Top 10 NBA Contenders: Do Nikola Jokic & Nuggets have anyone to fear? | Hoops Tonight
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So you guys don’t miss any of our content over the course of this season all right let’s talk some basketball let’s start with my number one Championship Contender coming into this season the Denver Nuggets Carson are you higher or lower on them than you were at
The start of the season so this is close to the scenario that you just described where I feel very similarly about this team but I would say I’m a little bit higher on them they are my title front runner right now and part of that is a
Team like Milwaukee that I viewed on the same level I now have more concerns about so by at least maintaining their level the Nuggets move up compared to them but also there are some things on the margins Reggie Jackson has been legitimately really impressive this year
And I think has brought some value to that second unit which has always been sort of sketchy you can have Jamal with those bench only units but they have been lacking sort of in some offensive pop there and he has been better than I expected and then I think you look at
Some of the young guys on the wings Christian Brown had some awesome moments in that playoff run last year but was inconsistent I think that he is a better all-around player now in year two pton Watson I think you see the value of his athleticism what he can do as a two-way
Guy his shots been solid so it’s really just the depth stuff where I think that they’ve improved a bit compared to my preseason expectations but the fundamental formula is the same best player on the planet this perfect cohesive starting five they’re huge in the front Court they have awesome
Shooting uh it’s just the best offense in basketball and I think that they can defend at a high level so they are also my title favorite yeah I completely agree with Carson and I think performance-wise record-wise I think I’d probably say that I’m lower on the Nuggets relative to the beginning of the
Season what I mean by that is I just was so confident in Denver being The Runaway a number one seed in the Western Conference but like Carson said we’re not basing this off of you know record or anything we’re basing this off of what I expect them them moving forward
They are my title Contender to add on that I think joic and Murray are still the best uh duo in all of basketball and I just have a a different level of Faith uh with this team continuity wise defensively chemistry-wise and the role players have gotten better uh the
Nuggets uh were not my title favorite I was a Los Angeles Lakers Enthusiast uh the nuggets are my title favorite now uh I have come around I’m I’m very high on the Nuggets so I’m higher as well I had one concern and I want to get back I
Want to go around again to kind of get your guys’ take on this but the the thing with jokic’s jump shot concerns me a little bit like it’s down almost 20% in efficiency from where it was last year and last year he was efficient throughout the regular season and then
Was efficient in the postseason the year before he struggled in the regular season and then he struggled in the postseason and so it does concern me a little bit but I think it’s made up for the fact that they’ve been a much better regular season defense than they were
Last year they’ve had a couple of months specifically October and December where they were both uh in those two months among the best defenses in the league Reggie Jackson you mentioned the offensive stuff I actually like the way he’s been competing on defense too it’s just another guard that’ll fight over
The top of the screen and compete and then again pton Watson just kind of replacing that Bruce Brown athleticism off of the bench and Christian Brown as well there’s enough there to kind of make up for any sort of uh concerned about jokic’s jump shot as it pertains
To comparing to where I felt before the season that said as we know specifically in the Lakers series that over-the-top shot making was an important part of Denver’s success so let’s start with you Carson are you concerned at all about jokic’s jump shot and what that might
Mean for this year’s postseason run not really just because I still think in the scope of things he’s shooting the ball pretty damn well he’s 35% from Deep which is a little bit below where he was last year in the regular season and certainly not at the level he was at in
The the postseason where he was 46% from three and we know that that is the one component that makes him truly unguardable when in that pick and pop game you can’t leave him when as a spot up guy he can hit 45% of his threes blending that with the interior scoring
Dominance and playmaking that’s when it’s like cool this is the best offensive player that we’ve ever seen and he hasn’t been at that level of sharp shooting but 52% for mid-range his bread and butter shots there are still mostly falling we have seen that he can
Run hot and cold it feels like every year he has that one little stretch where he’s down but generally when it comes to the postseason when it matters most he’s able to deliver with that big- time skilled shot making and I still have a lot of faith that he will and
It’s important to preface that that last playoff run was one of the greatest runs ever individually by any player ever to expect jic to be back at that level would to be to expect another one of the greatest runs ever and uh while his perimeter shooting maybe down like over
His last 10 games he’s only shooting one three a night I still think he’s getting to his good looks and there’s just a level of confidence I have with joic as a shooter he’s just he’s got great touch great shooters that touch doesn’t Wan away it doesn’t leave you uh he may be
