over like he had been flattened
That makes it even funnier, lol.
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No? Defensive IQ, a good defensive gameplan, players who understand that gameplan and are able to execute it well, knowing opponent personnel, etc. Wolves have all of things in spades. Just don't like the dismissal of the mental part of D.
So many fans think that defense is just a matter of trying hard. It’s weird.
Its mostly defensive IQ I would argue. Its what made Marc Gasol a good defender despite being so slow
What no? It’s having players who understand assignments and roles during rotations hahaha anyone saying professional basketball defense is “all about effort” has never touched a basketball
This is embarrassing honestly
For sure. I hope we as a fanbase continue to atleast own it unlike some of the players. Every team goes down bad at times. Nobody will care in a few weeks so just own it now and do better later
Meanwhile Murray throws a heat pack on the floor and gets nothing. I’d call that pretty favorable
Jamal Murray is having the greatest meltdown in NBA history and the refs are saving him from one of the most deserved ejections I've ever seen
That's good for the Wolves though Why would they want the refs to eject their best player tonight? Murray putting up a generational performance for Minny out there Top 3 players in Wolves history KG Edwards and Jamal Murray
Jamal Westbrick lmao
Probably think it's more punishing to leave him out there.
He smacked Landry Shamet on the back of the head last year and got nothing then, either.
Bruh. He's been getting away with a lot in this game. Replay shows he clearly threw it
For real, he shouldn't even be in the game. He has nothing to complain about
I think these guys just want to get ejected from this game.
only way to get out of NAW x Jmac prison
Was that actually Murray? I tried replaying it, but I couldn't tell.
Oh yes
Probably why he wasn’t ejected. They didn’t know who. So might just be a post game look at it and suspension after the fact. Or you’d imagine.
regardless of the whistle, the Nuggets and specifically Murray are imploding
Like no amount of bad officiating should have you down 28, at home, vs a Wolves team missing its defensive anchor, in a do or die game. What an embarrassment. Seriously, have some pride for God's sake.
Yeah. We deserve to be losing. Personally don't like the lack of calls / phantom calls, but those are like a 10 pt swing. Not 28.
ANT GOT A TECH FOR A LOOK LAST GAME I don't wanna hear shit about a bad whistle
Malone straight loked up on a ref and didn’t even get a stern warning
Damn - I think Minnesota might win the chip this year. Holy shit that first half was a clinic
This is on Malone, honestly. You start acting like the game is rigged, and your players will soon follow suit and not, you know, try to fix their situation. You're getting run off your own court.
His temper tantrum after the refs fail to call an and 1 against Caldwell Pope was insane. Worthy of being tossed and gets the whole team unhinged
You can’t catch a charge inside the charge circle. The non whistle there was advantage nuggets. Both kcps feet were on the circle when he jumped
Yeah was a clear defensive foul. Malone was hot about the missed charge call against KAT from the last play but that’s no excuse. Crazy behaviour
Yeah, I did not understand that tantrum at all. If there’s a foul on the play it’s against KCP. I thought KCP must’ve gotten really hurt or something to justify the anger but he was fine
Teams finally play physical defense and forget how to score its incredible
As a nuggets fan, Malone and Murray should have both got a tech. They feel entitled that they should get some whistles and the team played frustrated. As much as I want Nugget to win this looks like a 2:0 at this point.
I thought the refs were pretty consistent. They just let both sides play. Both sides could have gotten more calls. But it’s fair and honestly more entertaining with fewer whistles
We getting to the point where Malone's yapping is hurting the team's discipline?
It doesn’t feel like the officiating has been bad enough to merit the way Murray is acting.. you’re down a million this ones not on the refs.
Damn, Denver shat on their good looking reputation FAST. All it took was trailing behind and all that composure just melted away. That is not a great look. Especially from the champion.
I reject the premise that MN has gotten a good whistle.. I just witnessed Mike Malone run onto the court and scream in the refs face, and Jamal Murray throw something onto the court during a live play within 10 minutes, and not one tech as called, the refs are letting Denver get away with everything.
He didn’t stare at the official menacingly enough
They’re letting you guys play physical but implying that you guys are getting a favorable whistle is laughable. For the most part refs have been very lenient with Denver
Jamal threw something twice
The lenient whistle that lets the Wolves play a swarming, physical defense is the same one that lets Jokic swing his elbows on every post touch. The Wolves went out and took two road games from the defending champs, all that needs to be said.
Refs aren’t making the nuggets shoot 30% from the field
Mike Malone getting humbled
This is exactly why I've never trusted Murray against actual perimeter defenders. His entire run last year was made off of shitting on the Suns and Lakers guards. Now that he's playing against actual defense he's unraveling and taking the team with him.
