Who is to blame for the Denver Nuggets disappointing season? | DNVR Nuggets Podcast

Who's to blame for the Denver Nuggets' disappointing season? Jamal Murray? Michael Malone? Someone else? The DNVR Nuggets podcast goes on a Witch Hunt to find out. Also, the fellas enter a time machine to discuss when the season could have been saved and talk about who they're rooting for and not rooting for in the playoffs.
The DNVR Nuggets podcast team takes on those questions and goes on a witch hunt to find out who is to blame for not winning the title? And the fellas hop in a time machine to figure out when things went wrong for the Nuggets.
Start - 0:00
Witch Hunt (Murray & Porter) - 5:15
Witch Hunt (Malone & Booth) - 22:00
Nuggets time machine - 38:30
Who do the fellas want to win? - 51:00
Superchats - 1:00:00
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[@dandan4092]

I’ve been avoiding basketball content since Game 7. Aside from that 3 game stretch it was honestly an utterly deflating postseason. We looked sluggish, out of sync and made so many errors. However, here’s to the hope of next season! And I wanted to say a big thanks to the DNVR crew for your work this season. I’m over in the UK and don’t meet too many Nuggets fans, so it’s been awesome watching the streams, the behind the scenes content and all the other bits you guys put together - I get to feel part of the family. I’ve been a fan of the game a while but been on board with the Nuggets since they came to London back in 2017. It’s been a wild ride so far and I ain’t getting off. Enjoy the summer fellas and looking forward to riding with you again in the Autumn. Cheers and all the love to the Nuggets fans around the world 💙💛💙💛

[@je5406]

Interesting. I dove into all the content to get the analysis. We had flashing red lights all season about this Nuggets team. None bigger than the 23 pt collapse to a tanking Spurs team. Then we played the Lakers and played from behind for 70% of the minutes. I saw the train wreck in the 3rd qtr knew our season was done. The team was just not good enough.

[@dandan4092]

@@je5406 Nuggets should hire you

[@Munnnn8]

@@je5406100% I knew aswell from the lakers series this wasn’t the season

[@srdjanmitrovic2981]

1. Exhausted first five; 2. Weak "short" bench; 3. Injuries ( least influential). We need depth. At least 8 players that you can relay on.

[@ranisalman9650]

u forgot the most important one.....heart and killer instinct

[@timjoseph4085]

Nuggets won 3 games cause they hit shots, and lost 4 cause they missed shots. It sounds basic, but when you get multiple good looks in the third and miss almost all of them, you are going to feel deflated. Also, Murray has to be a better play maker. He was good at it last year, but this year, there was too much over dribbling.

[@mcsg5053]

100% agree with you, both games 1 and 7 were very winnable, and both at home.. game one was weird because Twolves couldnt make a shot in first half ( other than Ant that is, he had 70% of the points they scored ) and yet Nuggets were only up by 4 at half, and then in the second half Twolves shot 75% which you can blame most on the Nuggets defense and with all that ( struggles to score in first half and defend in second ) they only lost by 7... and then game 7.. they literally just needed to play good for 6-8 out of 24 2nd half mins ( and they looked good in first 2 so really just 4-5 extra mins ) yet they failed to do that which is wild because it wasnt even defense that made them lose the game ( granted it wasnt great, giving 60 points in last 22 mins is not ideal ) but getting outscored by 30 in last 22 mins is crazy considering how they looked in the first 26 mins of the game. Onto the next season, hopefully with Vlatko back and rookies/sophomores improving ( maybe, PLS ) and getting a backup for Jokic can fix many problems they faced this season.

[@weights250]

Nuggets shot a better % in game 7 than the Wolves. It's amazing how many times I've heard Denver fans + their coach (surprisingly) say the reason they lost this game or that game was because they missed shots. Wow. I guess they don't realize there are 2 ends of the court? ANT is the perfect example of this. Shot 6 of 24, but GRINDED and played gritty defense and made plays for his teammates to impact winning. The Nuggets didn't do the 'extra' stuff to win. It's not always about shots falling. Such an unbelievably weak take if I'm a Denver Nugget. That's not why you lost.

[@mcsg5053]

@@weights250 Bruh im just saying that they had an unbelieveable weak 2nd half, they shot 35% and pretty much 0 fts whereas Wolves shot around 55% and attempted 15 fts in 4th q alone, no rebounding and bricks it happens, onto the next year no big deal lol

[@JovicaMilutinovic]

With all due respect, Denver rookies are very bad compared to others from other teams. Last year, MPJ had a series of games where did not hit a single 3-point shot, and the same thing happened again this year. By trading MPJ you free up a lot of money for at least two players, who are of the same value as MPJ. After the next season, nobody will sign him, and Denver will have to pay to the end of the contract. --similar to Ben Simmons. Jokic needs a replacement on the center position, as well as the playmaker position, this is the play off, players should show their best. See the score list game 7 jokic 34 murray 35 rest of team big 0.

