Nuggets (28-14) at Celtics (32-9) Game #42 1/19/24

[scaryjerry]

Jokic and Murray went 29 for 43, Tatum and Brown went 15 for 43.  That is your game right there.  Neither level of shooting is sustainable.

Porzingis did have a lot of trouble defending Jokic.  A lot of players do.  That is something we are going to need to figure out before we play them in the finals.  We play a 1 big line up which most advocate for, until it doesn't work.

I seem to be the only one taking this as a positive.

Their top 2 blew our top 2 out of the water, Jokic was playing for the coach who passed away, and the Nuggets summoned 100% effort when we missed a ton of shots and weren’t good… and they only won by a bucket.

I mean, what do they do if we play well? It’s not like their defense stymied us. Have Jokic and Murray shoot 40 for 43?

The problem is in a battle of legit contenders the nuggets stars rose to the challenge and the Celtics stars shrunk and I don’t see that changing. Literally the whole point.

[blink]

Jokic and Murray went 29 for 43, Tatum and Brown went 15 for 43.  That is your game right there.  Neither level of shooting is sustainable.

Porzingis did have a lot of trouble defending Jokic.  A lot of players do.  That is something we are going to need to figure out before we play them in the finals.  We play a 1 big line up which most advocate for, until it doesn't work.

I seem to be the only one taking this as a positive.

Their top 2 blew our top 2 out of the water, Jokic was playing for the coach who passed away, and the Nuggets summoned 100% effort when we missed a ton of shots and weren’t good… and they only won by a bucket.

I mean, what do they do if we play well? It’s not like their defense stymied us. Have Jokic and Murray shoot 40 for 43?

The problem is in a battle of legit contenders the nuggets stars rose to the challenge and the Celtics stars shrunk and I don’t see that changing. Literally the whole point.

Lots of people probably over-reacting to a close loss.   The nuggets shot out of their minds, and the J’s had a much worse than normal shooting night.  I doubt those two things happen again the next time we play them.   

[scaryjerry]

Jokic and Murray went 29 for 43, Tatum and Brown went 15 for 43.  That is your game right there.  Neither level of shooting is sustainable.

Porzingis did have a lot of trouble defending Jokic.  A lot of players do.  That is something we are going to need to figure out before we play them in the finals.  We play a 1 big line up which most advocate for, until it doesn't work.

I seem to be the only one taking this as a positive.

Their top 2 blew our top 2 out of the water, Jokic was playing for the coach who passed away, and the Nuggets summoned 100% effort when we missed a ton of shots and weren’t good… and they only won by a bucket.

I mean, what do they do if we play well? It’s not like their defense stymied us. Have Jokic and Murray shoot 40 for 43?

The problem is in a battle of legit contenders the nuggets stars rose to the challenge and the Celtics stars shrunk and I don’t see that changing. Literally the whole point.

Lots of people probably over-reacting to a close loss.   The nuggets shot out of their minds, and the J’s had a much worse than normal shooting night.  I doubt those two things happen again the next time we play them.

Those things are absolutely more than likely to happen again. Did you even read my comment? In big games Murray/jokic rise to the occasion and Tatum/brown get the jitters and choke. That’s exactly what happened, it wasn’t a fluke.

[CelticsWhat35]

Jokic and Murray went 29 for 43, Tatum and Brown went 15 for 43.  That is your game right there.  Neither level of shooting is sustainable.

Porzingis did have a lot of trouble defending Jokic.  A lot of players do.  That is something we are going to need to figure out before we play them in the finals.  We play a 1 big line up which most advocate for, until it doesn't work.

I seem to be the only one taking this as a positive.

Their top 2 blew our top 2 out of the water, Jokic was playing for the coach who passed away, and the Nuggets summoned 100% effort when we missed a ton of shots and weren’t good… and they only won by a bucket.

I mean, what do they do if we play well? It’s not like their defense stymied us. Have Jokic and Murray shoot 40 for 43?

The problem is in a battle of legit contenders the nuggets stars rose to the challenge and the Celtics stars shrunk and I don’t see that changing. Literally the whole point.

Lots of people probably over-reacting to a close loss.   The nuggets shot out of their minds, and the J’s had a much worse than normal shooting night.  I doubt those two things happen again the next time we play them.

Those things are absolutely more than likely to happen again. Did you even read my comment? In big games Murray/jokic rise to the occasion and Tatum/brown get the jitters and choke. That’s exactly what happened, it wasn’t a fluke.

Was the Wolves game not “big”?

[tenn_smoothie]

Choke job. Team can’t get out of its own way in games that actually mean anything.
Big game against the defending champs and a legit contender and your “stars” lay an absolute egg in a winnable game

Oh come on. Ultimately it’s a game of chance. They played tough and had tons of open looks that didn’t fall. Why does every loss need to be a choke job? Shots just didn’t fall. Simple as that.

