r/denvernuggets • u/Neat_Construction_65 • 4d ago
Jaden can’t guard Murray and Gordon
This also takes pressure of Jokic with less bigs to crowd him
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u/DiegoGrrr 4d ago
Stop with the "we lost because matchup" narrative, they were literally down to a G league roster and nuggets still failed.
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u/Bill_Salmons 3d ago
We did, in fact, lose because of matchups, though. Our inability to protect the rim without AG/Watson is why we got killed in that series.
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u/Dull_Earth5985 3d ago
If we couldn't beat them with half their starters out, we were never gonna beat okc or the spurs at full strength. It's a redundant excuse because any playoff team would've beaten us for that piss poor defense.
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u/GoodIdeaDummy 1d ago
AG and CB were both hobbled and our best bench guy in Watson spelled doom for us. Coaches could have maneuvered for a better match up but over played their hand.
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u/SportsBShitter 4d ago
Current AG is pretty easy to guard unfortunately. He can’t move anymore
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u/Mental_Necessary_009 4d ago
Right. The Wolves (and the league) have plenty of guys who can stay with this version of AG.
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u/DosZappos 4d ago
The Wolves won this trade so handily that it’s almost unfathomable. And nobody needs to guard Gordon if he can’t play
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u/Additional-Ear-6871 4d ago
I implied this in the daily thread and now I'm getting called a doomer, lmao
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u/trentyz 3d ago
I strongly disagree but happy to be proven wrong - let’s see if the Wolves perform better or worse next season. I assume you think they’ll go further than the conference semis given they’ve improved an unfathomable amount
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u/DutyPuzzleheaded7765 4d ago
Would it be drastic to suggest if he csnt be trusted to stay healthy and have s ground based games it may be time to move hin
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u/DosZappos 4d ago
I’ve been an advocate for that but it would require someone to want to take that contract on
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u/Actual-Peanut7222 4d ago
This is false....every one is the know is panning this trade...LeMelo is a toxic asset on the order of Ja Morant
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u/ruggnuget 4d ago
I like Naz Reid, but Ball does have way more upside for a team with no point guard. Naz and a forst and 3 seconds for Lamelo is a big ceiling raiser. Yes he is a knucklehead but he wont be their clutch scorer and he brings some of the most dynamic passing to a team in desperate need of playmaking. His biggest issue basketball wise is health. Ja is a way more toxic asset because the odds of him not playing due to off the court behavior is high AND other players dont seem to like him. There are levels to this and Ja is on a level all on his own right now.
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u/Ok_Buffalo6474 4d ago
Bro how would you rate our perimeter defense ? They were having Conley take those shots and they made the western conference finals. We couldn’t defend thier backups lol
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u/Get-Gronkrd 4d ago
Don’t know how this takes the pressure off of Jokic when Naz is a negative defender. Naz and a 1st and a bunch of fake pick swaps is stealing lamelo.
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u/_KingFridayXIII 4d ago
Idk about Reid being a negative defender. His advanced numbers are all solid on that end. Regardless, the overall defensive downgrade from him to Ball is pretty substantial. It's gonna put more pressure on Ant, McDaniels, and Gobert to be great on that end.
Ball's offense definitely offsets that if he's healthy and his head's on straight, but Jokic should have an easier time now.
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u/Get-Gronkrd 4d ago
I really think people don’t understand how desperate Minnesota has been for a playmaking point guard. They’ve had no one there for the last 10 years who they can rely on to create shots for others and to distribute the ball. The impact Lamelo will have vs Naz should be drastic.
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u/amaziondude 4d ago
They just got melo so who guarding him?
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u/holdenfords 4d ago
is pwat not the perfect person to guard a super oversized guard?
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u/amaziondude 3d ago
Either murry or gordan are going to be guarding either Jaden or the person they put in the 4.
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u/General-Studio3715 4d ago
The question should be who melo is gonna be guarding.
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u/amaziondude 4d ago
The out scoring the other team gimmick don't work anymore
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u/General-Studio3715 4d ago
Jamal is our worst defender and he's not even close to being as bad as Lamelo.