[@travisnoffsinger4507]

Only if those 2 players are worth it. 💯

[@joelvicente8148]

MPJ had one job, make open to wide open 3s. And in 5 of the 7 games, he was invisible. Terrible on both ends, which allowed Minnesota to double and basically triple team Jokic

[@kgar5String]

Do you mean a hot potato, starting to sound like LeBron fans

[@dominictrujillo9597]

Michael Porter Jr is the 🧙‍♂️

[@sheng1276]

Booth for sure. And trade MPJ for someone who can hold and move the ball, as well as defending

[@jimrosser7494]

Calvin Booth and Michael Malone better get on the same page. Booth said that he's willing to sacrifice this year's repeat for the sake of winning three in six years. Malone didn't play any of the youngsters to get them ready for that vision. I know it's hard for any coach to coach that way, but if the team is built for that vision, then the better play that way.

[@sheng1276]

Absolutely, Booth. The only thing he did in the past season was to give Naji (who can't play in NBA at all) a 32 M contract.

[@poorchristopher15]

That makes no sense. They didn't have to sacrifice a repeat this year. He had those youngsters at his disposal.

[@ranisalman9650]

That's the stupidest thing I have ever heard from a GM. You never know how long a window is open in sports..you can't have that philosophy if u want to be a winner

[@markkraft6719]

MPJ didn't show up against the T-wolves. It was very disappointing.

[@nazdalaan]

THE COACH 💯

[@yugo4855]

Facts malone needs to step up or leave

[@bojannisic2906]

@@yugo4855 Malone greatest strength is also his greatest weakness. He trust some guys so much that he's unwilling to bench them when they need benching. Why he did not try bit more of a Payton Watson on Ant is beyond me to understand.

[@yugo4855]

@@bojannisic2906 yeah and why didn't he put DJ and Reggie in to give Jokic AND Murray some rest.... instead he takes Jokic out and lets Murray in without any bigs..... Murray guarding KAT and Rudy in game 7 was just stupid asf...... Why Pwat didn't get playtime is beyond me ...

[@RS-ol8or]

Malone pissed me off all year. Not playing the rookies, especially Hunter & Pickett was irresponsible. Booth & Malone absolutely need to get on the same page. Hello! Hope Kroenke slaps those two around.

[@yugo4855]

@@RS-ol8or facts all year he was running the starters like crazy.....how the rookies supposed to get better if they never play.....and if they play and make a mistake he doesn't play them again it's just bad coaching...

[@alexspiller5732]

Booth and Malone, the lack of moves and player development this season is the reason our starters were too gassed to beat the wolves.

[@Swingpassfromthecorner]

Booth's comments about creating a dynasty worried me at the start of the year, my worst fears were realised in the playoffs they ran Jok into the ground during the reg season with no backup centre worth a fuck and his (and the other starters) stamina suffered greatly in the playoffs. This situation reminds me so much of the GSW one a few years back where there was options to trade some of the young guys for a vets to win now and it blew up in their face, you never know when your window will close you have to go all in.

[@MallPeaMallCow]

I think the blame should be on the Minnesota Timberwolves for ending the season.

[@9ty7er]

I agree with the larger point that Denver should try to not ride the starting 5 so much. But I just don't understand this narrative about Malone and the young guys. He played Braun and PWat a ton this year. PWat was bad in the playoffs, got benched for Holiday, who played well. All the vets off the bench played well enough, they generally won their minutes! So this is really about not playing second-round rookies during the season. Which .... show me a playoff team who did that this year. I'll wait.

[@vjekoslavprpic496]

Justin had 7 games with zero points, we don't have any clue are Hunter, Pickett and Straw any good, PWAT makes 2 really bad mistakes and gets benched, Malone switching tactic is not working, his baby Jamal plays selfish instead of making every1 better and 2nd hald defense was abysmal from him coz he has no strenght anymore

[@insideout8837]

Booth. As I said on a stat of season, ALL teams made a move, Nuggets drafted bunch of nothing and signed backup...piano player.

[@rkma]

I was unhappy, of course, and depressed after Sunday. I now think the front office should try to reconstitute the champions with Bruce Brown back, if possible. The magic formula was THERE, and it got away, and who can say if new pieces will fit well, no matter how good they appear on paper? I know people will say other teams will just get better and better, and we need to join the arms race, but that isn't really true. If the Wolves win the chip, and even if they don't, they've had enough of a positive light shone on them that one or two of their players will want to cash in and leave.

[@raz318]

They also need some real paint and rim protection.