Ultimately a game of chance ? Huh ?
Why, then, even bother to work at building a roster or preparing for specific teams' strengths and weaknesses or scouting possible draft prospects. Why not just practice rolling dice, though that doesn't matter either since gambling money on the roll of a pair of dice really is pure chance.

[tenn_smoothie]

Murray being RED hot tonight hurt as well.

Murray was red hot because for some inexplicable reason, Joe opened the 4th quarter with a terrible lineup that didn't have the necessary quick, switchable perimeter defenders with enough length to defend him. Kornet is too slow and Pritchard too small to effectively contest Murray's shots.

[smokeablount]

Jokic and Murray went 29 for 43, Tatum and Brown went 15 for 43.  That is your game right there.  Neither level of shooting is sustainable.

Porzingis did have a lot of trouble defending Jokic.  A lot of players do.  That is something we are going to need to figure out before we play them in the finals.  We play a 1 big line up which most advocate for, until it doesn't work.

I seem to be the only one taking this as a positive.

Their top 2 blew our top 2 out of the water, Jokic was playing for the coach who passed away, and the Nuggets summoned 100% effort when we missed a ton of shots and weren’t good… and they only won by a bucket.

I mean, what do they do if we play well? It’s not like their defense stymied us. Have Jokic and Murray shoot 40 for 43?

The problem is in a battle of legit contenders the nuggets stars rose to the challenge and the Celtics stars shrunk and I don’t see that changing. Literally the whole point.

I think Tatum may be a bit mentally weak, and I’ve wondered aloud if you can win it all with that player as your best player when you will invariably go against someone with equal talent who is mentally tough. Like a Jokic or Curry.

However, I didn’t get overwhelmed with this feeling last night like I have some other games. I thought we had an off game or a choke, whatever you want to call it, and the Nuggets played lights out, but they barely won. So, still have some doubts, but this game doesn’t really play into it. I think people know I’m not a Celtics apologist also.

[scaryjerry]

Jokic and Murray went 29 for 43, Tatum and Brown went 15 for 43.  That is your game right there.  Neither level of shooting is sustainable.

Porzingis did have a lot of trouble defending Jokic.  A lot of players do.  That is something we are going to need to figure out before we play them in the finals.  We play a 1 big line up which most advocate for, until it doesn't work.

I seem to be the only one taking this as a positive.

Their top 2 blew our top 2 out of the water, Jokic was playing for the coach who passed away, and the Nuggets summoned 100% effort when we missed a ton of shots and weren’t good… and they only won by a bucket.

I mean, what do they do if we play well? It’s not like their defense stymied us. Have Jokic and Murray shoot 40 for 43?

The problem is in a battle of legit contenders the nuggets stars rose to the challenge and the Celtics stars shrunk and I don’t see that changing. Literally the whole point.

Lots of people probably over-reacting to a close loss.   The nuggets shot out of their minds, and the J’s had a much worse than normal shooting night.  I doubt those two things happen again the next time we play them.

Those things are absolutely more than likely to happen again. Did you even read my comment? In big games Murray/jokic rise to the occasion and Tatum/brown get the jitters and choke. That’s exactly what happened, it wasn’t a fluke.

Was the Wolves game not “big”?

Yeah it was and they almost found a way to lose that one when the wolves were on the second night of a back to back on the road…I heard it doesn’t matter or count if that’s the case

[CelticsWhat35]

Jokic and Murray went 29 for 43, Tatum and Brown went 15 for 43.  That is your game right there.  Neither level of shooting is sustainable.

Porzingis did have a lot of trouble defending Jokic.  A lot of players do.  That is something we are going to need to figure out before we play them in the finals.  We play a 1 big line up which most advocate for, until it doesn't work.

I seem to be the only one taking this as a positive.

Their top 2 blew our top 2 out of the water, Jokic was playing for the coach who passed away, and the Nuggets summoned 100% effort when we missed a ton of shots and weren’t good… and they only won by a bucket.

I mean, what do they do if we play well? It’s not like their defense stymied us. Have Jokic and Murray shoot 40 for 43?

The problem is in a battle of legit contenders the nuggets stars rose to the challenge and the Celtics stars shrunk and I don’t see that changing. Literally the whole point.

Lots of people probably over-reacting to a close loss.   The nuggets shot out of their minds, and the J’s had a much worse than normal shooting night.  I doubt those two things happen again the next time we play them.

Those things are absolutely more than likely to happen again. Did you even read my comment? In big games Murray/jokic rise to the occasion and Tatum/brown get the jitters and choke. That’s exactly what happened, it wasn’t a fluke.

Was the Wolves game not “big”?

