Wolves vs Nuggets

[TheFuture]

I don't think a comment by an opposing player will all of a sudden make Denver a good defensive team.

They're #3 in the West for a reason.

I'd be more concerned about them fully clicking offensively and asking Jaden to defend THAT.

[AussieWolf3]

I gotta be honest, I couldnt be more tired of the Jaden comment conversation.

It was awesome, it was hilarious and whatever happens it's great that he said just for entertainment value.

All of this stuff about giving Denver motivation and all of that is such BS, and you wanna know why? Cause they are all terrible defenders. If Jokic wants to really step up his intensity on defense and really protect the rim.... Ok. Let him, he's still gonna be terrible at it and probably just be more tired on the other end.

Everyone is focused on what it will do for Denver's mindset, and ignoring what it does for the Wolves. Both Ant and Jaden feed off this stuff way more than most players, so do you really think they're not ready to back up the smack talk? And what if they do? What if AG and CB are pissed off and hyped up to prove Jaden wrong and they still get punked, that demoralizing.

Either way, it's a mountain out of a mole hill.

I haven't seen or heard anyone say this, but to my eye the Wolves have either out played the Nuggets or matched them in 6 of 8 quarters. Those two quarters were just that awful.
I think everybody has forgotten that Minny was pretty close to making a legit comeback game 1, then they're was a badly missed 3 and then that flukey last millisecond heave by Murrary that reset the shot clock. The Wolves went from potential making it a 1 possession game to being down 7 with like 90 seconds to go. They deserved the loss absolutely, but it wasn't as big of a gap as the final score indicated.

I feel really good about the Wolves winning in 6 or 7 with the biggest concern being Ant"s knee and obviously the fact the Nikola Jokic is extremely good

[FNG]

I gotta be honest, I couldnt be more tired of the Jaden comment conversation.

It was awesome, it was hilarious and whatever happens it's great that he said just for entertainment value.

All of this stuff about giving Denver motivation and all of that is such BS, and you wanna know why? Cause they are all terrible defenders. If Jokic wants to really step up his intensity on defense and really protect the rim.... Ok. Let him, he's still gonna be terrible at it and probably just be more tired on the other end.

Everyone is focused on what it will do for Denver's mindset, and ignoring what it does for the Wolves. Both Ant and Jaden feed off this stuff way more than most players, so do you really think they're not ready to back up the smack talk? And what if they do? What if AG and CB are pissed off and hyped up to prove Jaden wrong and they still get punked, that demoralizing.

Either way, it's a mountain out of a mole hill.

I haven't seen or heard anyone say this, but to my eye the Wolves have either out played the Nuggets or matched them in 6 of 8 quarters. Those two quarters were just that awful.
I think everybody has forgotten that Minny was pretty close to making a legit comeback game 1, then they're was a badly missed 3 and then that flukey last millisecond heave by Murrary that reset the shot clock. The Wolves went from potential making it a 1 possession game to being down 7 with like 90 seconds to go. They deserved the loss absolutely, but it wasn't as big of a gap as the final score indicated.

I feel really good about the Wolves winning in 6 or 7 with the biggest concern being Ant"s knee and obviously the fact the Nikola Jokic is extremely good

Aussie, have you ever hooped against a team (or a player) that you just didn't like very much? I guess everyone is different, but I know there were certain games where my defensive intensity and effectiveness were greatly increased because I just didn't like the other team. And no pro athlete likes being told they suck at defense, so I expect to see increased effort on defense by the Nuggets tonight. And I think the guy who might look the most different is Jokic. Many call him a poor defender, but he actually had a very good defensive rating on Statmuse this season of 111.5...he's big, smart and has quick hands. But sometimes his effort on defense is questionable, and I thought it was incredibly questionable in Game 2...it looked like a layup lane out there at times. I hope you're right and Joker doesn't care that Jaden called him a crappy defender, but an inspired Jokic on defense might mean Ant, Ju and Jaden don't get to the rim as easily.

[AussieWolf3]

I gotta be honest, I couldnt be more tired of the Jaden comment conversation.

It was awesome, it was hilarious and whatever happens it's great that he said just for entertainment value.

All of this stuff about giving Denver motivation and all of that is such BS, and you wanna know why? Cause they are all terrible defenders. If Jokic wants to really step up his intensity on defense and really protect the rim.... Ok. Let him, he's still gonna be terrible at it and probably just be more tired on the other end.

Everyone is focused on what it will do for Denver's mindset, and ignoring what it does for the Wolves. Both Ant and Jaden feed off this stuff way more than most players, so do you really think they're not ready to back up the smack talk? And what if they do? What if AG and CB are pissed off and hyped up to prove Jaden wrong and they still get punked, that demoralizing.

Either way, it's a mountain out of a mole hill.

I haven't seen or heard anyone say this, but to my eye the Wolves have either out played the Nuggets or matched them in 6 of 8 quarters. Those two quarters were just that awful.
I think everybody has forgotten that Minny was pretty close to making a legit comeback game 1, then they're was a badly missed 3 and then that flukey last millisecond heave by Murrary that reset the shot clock. The Wolves went from potential making it a 1 possession game to being down 7 with like 90 seconds to go. They deserved the loss absolutely, but it wasn't as big of a gap as the final score indicated.