[@genopolanco1707]

Everyone wants Bruce back. It’s just not realistic. We can’t afford him.

[@svarozjov]

Eric, happy birthday, generation of my :)))))) Best years of your life is one you are living NOW, remember that :)

[@mydog337]

Malone gives his stars all the minutes to buy their loyalty and their loyalty gives him job security.

[@WGTBollox]

Naz Reid

[@berlin4103]

Man that dude is a monster i once saw him kill the warriors single handedly, he took away both game 1,7 away from us.

[@yugo4855]

We need another big!! Malone did a terrible job utilizing the bench ....the development of young players just works if they let them play.....

[@bobanilic2455]

Right...if you have "children " on the banch they need more play during the season

[@yugo4855]

@@bobanilic2455 facts!!!

[@partrobot]

Denver having no reliable backup big is boneheaded. It should have been a default to deploy DAJ pick and rolls every time Jokic steps off the floor in the first half

[@vjekoslavprpic496]

But DJ is not reliable and not many back up C's are, would like to see Steven Adams in Nuggets uniform, not sure how realistic is

[@THE_LN_PLAYS]

The only answer here is that Nuggets must go for Bronny in the draft.

[@KyleD5280]

Awesome graphic Kalle 😂

[@Gnofg]

I rememeber watching Bill Russell discussing shooting when he was in the booth. He said that even though it looks like a good shot that if the team is out of rhythm they miss the shot. He was right.

[@JakeStine]

Murray was playing poorly much of the regular season too. He regressed massively from his playoff run in 2023. He started ball-hogging, and was relying on the two-man game way too much. Whenever he played without Jokic he basically spent the whole time dribbling out the clock and then chucking a terrible shot. Murray turned the Nuggets from a team into the "Murray and Jokic" show, or just the "Murray" show when Jokic was sitting.

[@JakeStine]

Constructively: Murray needs to learn how to play without the ball again, which was something he was doing really well in 2022-2023 when he was coming back from injury and was playing as a humbled role player instead of a ball-dominant starter.

[@CoreyScott]

I didn't really find their season disappointing. They tied for the best record in a stacked division. They had four more wins this season than last season, tying the franchise record. They dominated the Lakers in round 1 of the playoffs, and about half the time did pretty well against the Wolves. I'm definitely disappointed the season is over, and game 2 and (the second half of) game 7 against Minn were completely miserable to watch, but does that make their whole season a disappointment? People need to remember this a game we watch for fun, imho. But ok, if we have to place blame for an outcome we don't like? I blame: Anthony Edwards Naz Reid Karl Anthony Towns Mike Conley Rudy Gobert ...in roughly that order. Or maybe Tim Connelly for building the Nuggets core championship roster and then going to Minnesota to specifically build a team that could beat them. All the Nuggets players and Mike Malone did their jobs, for the most part. Murray had consistency issues, and shouldn't have been guarding bigs. Jokic needed more relief from the bench. But overall, and especially during the regular season, this club did what it was supposed to do and I loved watching. Only one team can win the title every year. I'm not sure I like where this trend is going, of blaming and firing head coaches (except for Darvin Hamm 😜) for only making it to the division semis or whatever.

[@adampepin9944]

Man, the West is sssoooo stacked. You got Wolves, Nuggets, Clips, OKC for foreseeable future. Lakers are toast, they have no flexibility. But San Antonio is getting better. Houston came on big late, Zion May (or may not) stay healthy, and Ja is coming back. Jazz... meh. Its going to get really, really tough for both our teams.

[@Tanarosblack]

I agree with Vogt, this should be about coming back better, stronger and more resolute. No trades, just using our guys. Finding a good backup center, so Jokic does not get mentally exhausted. They mentally collapsed in the second half of game seven. Reminded me of the movie The Replacements when Keanu says that his worst fear on the field is quicksand. That's what happened to Nuggets. Too many things went wrong in that second half, and they just couldn't breathe anymore. It was devastating. They're in hell right now. They can stay there or fight their way back next season. It is not how hard you can hit, but how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. Now they again have something to prove next year, because everybody will be calling them a fraud. Back to being the hunters, let's see how the other teams will like it!!! Go Nuggets!!!!

[@jkwalrus9723]

50:08 very interesting tidbit there

[@bonganimcobothi9988]

Guys I do not even support Nuggets but I love to follow the show, you guys are amazing

[@jeffssmith1]

I felt Eric and Brendan made the better points during the Witch Hunt. Cathartic episode--thanks DNVR guys!

[@jordanbielski8443]

I really don’t know. Lol we just didn’t make shots 🤷🏼‍♂️🤷🏼‍♂️. Im already looking forward to next season… Idk what the team is gunna look like. I hope booth and malone are in same page. Lets get another title

[@CarlFair]

I enjoyed the input on what Uncle Jeff and Bruce Brown contributed gave last year and what the Nuggets lost this year.