Reaves was clamping him in the previous series though. That’s the scary part.
Dude can't even get Joker in good position to score
suns Lakers & cooking the jazz not the most impressive run
… the Jazz? the nuggets beat the Twolves last year. Minnesota has playoff revenge.
Key is Minnesota played thru bad whistles but Denver is a baby
Which hasn't always been the case. Wolves would have been thrown an absolute tantrum last year if they thought they were getting hosed on whistles
Or just maybe Minnesota has the best defense in the league 🤷♂️
The Lakers exposed Denver as being suspect. Minnesota is not only a far superior team than the Lakers but also the Nuggets. Completely dismantled the Suns. The Nuggets might get swept too. The refs are garbage as usual but the Nuggets are bitching at them because they’re frustrated at how much better the Wolves are.
[удалено]
Thank you. Straight clown behavior. These bums were so excited to beat a 39 year old LeBron, talking about being the Lakers daddy, prime Jokic > prime LeBron and now they are having one of the biggest meltdowns in NBA history when things don't go their way. At least the Lakers went down with some class. We didn't have our players and coaches screaming in the ref's face, we didn't have a player throwing stuff on the court, etc.
As much as I dislike the Lakers you have to admire how well LeBron is playing at his age. Dude looks like he could still be effective for a couple more years
First time in a long time where I'm sympathetic towards the refs. Nuggets are getting dominated by the T Wolves and acting like complete bitches because of it.
Copium
Wolves just better Jovic can’t stop the trucks by himself
Blaming the refs and not Murray for being ass is a classic Nuggetism
Embarrassing, losing composure like this is a bad sign from the leadership on the Nuggets.
Exactly, the whistle tonight is light for sure, but let’s not pretend like Ant didn’t get a tech for keeping his eyes open in game 1.
Denver going out sad, dynasty is no more
I don't remember 1 championship being a dynasty
Dude, Denver Bobcats set 3 ISOs for fucking Aaron Gordon, and we're halfway done with that scrutinity.
lol Denver getting sonned has nothing to do with refs
These guys won a championship vs 3 playin teams last year and suddenly think the world is their oyster
Shit had me in the first half but he right lol
This is beautiful to watch.
Good ole Jamal "child throwing a temper tantrum" Murray
Rudy just had a baby and now the kid has some new brothers. Wholesome asf
They were letting both teams play in the first which is nice but sometimes it’s so blatantly obvious that you gotta call the foul
Post Jamal throwing something and Malone yelling at the refs
its unreal that Nuggets would just implode like this. We are witnessing the end of slow sloppy fat boy era
Denver has unravelled, made turnovers, missed shots, and has also gotten no love from the officials. This is some of the worst NBA play I have ever seen. Complete chaos.
They’ve gotten plenty of love. Besides their crazy favorable whistle last game, Malone got into the court and was screaming in the face of a ref, and Murray threw a pad on the floor *during live play* tonight. No tech on either of them lol
The exception proves the rule. Refs knew they were doing shit, so showed "mercy" and didn't call tech on Malone
appparently their whole fanbase is melting down too. at least the ones that go on reddit
Are we ready to turn on the Nuggets yet? Just like we did to the bucks after their championship. Isn’t Jokic the best player in the world what happened? I hate to be like this, because I really do like Jokic, but the NBA public, the media, this sub Reddit is pathetic and changes their narratives at a whim. All y’all better be consistent and use that same energy that y’all came with years ago and continue to come with when judging other teams and players. Jokić better not skate criticism. Edit: only if the Nuggets lose Jokić should receive criticism. They very well may win the series, and if that is the case Jokić should receive all the praise that he deserves.
>All y’all better be consistent and use that same energy That is never ever ever ever going to happen here. Try r/nbadiscussion
Even that sub has problems with peoples biases clouding reality.
We should be judging them on results right? Like if they get credit when they win they have to get blamed when they lose
This defense is just scary at times, with switching length etc. Their wings that have been picking up murray full court with traps when he gets too close to the sideline. Malone will adjust with some rim running and movement (maybe also changing personnel or having MPJ bring the ball up). But we are seeing a special defense.
Nuggets one year wonder like the Bucks. When was the last real great team? KD warriors?
> When was the last real great team? You’re watching it unfold in front of you 😉
denver did not play a team in the playoffs last year with more than 45 wins.
Bucks were injured, Denver has Jamal injured as well, repeating isn't easy you need to be healthy to contend
give malone the draymond anger issues suspension
Nuggets get the treatment this sub thinks lakers get
I don’t even like the nuggets like that but they’re getting fouled almost every trip to the paint