Hitting a skid this year but I think when it comes playoff time when the chips are down uh there’s nobody in the NBA that I have more confidence in showing up and Performing than Nicole yic yeah to me the the the optimism is that they didn’t just win last year they
Dominated last year so like there’s just margin for error I do think the Gap is a little bit more substantial Than People realize like yeah he was yic jump shot was worth 1.21 points for shot in the postseason last year which is like absolutely insane but
It was worth 1.17 for the entire regular season so like he shot nearly that level the entire regular season he’s down at 1.04 points per jump shot in this season and we did see like again in that Sixers game there’s a tendency that teams have
Right now to ignore him on the pick and pop which was not a thing that you saw last year last year there was so much more like driving that close out as guys are chasing him off of the three-point line so I do think it’s worth mentioning
But again they dominated last year so there’s a hefty Gap and then there’s just so much more other things with Denver to be excited about as it pertains to their defense and the young athleticism on the roster popping all right moving on to my number two championship Contender the Boston
Celtics Logan are you higher or lower on the Boston Celtics than you were to start the season I can’t believe I’m saying this because my expectations were so high for the Boston Celtics coming into this year I’m higher on them uh this Celtics team is historically great
Uh just 31 teams since 2000 have notched 32 wins in their first 41 games 10 of those teams won the title and additional three made the NBA Finals so the track record is good and it’s just such an absurdly talented collection of players Tatum JB porzingis holiday D white
Horford shooting the hell out of the ball he’s over 40% this year and they Gel really well together uh an interesting stat that I found about this team uh against the Spurs the Celtics became the second only team uh in NBA history to make at least 11 more three-pointers than their opponent in
Three consecutive games uh the only other team to do that is the 2016 Warriors and I just think that speaks to how Boston can just boat race teams they can just shoot you out of games and it’s a double it’s a double-edged sword because the one part of me says
Come playoff time they can just blow out teams game to game if they get hot there’s so many shooters down this roster that they can just shoot you out but I also think there’s a really heavy Reliance on the three ball that scares me that when they need shot variants in
The playoffs and they need to vary up that shot selection can they do it I’m higher on them because I’ve been so impressed at the talent I’ve been so impressed at the defense and the shooting ceiling but I’m still a little scared about the Celtics in big moments
In grimy games and those Rock fights that we see can they get it done that being said I am higher on them this is a historically great start uh to this regular Season
Jason Timpf is and the Nerd Sesh guys debate if anyone in the NBA is ready to contend with Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and the defending-champion Denver Nuggets. Is Nikola Jokic’s jump shot a cause for concern?
Watch the full episode here: https://youtu.be/Q1a6JR5QVuk
Timeline:
00:00 – Higher or lower on Nuggets?
03:41 – Concerned about Jokic jump shot?
06:21 – Higher or lower on Celtics?
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45 Comments
Honestly, I think only the Timberwolves can beat the Nuggets in a 7 game series.
Again you with the Jokic's jumpshot…Jason, you need to understand Jokic is different dude kinda weirdo, he doean't care about personal accolades and generally fame…so he often takes like 5 shoots against bad team like Detroit, and than he would take 30 shoots against the Clipers(cause thats what the team needs), so his regular season stats is misleadig, he is anti- statpadder, he is anti-Embiid(for lack of better word) Jokic FOR REAL makes his teammates better!
When he wants to be a great shooter, he is great shooter and THE BEST scorer in the league, from almost ANYWHERE…
The only problem is Aron Gordon who literally forgot how to shoot, like the dude CAN'T make corner 3s like at all, teams gonna bring third player in Murray-Jokic PNR and leave AG wide open and thats the problem…
Tbh Nuggets are sleepwalking through the regular season.
Jeff Bezos knows ball
So, the Joker is ~60% from the field this year…and you are worried about his shooting. Over the last dozen games he is shooting right at 70% from the field. I think he is not making the behind the back, off hand lay up like he used to, might be a problem. 🤣
Jokic is currently 58.7% overall while shooting roughly 36% from 3pt. Crazy enough he shoots close to 50% from top of the 3pt and he actually hasn't taken many midrange shots. Don't believe his jumper is a cause for concern. A majority of his shot selection on the shot chart for the reason is within 10 or less of the rim which lets me know he gets whatever he wants offensively. When he does step out he's hovering around league average so he's good enough to keep the defense honest.
Joker is ~60% from the field this year
MPJ is a head scratcher. 16 PPG at 33 million plus in Salary Denver needs to run more sets to keep him in the game. Porter starts games hot than has a tendency to blend into the background. One positive is Porter has been the healthiest Nugget this season.
their own bench
Braun has been dreadful recently, which is very concerning.
Jokic last 22 games FG 205/292 70% 3PM 18 3PA 35 51%
It's the clutch moments the set Denver apart. There are so many good teams in the league this season but to have at least two guys that can hit big shots when the lights are brightest
Two minuses for Denver:
1. Jokic must not get injured, if he's out the team is out.
2. other teams are getting inspired by the Nuggets. Iso ball is on the wane.