[@kyliedadify]

But that is the easy copout. Stop with the excuses. Wolves were better and the Nuggets should learn and make the appropriate adjustsments. Be real. Figure it oit . Stop with the excuses.

[@CarlFair]

@@kyliedadify If the wolves win the title this year, I will agree, but excuses or not, the bench of Denver was a problem all season long.

[@CarlFair]

@@kyliedadify to replace the champ you have to become the champ.

[@CarlFair]

@@kyliedadify without a doubt, the Nuggets were not good enough to be the NBA Champion this year.

[@neptunetk1869]

The only thing I’m looking forward to are the available Vlatko Cancar minutes next season

[@benjamintalamaivao3765]

💯 his size and shooting for like 10-15min a game would have helped… maybe they can get Fontecchio as well to be mentor Watson and Tyson

[@neptunetk1869]

I think he could’ve been a viable small ball 5 better than Nnaji we might have been able to rest Jokic and Gordon from playing center for a while during any of the playoff series if he was available

[@ICN8IVE]

It was the hubris of all parties involved and the assumption that the Nuggets just thought yelling dynasty was going to make them one . But Booth to me is the answer. The whole world saw what happened to GSW and they had far better young talent than what the Nuggets were working with and a much better front office. I understand the 2nd apron implications, but we still have those implications and no bench.

[@JakeStine]

I think Murray's play drug down both MPJ and Gordon with his ball-hogging. MPJ for sure also stunk, no question. But Murray was just sucking up so much of the "valuable" floor space where MPJ might have been able to work and create shots. Murray needs to get humble again and get out of the way on offense, set back/downscreens, and let other players create from time to time. Which is stuff he did a ton in his return from injury in 22-23.

[@dominictrujillo9597]

I could finally come out and Grieve

[@jeremiahjones3010]

They lost because they settled for 3's that weren't dropping instead of pushing the paint, drawing fouls, and with everyone hanging out outside the paint there was no one there to get the put backs or rebounds. All of which are indicators of intensity, focus, and drive.

[@josephadams7301]

Whos to blame.... Nuggets - for losing to Spurs Booth - for resigning MPJ 5/35, resigning Zeke and no deadline moves. Murray - pathetic post season MPJ - couldn't throw it in the ocean from the beach Malone-for not forcing the team to run the offense through Jokic in that 3rd Jokic - for disappearing in the 3rd. No killer instinct and avoiding just playing hard for 12 min when they should have put the game away.

[@ranisalman9650]

D Line you look good man most 46 year olds got nothing on you son

[@al_ns4930]

the boys were great all season, considering that they carried the burden of the champion and the pressure of the public and fans to repeat! There are ugly stories about Mpj, Jamal or the bench guilt because it is obvious that they are trying to play as a team all season and not like in previous years to solve things through the Joker-Jamal duo, because their only opponent was themselves and they did not manage to win! ! with this experience and better timing of the form (chasing for the first place since All-Stars made them mentally and physically tired) they are 99% champions again, so if they do it again, the dynasty is inevitable!! see you next season...long live this Nuggets team !! cheers...

[@Weebei]

I think this is the first time a team has been equipped to really challenge Denver for years. Who to blame? Maybe the non-alignment of booth and Malone, but credit the Wolves. Feel like if Denver doesn't overreact, Nuggets and Wolves gunna be an amazing rivalry the NBA desperately needs

[@krzysztofkaplinski8603]

Front office ans MPJ. He is paid max for 6 points average for last 3 Play off games? This is garbage

[@seanb6615]

Guys, we need some positive energy and hope...

[@oficijalni5713]

I rly don’t understand the whole “ we won it last year, we are not motivated “, like that’s the point of the whole game no matter if you won it the previous year or not. Imagine a regular person walking into a work place and saying “ yo we made great profit yesterday I don’t feel motivated to earn money today “. This is the reason Jokic treats the game as a 9-5 job, cause at the end of the day it is that, they play basketball and their job is to win.

[@anthonycaroselli834]

Denver didn't have the benefit of playing weak rivals, they finally hit a good team in the Twolves. Last year Jimmy Butler did away with all the good teams and then when he met up with Denver he was all fizzled out. Couldn't have manufactured a better set of circumstances for Denver last year. This year, different story, they met a stiff opponent who put them away on their home court. It was an embarrassment for Jokic to be beat like that on his home court.