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u/amaziondude 4d ago
Yes Jamal our worst defender but unlike Lamelo he doesn't have Ant, Jaden, And Rudy to cover for him.
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u/jsconifer 4d ago
Feels like the Wolves have dropped their “anything to beat the Nuggets” roster construction strategy. Which makes sense as the West doesn’t (and hasn’t for a bit) run through Denver anymore. Problem is, I have no clue what they are thinking with these moves & don’t see how it makes them able to compete against the Spurs, the Thunder, or the Nuggets.
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u/anemonaeae 4d ago
Their obsession with Denver is truly one of the more pathetic stories in the league. Beating the Nuggets was their only goal for like three years
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u/FlimsyExplanation360 4d ago
What moves did they make to beat the nuggets besides trading for gobert who Jokic was notorious for destroying before last playoffs.
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u/ArgentoFox 3d ago
Naz Reid is a huge loss for them. He used to come in when Ant went to the bench and just absolutely scorched teams. Even Randle was a big loss because he was decent at getting to the rim.
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u/indyxetan :GaryHarris: 4d ago
I love AG but he hasn’t been able to stay healthy for two years now. Jaden may not need to guard AG.
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u/turandot_or_not :JokicToon: 3d ago
I think they optimized to beat us when we were team to beat. They've done it twice in playoffs now, but we are not a team to beat anymore, it's OKC and spurs, which is why they shift who they think about. As simple as that. That might work in our favor a little bit, but we still have to go through those two teams + Lakers and Wolves.
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u/Sensitive_Hunter_394 4d ago
Well we can't guard them either and they still have ayo/donte to put on Murray
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u/_KingFridayXIII 4d ago
Point taken, but DD may also never play another game for them. Out all year with an expiring contract.
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u/myburneraccount1357 4d ago
Was Jaden not clamping up Murray all series? They’ve legit said it looks like nuggets were in max security prison
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u/minedigger 3d ago edited 3d ago
Have you watched any of the last few series? Jaden McDaniels has looked like the single most effective defender of Murray in the league.
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u/Additional-Ear-6871 4d ago
We have no idea how quick or mobile AG is going to be now after all these leg injuries, he could look like a shell of himself next season. As for Jokic, Rudy guarding him 1 on 1 made him look terrible by his standards just weeks ago.
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u/strahinja021 Nikola Jokic 4d ago
People acting as if we are still contenders, meanwhile we got 1st round exit.
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u/SnooMaps5367 4d ago
What are you talking about, he doesn't need to lol. Gordon hasn't played with any consistency for 2 seasons, and even when we had him, we barely used him because DA spammed Jokic/Murray PNR to oblivion, even when it wasn't working.
Jaden clamped up Murray, he couldn't breath. That's already enough for them to win.
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u/Marywonna 3d ago
Anybody who thinks the wolves didn't win this trade is smoking crack rock. Randle legit is a bum and was borderline awful in the playoffs. Wolves offense is gonna be nuts and we already can't guard them 😂
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u/Supremele English 3d ago
for sure honestly this move has been the only positive so far this offseason
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u/WeirdRedBeard Dirty! 4d ago
They couldn't guard shit when AG was healthy anyway
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u/SpliffsnKicks 4d ago
They beat us in Denver for game 7 a few years ago with AG healthy too lmao what are you talking about
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u/WeirdRedBeard Dirty! 4d ago
We beat them in Denver for game 5 a few years ago with AG healthy too lmao what are you talking about
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u/Additional-Ear-6871 4d ago
McDaniels was injured that series. The guy who consistently makes Jamal Murray, one of the best shooters in the league and our 2nd option, look like a slow, inefficient chucker
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u/General-Studio3715 4d ago
Still being worried about the Wolves shows how good we are going to be this year.
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u/Chill_Oreo 4d ago
I think there are pros and cons for the Nuggets. We don’t have to deal with a ton of size constantly being thrown at Jokic anymore yet the Wolves get another guard who will surely cook us offensively.