But still #1 team for this years championship
Jokic plays with players who have a max contract. MPJ-JM have a shooting percentage of 25 percent for 2 and 23 percent for 3., Momcad Denver nuggets lives on the back of Jokic. The elite scorer for coach MM is a player who has a 3-point percentage of about 22 percent. In the playoffs last season, MPJ played about 20 minutes – he was the worst in the team. JM wants to be a leader, he takes about 40 shots per game – he goes wild and the coach tolerates him. They prepared a contract for him bigger than Jokic's. Coach MM is a hypocrite who spurs Jokic to exhaustion.
Nuggets crybaby’s coming.
What is this guy talking abou? 😂😂😂 20% down on what, wtf is this. He's literally in the middle of the most efficient shooting last 13 games. But leave that aside, from where did this guy found 20% lower
Funny how he never brings up how bad a shooter LeBron is with all his turn over and brick three’s
Jokic,Murray,AG,MPJ and KCP are the best starting 5 plus Reggie,Braun and those young guys coming of the bench the Nuggets are going back to back…Jokic's jump shot consern you? Come on he's killing it and in the playoffs him and Murray are unstoppable nobody can guard them
I think the thunder and wolves will be a challenge for the Nuggets. Both have big men than can make Jokic work. Honestly, the west has real heavy hitters. Kings are fun and versatile, clippers and suns are stacked with talent and on the rise. It’s so tight in the western conference.
That’s exactly what I said , Jason does not know basketball at all, he talks any how. He shoots 20%. Who the hell are you? And where did you get this misinformation?
Know you talks pal
Only thing to be concerned of is the bench. They also take too many three point shots sometimes. When they can’t hit any 3pt shots, then they might have issues.
I like Denver except for the majority of Jokic fans
WTF Jokic is 70/50/90 over the last 15 games. His last 20 is the most efficient stretch EVER for volume shooting.You’re concern about his jump shot seems overblown.The spin is sickening since he’s doing HISTORIC things every time he steps on the floor…
It's so funny to me how teams are not focusing on the pop of Jokic and yet… he keep making those open 3's like he did with IND hitting 3 clutch 3PTA. And so he did.
You wanna know why Nikola shoot went down? He took at lot more 3PT early this season. That was his goal for the 1st few months of the season. Taking at lot more to reduce the wear and tear of the season which some of them were clearly bad shots, but he going up with his shooting for weeks his % has been increasing all around the floor.
More than his shooting the only "worrysome" issue right now is his touch close to the rim, but still he's doing it at top of the league level, but instead of being 3 step above is like 2 step above.
Now you wanna talk about Nuggets real issues? The inconsistency of the bench. Aaron Gordon shooting. The disappearing of Christian Braun.
Jokić is top 3 in career in most offensive categories, his jump shot numbers are really skewed by two games. He’s almost 75% from 2 the last 15 games. In those 15 overall he’s averaging 25.3/11.3/8.7 on 72/50/90 splits…Not worried.
Oh yeah, he’s raised his 3pt percentage by 6% the last 20 somethin games…
Subbed
Watching a lot of Denver games this year, they will be fine, they are the 3rd Seed by 2 games and they had a tough schedule, most back to backs. Jokic has another gear. So he is not gonna have a issue. Jamal needs to get his legs back under him and just be consistent. P Watt is damn good.
THIS GUY IS A JOKE
OKC has been a tough matchup for the Nuggets this season.
In playoffs as ALLTIME GREATNESS JOKER IS…..the nuggets will only go as far as MURRAY takes them.he is the key to back to back
I believe the Timberwolves are Denvers biggest contender this year. They played Denver the toughest in the playoffs last year and match up well to the nuggets.
He said Christian Braun has improved. That's a red flag he obviously doesn't watch the nuggets.
They need to fear adam silver and the media. They will do all they can to ensure lefraud gets another ring.
Prior to last night, his last 15 games he's shot 71% from the field, 50% from 3 and 90% from the line..
None of these dudes actually played Basketball, am I wrong?
Jokic went through a slump this season, which is why his jump shot percentage isn't as good as it was last season. He's been shooting better than ever lately.
Jokic has never been the best offensive player we've ever seen, stop that!
“I had the Lakers as my title favourite 🤡”
I think celtics are going to win it all. Philly has a chance to. In the west…PHX and clippers are going to be a problem.
You do realize titles like these seriously jinx teams? Ya gotta stop 😂😂😂
He said he LAL enthusiast….
why…
Biggest threat to Denver is themselves. No defense that Jokic hasnt countered. Even if you slow them down, teams cant do it without compromising their offense to the point where they win in the minutes he plays
Joky had a lil slump for a week or two but since christmas he snapped out of it been shooting lights out
It's just wierd to here anyone say Jokic is inefficient lol