[@-ac-8296]

or here in the real world Jokic came close to almost single handedly whipping Wolves butt (because most of his teammates played like a$$). The fact that Jokic and his sorry crew took Wolves to 7 games is a sad indictment on Minnesota (with their roster stacked full of All stars/All NBAs, DPOYs and 6thMOTYs). When Murray stinks, MPJ stinks, nobody expects KCP to score or the bench to do much of anything Wolves should have swept but they almost got whooped by a fat slow Serbian guy. Embarrassing, utterly embarrassing

[@nathanmcclarren4432]

44:31 not putting a well-rested Payton Watson in the 3rd quarter to help rest our starters and protect a 20 point lead is coaching malpractice!

[@yugo4855]

Facts preach it that was absolutely a choke job on Malones part

[@AtmosphericAtmosphere]

Only good trade option to me is to get back BB with garry trent and Boucher or Jalen Mc Daniels for MPJ and Naji or KCP

[@raleighstein9227]

Mpj 40 million, get some vets for him.

[@seanb6615]

Dnvr is shook

[@KyChristensen]

My Jamal made a shot shirt arrived today...sigh

[@AtmosphericAtmosphere]

Dont blame it on players it is coach and his team...he should know that west is stacked that he need better bench,And when he doesnt had bench he should play more rookies and rest starting five especially knowing how long and hard season they had last year....

[@milanstancic6644]

Hey, let’s not be so quick to play the blame game. Every season is full of highs and lows, right? When things are going great, we’re all too happy to sing praises and put folks on a pedestal. But the moment there’s a stumble, we’re scrambling to find someone to pin it on. That’s not cool, really. Instead, let’s remember we’re all in this together, and we’ll bounce back even stronger. And you know what? Maybe the issue was that our expectations were just sky-high. When you take a step back and look at the bigger picture, this season wasn’t a letdown at all.

[@tomselek1000]

For this season, the 3rd Quarter of game 7 would be the answer. For the future, developing the bench is the right answer. The Nuggets need to learn and adapt…then get a backup center to spell Jokic.

[@ChristisKing117]

I think fatigue and injuries. MPJ seems to disappear in the playoffs too. Definitely not earning his contract.

[@KClouisville]

If you play him physical (even smaller guys doing it), he folds like a paper bag. Did it against Miami in the Finals last year too.

[@CarlFair]

Nuggets need to develop their young bench or make trades to get a veteran bench that actually plays and inspires like they had with Bruce Brown and Uncle Jeff. Decide Nuggets.

[@sheng1276]

Absolutely, Booth!!!! Fire Booth and find someone who really knows how to build a team

[@sheng1276]

@@rostrhamus Wow, look at this guy, who even doesn't know how the championship team was built and give the credit to Booth. Are you Booth's son?

[@jordancavazos7117]

Tired lmfaooooo okay guys

[@OMyGulayFarms]

I always want the team we lost to to win the ring. In all sports. Because then it’s like we lost to the world champs. If Minnesota looses to Dallas. It’s like we lost to a team that couldn’t even make it to the finals how bad must we be.

[@svarozjov]

We call it in Serbia meltdown. Current Nuggets team is quite fine, and it is great team that, when they click, no one can beat them, but literary no one. But what we saw in this two series, even against Lakers, or better say we didn't see, is at least one outstanding Nugget's game. They had 4 good games, but when you start 90% of games with deficite, you cannot say it was good play... The only constant was Jokić, everybody else would blitz for game or two, and than fell down, and when no one blitz ecept Jokić, they lose the game. In Serbia we have term "form temping", you slowly build up form of team, but temping it to be the best for most important games, and that means both physical and mental form... It seems to me this year that temping was missed, especially physical form, and that ended with meltdowns of key players in Timberwolves series (it was happenening during Laker's series also, but that just show how much Lakers are class lower team, because it was enough one more player beside Joke to beat them, for Timberwolves Jokić + 1 wasn't enough...). They had much better games after All-Star game and in run for seed placement, and that is it, they got peak of form in that stretch, but they gave to much, end enetred Play-Offs partially spended, that showed especially in games 1, 2, 6 and 7 against Timberwolves. And there is the week spots in Nugget team that should be adressed. It is not problem in starters but in substitutes. Regie didn't turn out good enough replacement for Murrey, there is no one who can take minutes of Jokić as center, and there must exist shooter or even two that would replace Porter and KCP... All of them would not be so physically spent if they had nice replacements that could shave more minutes off their back during season, and especially in that last stretch after All-Star game. And more important, to replace injured starter for longer period when needed. Murrey get injured, but he had to get back fast in the game because Reggie didn't came up to the task. So he played injured and halfinjured because injured Murrey still play better than 100% healthy Reggie, so you get very spent and beaten up Murrey for Play-Offs. Same for all starters, they were more or less also tired, beaten and spent for Play-Offs. Only Jokić is freak of nature that seems not to get tired no matter how long you run him (although he also touched his limit in this last series), and unfortunatelly, others are mortal humans. Young players like Watson and Strawter still could come up in the future, but Nuggets really need experience role players to fill ranks not just in bench minutes, but to fill starting line also when one of the starters is down. Hopefully, Čančar would be back next season, but there is still problem of reliable backup for Murrey and Jokić. P. S. So, in essence, no one is to blame, this is obviouse the best Nuggets could take this year, but even if nothing change in rooster, they would still be top contenderd for champion title next season. All you need is to find out that litle rusty gears, oiled them, and make sure they don't squick next time... And due to contract caps, you cannot expect Luka Dončić to come as reinforcment, it would again be someone like Reggie, where you are not quite sure what you will get. And don't forgeth Mallone and Booth and that questionable Murrey and Porter brought first champion title to Denver and I really think you should give them a lot of credit, if for nothing else, at least for past merits.