I feel really good about the Wolves winning in 6 or 7 with the biggest concern being Ant"s knee and obviously the fact the Nikola Jokic is extremely good

Aussie, have you ever hooped against a team (or a player) that you just didn't like very much? I guess everyone is different, but I know there were certain games where my defensive intensity and effectiveness were greatly increased because I just didn't like the other team. And no pro athlete likes being told they suck at defense, so I expect to see increased effort on defense by the Nuggets tonight. And I think the guy who might look the most different is Jokic. Many call him a poor defender, but he actually had a very good defensive rating on Statmuse this season of 111.5...he's big, smart and has quick hands. But sometimes his effort on defense is questionable, and I thought it was incredibly questionable in Game 2...it looked like a layup lane out there at times. I hope you're right and Joker doesn't care that Jaden called him a crappy defender, but an inspired Jokic on defense might mean Ant, Ju and Jaden don't get to the rim as easily.

I never said they wouldn't be more motivated, but ya know .... Good luck with that cause they're not good defenders.

I'm sure Jokic will be plenty motivated that doesn't change the fact that he isn't a good rim protector.

[Wolvesfan21]

I gotta be honest, I couldnt be more tired of the Jaden comment conversation.

It was awesome, it was hilarious and whatever happens it's great that he said just for entertainment value.

All of this stuff about giving Denver motivation and all of that is such BS, and you wanna know why? Cause they are all terrible defenders. If Jokic wants to really step up his intensity on defense and really protect the rim.... Ok. Let him, he's still gonna be terrible at it and probably just be more tired on the other end.

Everyone is focused on what it will do for Denver's mindset, and ignoring what it does for the Wolves. Both Ant and Jaden feed off this stuff way more than most players, so do you really think they're not ready to back up the smack talk? And what if they do? What if AG and CB are pissed off and hyped up to prove Jaden wrong and they still get punked, that demoralizing.

Either way, it's a mountain out of a mole hill.

I haven't seen or heard anyone say this, but to my eye the Wolves have either out played the Nuggets or matched them in 6 of 8 quarters. Those two quarters were just that awful.
I think everybody has forgotten that Minny was pretty close to making a legit comeback game 1, then they're was a badly missed 3 and then that flukey last millisecond heave by Murrary that reset the shot clock. The Wolves went from potential making it a 1 possession game to being down 7 with like 90 seconds to go. They deserved the loss absolutely, but it wasn't as big of a gap as the final score indicated.

I feel really good about the Wolves winning in 6 or 7 with the biggest concern being Ant"s knee and obviously the fact the Nikola Jokic is extremely good

Aussie, have you ever hooped against a team (or a player) that you just didn't like very much? I guess everyone is different, but I know there were certain games where my defensive intensity and effectiveness were greatly increased because I just didn't like the other team. And no pro athlete likes being told they suck at defense, so I expect to see increased effort on defense by the Nuggets tonight. And I think the guy who might look the most different is Jokic. Many call him a poor defender, but he actually had a very good defensive rating on Statmuse this season of 111.5...he's big, smart and has quick hands. But sometimes his effort on defense is questionable, and I thought it was incredibly questionable in Game 2...it looked like a layup lane out there at times. I hope you're right and Joker doesn't care that Jaden called him a crappy defender, but an inspired Jokic on defense might mean Ant, Ju and Jaden don't get to the rim as easily.

I never said they wouldn't be more motivated, but ya know .... Good luck with that cause they're not good defenders.

I'm sure Jokic will be plenty motivated that doesn't change the fact that he isn't a good rim protector.

I guess the point is, why say it. Just keep kicking their ass by dunking on them in game. You had an advantage driving to the hoop, now your advantage might be less just because you let the world know they suck at defending and they have more to prove. Yeah they probably will still suck at defending, but it might be less, even considerably less.

If it pumps up your team mates? I guess it might and we have shown to be very erratic when it comes to our own effort all year.

What is the saying though? Pride comes before the fall? You start pumping yourself up too much and now all of a sudden a swing the wrong way could deflate you.

[TheFuture]

I have to agree with Aussie. Let them expend more energy on defense. Their advantage is purely on the offensive end. If somebody says something and that ignites a fire within. Okay. That is you. These are NBA players, not rec league. They're all effort right now to go win their grand prize. They talk shit all game. A snippet from an interview is not going to change their appetite. The only change I foresee is one from the coaching staff in regards to defensive gameplan.

[AussieWolf3]

I mean how cheesy would it even be if Adleman spent the last two days going on about this "bulletin board material"
I'm sure he's tried to use it as motivation in same way or maybe not and he's letting his players do what they want with it.
Bottom line the media and fans are running way too far with this. I 100% guarantee that significantly more inflammatory things are said in game on the court.

It was an awesome clip and moment from Jaden and if he come out tonight and puts on a show it's a legacy moment and that's great

[Coolbreeze44]

I agree with Aussie and Future. Once the game starts you have to focus on execution and most of that noise goes out the window. Jaden might get a hard foul by someone but they don't want to light his fire either. Everything around the game changes, but the action on the floor stays the same.

[Wolvesfan21]

I agree with Aussie and Future. Once the game starts you have to focus on execution and most of that noise goes out the window. Jaden might get a hard foul by someone but they don't want to light his fire either. Everything around the game changes, but the action on the floor stays the same.

It is a bit telling though that Vegas likes Denver by 2.5 points on the road without Gordon? Is that confirmed?

I would have liked to see them just keep beating them down then try and fire them up. They would be coming back strong I think either way, but these statements just add that little bit extra fuel.

[FNG]

I agree with Aussie and Future. Once the game starts you have to focus on execution and most of that noise goes out the window. Jaden might get a hard foul by someone but they don't want to light his fire either. Everything around the game changes, but the action on the floor stays the same.

It is a bit telling though that Vegas likes Denver by 2.5 points on the road without Gordon? Is that confirmed?

I would have liked to see them just keep beating them down then try and fire them up. They would be coming back strong I think either way, but these statements just add that little bit extra fuel.

Gordon is definitely out, and I'm surprised how much that has affected the line...Wolves now favored by 1 1 /2!