Yeah it was and they almost found a way to lose that one when the wolves were on the second night of a back to back on the road…I heard it doesn’t matter or count if that’s the case

Tatum has come up big in bigger games than nearly anyone his age.  It’s such a cop-out to simplify this game to being one duo stepping up and the other choking.  Did Jokic and Murray choke against the Sixers the other night? 

Yes, Tatum was really bad at the worst possible time; the 2022 NBA Finals; and Brown was really bad in the ECF last year; but both of them have proven on many occasions that the bright lights don’t have an effect on them; the team’s success this year is going to primarily come down to health but also obviously execution.  There are a handful of really good teams in the league, and if you’re not playing your best, you’re going to lose some of them

[green_bballers13]

Jokic and Murray went 29 for 43, Tatum and Brown went 15 for 43.  That is your game right there.  Neither level of shooting is sustainable.

Porzingis did have a lot of trouble defending Jokic.  A lot of players do.  That is something we are going to need to figure out before we play them in the finals.  We play a 1 big line up which most advocate for, until it doesn't work.

I seem to be the only one taking this as a positive.

Their top 2 blew our top 2 out of the water, Jokic was playing for the coach who passed away, and the Nuggets summoned 100% effort when we missed a ton of shots and weren’t good… and they only won by a bucket.

I mean, what do they do if we play well? It’s not like their defense stymied us. Have Jokic and Murray shoot 40 for 43?

The problem is in a battle of legit contenders the nuggets stars rose to the challenge and the Celtics stars shrunk and I don’t see that changing. Literally the whole point.

Lots of people probably over-reacting to a close loss.   The nuggets shot out of their minds, and the J’s had a much worse than normal shooting night.  I doubt those two things happen again the next time we play them.

Those things are absolutely more than likely to happen again. Did you even read my comment? In big games Murray/jokic rise to the occasion and Tatum/brown get the jitters and choke. That’s exactly what happened, it wasn’t a fluke.

This is the definition of a fixed mindset. Why even get out of bed if it's going to be a repeat of yesterday?

[scaryjerry]

Jokic and Murray went 29 for 43, Tatum and Brown went 15 for 43.  That is your game right there.  Neither level of shooting is sustainable.

Porzingis did have a lot of trouble defending Jokic.  A lot of players do.  That is something we are going to need to figure out before we play them in the finals.  We play a 1 big line up which most advocate for, until it doesn't work.

I seem to be the only one taking this as a positive.

Their top 2 blew our top 2 out of the water, Jokic was playing for the coach who passed away, and the Nuggets summoned 100% effort when we missed a ton of shots and weren’t good… and they only won by a bucket.

I mean, what do they do if we play well? It’s not like their defense stymied us. Have Jokic and Murray shoot 40 for 43?

The problem is in a battle of legit contenders the nuggets stars rose to the challenge and the Celtics stars shrunk and I don’t see that changing. Literally the whole point.

Lots of people probably over-reacting to a close loss.   The nuggets shot out of their minds, and the J’s had a much worse than normal shooting night.  I doubt those two things happen again the next time we play them.

Those things are absolutely more than likely to happen again. Did you even read my comment? In big games Murray/jokic rise to the occasion and Tatum/brown get the jitters and choke. That’s exactly what happened, it wasn’t a fluke.

This is the definition of a fixed mindset. Why even get out of bed if it's going to be a repeat of yesterday?

I said more than likely to happen again and as of now I’m taking the nuggets in a 7 game series over us, sorry

[blink]

Jokic and Murray went 29 for 43, Tatum and Brown went 15 for 43.  That is your game right there.  Neither level of shooting is sustainable.

Porzingis did have a lot of trouble defending Jokic.  A lot of players do.  That is something we are going to need to figure out before we play them in the finals.  We play a 1 big line up which most advocate for, until it doesn't work.

I seem to be the only one taking this as a positive.

Their top 2 blew our top 2 out of the water, Jokic was playing for the coach who passed away, and the Nuggets summoned 100% effort when we missed a ton of shots and weren’t good… and they only won by a bucket.

I mean, what do they do if we play well? It’s not like their defense stymied us. Have Jokic and Murray shoot 40 for 43?

The problem is in a battle of legit contenders the nuggets stars rose to the challenge and the Celtics stars shrunk and I don’t see that changing. Literally the whole point.

Lots of people probably over-reacting to a close loss.   The nuggets shot out of their minds, and the J’s had a much worse than normal shooting night.  I doubt those two things happen again the next time we play them.

Those things are absolutely more than likely to happen again. Did you even read my comment? In big games Murray/jokic rise to the occasion and Tatum/brown get the jitters and choke. That’s exactly what happened, it wasn’t a fluke.

Yes I read your comment,  I just obviously disagree.  it is allowed you know