[@raleighstein9227]

Malone doesn't trust the bench. Bench is key, you can't run the starters to the ground. Booth Fcked up big time.

[@user-lj4cl9jp9h]

Skap Atack YT video : Putrid Nuggets Stab Nikola Jokic in the Back (sum it up perfectly) . Also there are rumors Denver is trading KCP and MPJ is staying ..That means its a wrap for Denver next season. This team is lottery team without Nikola Jokic .. Nugets as an organization is player development organization not a championship organization.. And they dont know how to handle Nikola Jokic caliber player and they w8sted 3 off 4 years of his prime by giving him Facu Campaso Astin Rivers 3 back surgery MPJ (low iq) ACL Jamal and this year 0 bench players .. I hope Jokic grow up and move on from this team to any decant NBA team org and finish off his prime with at list 3 or more rings ...

[@arenlarken8647]

Everybody but Nikola Jokic. Thats who is to blame. Murray and Porters shitty FG% in important games

[@ajwalker8804]

Frankly everyone has a piece of the blame pie. I understand the model of the Spurs dynasty but we aren’t that young team that the spurs were. So Calvin Booth saying that at the beginning of the year was always strange. This is the window now. Malone for not playing rookies in the regular season. I know people wanna shoot down MPJ in this series and grant it he wasn’t good but Jokic played below his par (still elite) Murray was extremely up and down mostly down. AG is an awesome player but he has short comings as an offensive player has kinda hinder the nuggets at time. MPJ being no show but also being limited. I also blame the nuggets offense for not being dynamic enough. Defense was mostly good this year but Jokic and Murray looked really bad in the postseason.

[@tomojevdenic996]

The Guy who decide to go into the Season without bringing in New Players should be fired, everbody who said to that Guy „we can do it“ should be fired too

[@bata_bane_011]

Let's be realistic. Play-off game seven and you have 6 players combining for 20 points? Play-off game six and you lose by 45pts? In what Universe is this a Championship team? Nuggets need upgrades - and fast. Two players are simply not enough. Next year will be lucky to catch a Play-In position :(

[@Gnofg]

Nugget's fans if you are honest Jokic had a terrible second half. He had 4 REBOUNDS. Naz dominated him when it counted. The Wolves drove to the basket relentlessly. Naz, Goebert and Kat got offensive rebounds, putbacks and dunked at will. Jokic was a statue on Naz's drive. THE BOTTOM LINE IS DENVER COULD NOT STOP THE WOLVES WHEN IT COUNTED. He may have scored some points but as a PG he did not get the rest ofthe players involved. He can only back down and that limits the offense.

[@cameronboyd3594]

49:10 like I said yesterday

[@adriftwoodking]

I think you need more than a single championship in order to gatekeep.

[@UraStr]

I can't, I just can't, if they gonna spin the they were tired point...sure they were tired, but not because of playing basketball, your body regenerates in few days even if you do the ironman. They didn't have the motivation to keep themselves in the top shape, no games in March or April have any correlation to the to the psychical exhaustion in May. This makes absolutely no sense and I'm tired of it esp. can't believe Adam is making this point, who is usually smart about his...only way to make them fresh would be giving them another 1 moth holiday and 1 month of psychical build up, 1 month of getting basketball sharp...you can't do that in the regular season...resting month before play off = you come in fat and rusty. resting for two months, now you are not making the PO and you come in rusty anyway...

[@Pigskin1126]

is dude on the far right the same guy who called the Wolves "a bunch of bums" after game 7?

[@UraStr]

Yeah they were over worked? Luka has been playing 40min since the all-star break, playing twice as hard as nuggets, to climb to the PO...this over worked stuff in non-sense, it's real but like one team does it, all the other teams, including DEN manage the regular season so that it has no effect on the post season.

[@OMyGulayFarms]

How much energy was wasted coming back from major deficits in the lakers series. That took a lot out of us coming back down big almost every game.

