Game Day: Nuggets (13-6) @ Suns (11-7), Fri 12/1/23

[Charlie Smithy!]

What a way to lose

[Wally_West]

Jokic swings his elbows every time down and they don’t say shit

[Mori Chu]

What a bullshit call. Ballgame.

[Split T]

I don’t have a problem with the flagrant call, but there were some bad ones…Jokic very physical with Nurkic on one end and then they call a foul for similar contract from Nurkic on the other end.

[Wally_West]

MPJ traveled before getting fouled

[Furlanfufi]

[Split T]

I’ll say this, if that’s the Nurkic we get against Jokic, I like our chances.

[Democritus]

This one is on KD, simple as that. The role players did their job, KD could not made a single j in the entire second half, unacceptable.

[Superbone]

I don’t think I’ve seen Durant make a shot tonight

I don’t think he did in the second half. Ball game.

[Superbone]

And what the hell is wrong with ESPN?! Multiple times they talked about us playing the short-handed Denver Nuggets. How is it that they’re short handed and we’re not? Explain that to me.

[Split T]

[JJ Slim]

I’ll say this, if that’s the Nurkic we get against Jokic, I like our chances.

I think the chances of Nurkic playing like this against Jokic are infinitely greater than Durant going 0 for 10 or whatever it was in the second half again. In other words Durant's play was an anomaly, I don't think Nurkic's was. So yeah I like our chances too.

[ShelC]

Postgame Quotes and Videos

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[ShelC]

Kind of a weird one but glad we were able to hang tough and make the comeback. Felt a lot like the Raptors game where we battled hard enough to take the lead but couldn't sustain it. We kind of played into their hands making it an offensive game and letting the defense go. They didn't have Murray or Gordon, we didn't have Book or Beal - so not sure how great that strategy was. I liked Vogel's adjustments - going zone helped get us back into the game. Little gave us some good minutes over KBD, Goodwin and Okogie gave us the defensive energy we needed. We leaned right into KD early on when he was hot, let Nurk do his thing in the 3rd.

KD was really locked in to start the game hitting just about everything, then went ice cold in the 2nd half. I almost wanted him to stop shooting late in the game because when he's off like that, it's like there's no getting it back. That's how he looked when he first got here and was in that slump. He gets in his own head and wears it on the court - no confidence, slumped shoulders, head down. Maybe he was tired because a lot of shots were hitting the front of the rim/rimming out. He was also getting hit a lot and looking for some foul calls but not getting them.

Great game by Nurk. He played with some extra bounce, looked like he was really up for playing against Jokic given the history. Felt like he knew it was a big game and stepped up which is a really good sign. After being on those middling Portland teams, he's gotta enjoy playing on a team with a real chance and he and KD work really well together. I like seeing them work off each other. He's obviously not good enough to be a consistent #2, but when it's just KD out there and the matchup works, Nurk can pretty good for us in helping take on some of the offensive load. Same goes for EG and Allen.

Felt like we couldn't stop MPJ, the rest of the starters were in double figures, Strawther played well from them. Letting Holiday and Jackson go 14-19 is the killer. Not going to beat a lot of teams when they shoot 57% from the field.

[Kryptonic]

Thanks shelc for always giving the break down…. Missed the game and always nice to have your cliffnotes to go to. Much appreciated!

[JJ Slim]

...and he and KD work really well together. I like seeing them work off each other.

I was going to mention this last night. I have noticed even before this game that the two of them have some really good chemistry. These are early days and the team is still learning each other but this bodes really well for the second half of the season and beyond. I think these early struggles are actually really good for them as it especially helps the bench develop and for Vogel to learn how to use them and how to fit into his plan.

[Mori Chu]

[Kryptonic]

...and he and KD work really well together. I like seeing them work off each other.

I was going to mention this last night. I have noticed even before this game that the two of them have some really good chemistry. These are early days and the team is still learning each other but this bodes really well for the second half of the season and beyond. I think these early struggles are actually really good for them as it especially helps the bench develop and for Vogel to learn how to use them and how to fit into his plan.

Totally agree… as long as they’re learning from these early mistakes…. This team is going to gel so well come May.

[Nodack]

KD 0-10 in the second half was the biggest problem. He was getting good looks. I don’t think it was Watson’s great defense that made him miss. Sometimes you just don’t have it.

[Superbone]

KD 0-10 in the second half was the biggest problem. He was getting good looks. I don’t think it was Watson’s great defense that made him miss. Sometimes you just don’t have it.

Yep, a tale of two halves.