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HurricaneDij39
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It is rather telling that even with a championship under our belt that no one in their right mind considers Michael Malone as a top-tier NBA coach. Rightfully so, however...
After a brutal postseason loss to Minnesota, it is time to get back to work.
I, for one, am thrilled that KCP is gone. Not because he's a bad player, but rather because his departure will force Malone to play other guys. While KCP was a solid role player coming off his second ring - There is absolutely nothing about his game that suggests he's worthy of 40 minutes a night in a playoff series... I believe Christian Braun could be better than KCP with more of an opportunity. That said, the issue with that is it weakens a questionable bench... It is evident from day one of the offseason that we had some sort of wink-wink agreement with Russ while he was still under contract with the Clippers, though time will tell if he will provide a legit sparkplug off the bench or if he will join the long list of bench guys that Malone has misused, even during the year we won it all. One thing I will say is that his personality will fit here quite well. No one in the NBA hates Embiid more than Westbrook does...
Nuggets fans such as myself and others alike would love nothing more than to see summer league sensation Julian Strawther to emerge in the rotation this season... The team was able to acquire a draft night steal with DaRon Holmes II. Unfortunately, he tore his achilles in the final minutes of his first summer league game barely two weeks later... Dario Saric will prove to be a quality veteran signing in his absence... In a way, the Holmes injury made the extension of Aaron Gordon this week even more imperative, even if it was a slight overpay at $133 million... Holmes' season-ending injury will also provide an excuse to make use of the ill-fated contract of Zeke Nnaji... DeAndre Jordan should act as nothing more than a locker room presence at this point, even though he did have one notably good game against his former team, the Clippers, while Jokic was out... Peyton Watson has obvious potential, but he left something to be desired as a shooter last season and yet another guy Malone did not trust in the playoffs... The third point guard appears to be Jalen Pickett, the #32 pick in 2023. I worry that there was some Penn State bias on Booth's part with that selection. Pickett does have some talent, but as we know talent does not always translate in this league...
All in all, this season will come down to whether or not Malone can finally evolve as a coach and make use of the options I've mentioned above. If he does, the Nuggets could be 2025 champions. If he doesn't, Denver will be a second round out again, or perhaps earlier. His coaching style of short rotations boded well for the postseason in 2023, but by the time the 2024 playoffs come around, those players were predicably exhausted...
And last but not least - Fuck the Timberwolves, the team and fans that talk oh so much smack for not having won a playoff series in 20 years prior to this one, and Mr. Edwards, who literally got ALL of the credit for a Game 7 win in spite the fact that he shot 6-24... I only wish that my man Jerry Stackhouse could have gotten this level of publicity in his prime (in those beautiful teal uni's) that this kid currently does...
Stack will do good things on Golden State's staff this season.
'Tis the season...
After a brutal postseason loss to Minnesota, it is time to get back to work.
I, for one, am thrilled that KCP is gone. Not because he's a bad player, but rather because his departure will force Malone to play other guys. While KCP was a solid role player coming off his second ring - There is absolutely nothing about his game that suggests he's worthy of 40 minutes a night in a playoff series... I believe Christian Braun could be better than KCP with more of an opportunity. That said, the issue with that is it weakens a questionable bench... It is evident from day one of the offseason that we had some sort of wink-wink agreement with Russ while he was still under contract with the Clippers, though time will tell if he will provide a legit sparkplug off the bench or if he will join the long list of bench guys that Malone has misused, even during the year we won it all. One thing I will say is that his personality will fit here quite well. No one in the NBA hates Embiid more than Westbrook does...
Nuggets fans such as myself and others alike would love nothing more than to see summer league sensation Julian Strawther to emerge in the rotation this season... The team was able to acquire a draft night steal with DaRon Holmes II. Unfortunately, he tore his achilles in the final minutes of his first summer league game barely two weeks later... Dario Saric will prove to be a quality veteran signing in his absence... In a way, the Holmes injury made the extension of Aaron Gordon this week even more imperative, even if it was a slight overpay at $133 million... Holmes' season-ending injury will also provide an excuse to make use of the ill-fated contract of Zeke Nnaji... DeAndre Jordan should act as nothing more than a locker room presence at this point, even though he did have one notably good game against his former team, the Clippers, while Jokic was out... Peyton Watson has obvious potential, but he left something to be desired as a shooter last season and yet another guy Malone did not trust in the playoffs... The third point guard appears to be Jalen Pickett, the #32 pick in 2023. I worry that there was some Penn State bias on Booth's part with that selection. Pickett does have some talent, but as we know talent does not always translate in this league...All in all, this season will come down to whether or not Malone can finally evolve as a coach and make use of the options I've mentioned above. If he does, the Nuggets could be 2025 champions. If he doesn't, Denver will be a second round out again, or perhaps earlier. His coaching style of short rotations boded well for the postseason in 2023, but by the time the 2024 playoffs come around, those players were predicably exhausted...
And last but not least - Fuck the Timberwolves, the team and fans that talk oh so much smack for not having won a playoff series in 20 years prior to this one, and Mr. Edwards, who literally got ALL of the credit for a Game 7 win in spite the fact that he shot 6-24... I only wish that my man Jerry Stackhouse could have gotten this level of publicity in his prime (in those beautiful teal uni's) that this kid currently does...
Stack will do good things on Golden State's staff this season.
'Tis the season...