[@donie-rg4cy]

I don't understand the narrative that Denver has the best starting five in the game. No all stars beside Jokic, no all defensive nba players, bunch of solid average players with a guy who carry them hard for years now. Find me another team where one player leads the team in every statistical category by a far margin. Points, rebounds, assists, steals and even blocks. I mean the guy who can't jump leads the team in blocks?! Murray was always excused because of those two good playoffs that he had but in reality he's just a solid player with pretty average production. Beside inconsistency and being injury prone, his biggest problem is that he thinks he's much better than he actually is. When he's on fire, it looks amazing but he continues to play the same way even when he's dead cold, Too many iso, too much ball handling, dribbles and too many tough shots for no reason, That cools off the squad and breaking their rhythm. And when I look at the other guards through the league, so many of them have several signature games during this playoffs...Brunson, Maxey, Edwards, Shay, Irving, Luka, Mitchel, Haliburton, White....Jamal didn't have a single game like that Porter is inconsistent too but at least he's accepting his role. The biggest problem with him is his overvalued contract. His contract is the biggest reason why Denver have such a short rooster this year Front office have to make some changes in offseason or Denver will not be relevant for a title shot. Imo only Joker and Gordon should be out of the market trade

[@seanb6615]

I prefer twolves or Indiana win, only if Gobert is a negative. ;) Gobert finals MVP would be a worst case scenario.

[@travisnoffsinger4507]

I think yall are wrong here. Every game matters in the regular season as well. WTF i remember you guys saying it disnt matter then it did. We should of been the 1st seed and not playung Minnesota until the conference finals. RIGHT?

[@cyleycole8940]

Idk who to blame more booth or Malone, I won’t forgive them for running our starters to the ground,relying on Jokic for everything. Booth told Malone to develop Pickett, Strawther,and Tyson because we will be in luxury tax, Malone didn’t give them a chance, and relied on Jokic for everything Jokic got 1 min of rest the whole game 7, because we have no help,Shame on Malone, for not listening to the gm and shame on the gm for not getting at least a backup big and letting it depth walk away, are starters were tired. Our starters excluding Mal have played more minutes than last year, all cause Malone wanted to rely on washed vets instead of coaching young talent

[@decadence4507]

Game 7 Nuggets got out coached. Jamal Murray is a good player but he gets injured too much and is inconsistent.

[@goldmo2427]

Honestly nuggets fans should chill because spurs never repeated so it’s not that deep but I think Jamal being trash in playoffs is biggest reason why they underperformed.. jokic was best player and 2nd best was Gordon .. it’s no way you could win in this talented league without Jamal being all nba all time playoff riser he’s been .. If Jamal is no longer that in future it will be tough for nuggets to ever win even if jokic is crazy good..but I’m honestly heated I use to be a Celtics fan and dropped them and been a nuggets fan for some years now in jokic era and I thought these guys aren’t chokers like Celtics .. and jokic is that guy but they didn’t just lose they had biggest choke in game 7 history and they were up 3-2 in series .. they blew game 6 and 7 like that is just hard to swallow the only way I will feel redeemed is if they comeback next year and win it all tbh because I feel like they should have won 22 if they were healthy and this year ..

[@fumpr84]

If Murray wasn't motivated, combined with his constant injuries and temper tantrums on the court, then he damn sure doesn't deserve max money and unless he takes a team friendly deal then trade him, and same with MPJ, whose whole family are head cases and he's bound to do something incredibly stupid too and gets shaken easily. Go all-out to get a 2nd superstar, including trading those two soft as tissue 'stars' or kiss any chance of even reaching a conference finals let alone win another ring goodbye.

[@CarlFair]

Having little to no bench play, an inconsistent performance by Porter, Jr., and KCP, and Gordon no showing in game 7 knocked the Champs out. 😴

[@spoke1183]

They were gassed my ass. Better team won. Nobody on Nuggets played besides Jokic the entire season. One man can only do so much. Rest didnt give a fuck. Jamal is a hit or miss the entire season just like the rest of Nuggets. AG shows up one game then hes silent for next 10. Same with MPJ and the rest of team.

[@milosvitin]

Whole story about fatigue is crap, we did not loose in 3 OTs, but 3rd quarter... Both ANT and KAT played FIBA championship... It could be even argued that wolves were more injured during the season, Conley in game 5... Bench discission is also silly when you have 3 max contracts (thanks Tim Connelly😅)... For me, this year was all about low motivation and high arrogance - stop whining and accept wolves worked harder to win, regular season and playoffs. Either go back to gym and get better, especially top-3 guys, or trade 1 max player for appropriate 2 players if you believe it could work around. I personally prefer option-1 simply because they already won champ, and MPJ really had decent season. But league gets better and for me Jokic should be the only untradeable player, especially if next season goes in similar way. 🙏

[@adampepin9944]

My thoughts as a Wolves fan (I will be respectful. 1. Malone's fire caused more "drag" than "lift." Hes a passionate guy, but I feel that this filters down to his players and they played emotional and out of control. I didn't feel they had much mental resiliency. 2. Jokic is utterly incredible from an offensive POV but his D was average at best. Defensive rebounding is a part of D but there were too many instances of Joker not sprinting back on fast breaks/closeouts, letting his teammates stumble backwards into screens, or Joker being in no man's land defensively. 3. Conditioning. Malone played his stars WAY too much. It was clear they were gassed by the end. That was unfair of him to do. But you guys are great. I know there was a lot of smack talk via Edwards, but I distinctly remember Nuggets players talking trash to us during game 5 last year. It will be a great rivalry for years to come. Cheers, see you next year. Peace ✌

[@adampepin9944]

One thing I forgot to include: better strategy. Wolves did the best thing they could do to beat Joker--let him get his and take away easy buckets to MPJ/Gordon/Murray. This accomplishes 2 goals: 1. It wears Joker down even more 2. Doesn't let others make baskets and get into a rhythm. What you guys need are some more Murray's or guys who can create their own shots.

[@jkwalrus9723]

Cheers for the respectful comment and good luck to your wolves 🙏

[@beastking1816]

We did need the #1 seed away from the wolves 🤷🏽‍♂️ would've been better to see them in the WCF

[@CJScratch]

It's time to move on from jamal murray he constantly has issues with some nagging injuries .he has so many faults i have been noticing for years that were even more exposed in this round 2 series. I have said for years that murray should never bring the ball up the court he is not a point guard he knows nothing about setting up an offense .his go to is pass the ball to jokic get a screen and try to create distance for a shot. the wolves trapped him and frustrated him to a point where he threw a temper tantrum. Murray dribbles the ball way to much he eats up damn near ever second of the shot clock this in turn causes him to do two things either throw up a desperation shot or he will jump in the air get stuck and throw the ball away creating a turn over. I can't tell you how many times I have seen that scenario play out over his career. When he is on the floor he stagnates the offensive flow because everybody stands and watches him they will always defer to murray so he can get the shot … mike malone still is one of the worst at making in game adjustments there is no reason that Jokic should have played 47 mins of a 48 min game… Why do we have bench guys if he is not going to play them ?

[@roytjm1]

MPJ WAS A NO SHOW IN wolf's

[@travisnoffsinger4507]

Well in this series MPJ was BIG NO SHOW. SMFH he's who I blame the most.

[@yugo4855]

Nah Malone is the problem there

[@Babysnapps60]

Ant is Malone daddy

[@gledatelj1979]

We got outcoached that's it ....with a real coach we would have won. Malone has ego problems, the prime of Jokic is being wasted on petty fights.

[@kgar5String]

1 ring dynasty

[@weights250]

Nuggets shot a better % in game 7 than the Wolves. It's amazing how many times I've heard Denver fans + their coach (surprisingly) say the reason they lost this game or that game was because they missed shots. Wow. I guess they don't realize there are 2 ends of the court? ANT is the perfect example of this. Shot 6 of 24, but GRINDED and played gritty defense and made plays for his teammates to impact winning. The Nuggets didn't do the 'extra' stuff to win. It's not always about shots falling. Such an unbelievably weak take if I'm a Denver Nugget. That's not why you lost.

[@seanb6615]

Who is to blame for Murray's injury? Unanswerable.

[@gledatelj1979]

Nuggets lost the same way as Kings lost to Lakers in 2002 game 7.

[@zachphillips7997]

Where you at? Youre adorable.

[@rostrhamus]

Been watching the Nuggets since 1984, what a bunch of selfish front runners many of the fans and media are. it hasn’t even been one year since we won the very first championship. Now it’s like we forgotten what a special moment that was. It’s been a long time since a team has repeated. The NBA has designed it that way. What fools we have become to live in instant gratification, disregarding what has come before, even a world championship. DNVR you’re pathetic.

[@dominictrujillo9597]

Dallas to beat the wolves for sure and Dallas to beat Boston right?

[@adampepin9944]

Wrong.

[@andrewferguson700]

Not in love with the way that Murray does interviews, he gets growly and should just follow Jokers lead and be monotone and simple and then get out of there

[@raz318]

MPJ looks like a sad sack when he can’t hit shots. He moves slower, no pep in his step, no juice at all.

[@kyliedadify]

The disrespect for the Wolves is real. Your guys are too much in esged. You are homers. I know it is hard to look at it objectively. Give the Wolves their credit.

[@raleighstein9227]

Serb Luka will take revenge. His dad is Serbian, Jokic will not go to Paris. We hate him for that and shouldn't call him ever again.