It was looking a bit dicey at the end of the third quarter in Boston, playing the Celtics, but a quick 5-0 run all by Torrey Craig in 1.1 seconds was precisely the spurt of energy that propelled the Denver Nuggets the rest of the way to clinching a nine-point win, a sweep of the season series, and most importantly: a playoff berth. The first one in six years.
Monday night was a special one at the TD Garden, where Boston Celtics fans weren’t worried about how the team played or the result of the game. Instead, they honored a man who poured his heart and soul into the city of Boston.
That man, Isaiah Thomas, made his first appearance at the TD Garden for the first time since being dealt in the Kyrie Irving trade nearly a year and a half ago. The Celtics played his tribute video for him during the first TV timeout, earning a standing ovation from everyone in the Garden and a few tears from Thomas himself.
Michael Malone, during his post-game press conference after Tuesday night’s win against Minnesota, came right out and said, “I made the decision to shorten the rotation, only play 8 guys in the first quarter, and I’m going to continue to do that for the time being.” That rotation included the regular starters in Murray, Harris, Barton, Millsap, Jokic, and the 3 most crucial bench pieces with Morris, Beasley, and Plumlee.
It’s only been 7 games since Isaiah Thomas’ return and the honeymoon phase with fans and local media is already wearing off. I get it, he hasn’t played in 11 months and he’s going to have to find that groove again and work his way back and that’s all well and good, but not here and certainly not at this point in the season.
It all began when Will Barton landed awkwardly on a fastbreak layup and hurt his hip and core against the Phoenix Suns on October 20. Since then, a lingering hamstring injury to Gary Harris. A broken toe as well as ankle soreness for Paul Millsap. An ankle sprain for Jamal Murray and a controversial suspension of Nikola Jokic. Every starter has missed at least one game this season. Somehow, the incredible amount of depth the Denver Nuggets have has kept them in the top of the daunting Western Conference, but as the team begins the final stretch of the regular season, it’s time to get the opening night Starting Five back on the floor.
The All-Star break is finally upon us and the first half (or so) of the season is gone, and there have been several surprise developments that have come this season. To talk about what we saw so far this season, a few of our wordsmiths have come together to talk about it.
So, without further ado, let’s get into it.
It was a wild day at the NBA Trade Deadline. Lots of moves were made. The Philadelphia 76ers acquired Tobias Harris, the Toronto Raptors snatched Marc Gasol, and the Los Angeles Lakers did NOT get Anthony Davis, despite an offer that included upwards of six players including key core pieces and multiple first round draft picks. The Denver Nuggets, however, decided not to make a move at the deadline and frankly, it may have been for the best.
The year is 2011. The NBA world is still shaking after LeBron James decided to “Take his talents to South Beach” and team up with Dwyane Wade and eventually Chris Bosh to form a big 3 that would ultimately go on to win 2 NBA Finals in 4 years. It was also yet another year of Carmelo Anthony making it to the All-Star Game. He was a starter for the Western Conference as a representative of the Denver Nuggets. Little did Nuggets fans know that he would be traded to the New York Knicks just 3 days later. And little did Nuggets fans know that he would be the last player to represent the team in an All-Star Game for 8 years.
The NBA trade deadline is just around the corner and the rumor machine is on fire. While most teams won’t make a deal, each will consider many options between now and the February 7th deadline. In a six part series, I will provide one trade each NBA team should consider making between now and the trade deadline. The Northwest division is up next and here is a trade each team should make. Be sure to check out the previous parts on the the Southeast division, Central division and Atlantic division.
A huge ovation ensued from the remaining crowd at the Pepsi Center with 3:53 to go when word came over the PA saying: “Checking into the game, please welcome number eight, Jarred Vanderbilt.” This was his first action in 5-on-5 basketball since last February. 329 days ago. “I know he did not play until the end of the game and it was well in hand, but Jarred was really nervous about playing,” head coach Mike Malone explained. “He hadn’t played since last February. For him to get over that fear and to go out there and have three or four impactful minutes — I mean, that pass he made was an incredible pass — he showed you that in three minutes and 53 seconds he gets you three rebounds — he is a rebounding machine. I am happy he got those first-game jitters out of the way.” Vanderbilt finished his almost four minutes of play with one incredible assist in transition to Malik Beasley, he showed off his highly touted rebounding ability wrangling in three rebounds and the most important of all the stats, he scored his first career point, going 1-2 at the free-throw line. Vanderbilt summed it up saying “It was just amazing to get back out there and start playing again.”
“Everyone on your feet. No one sits until we score. Let’s make some noooiisssee!” That’s the opening you hear from PA announcer Kyle Speller just before the opening jump ball every night in the Pepsi Center or also know as “The Can,” and it was no different from Section 102 on Friday night.
A week defined by blowouts. There were 4 games on the slate for this week, all at home and the Denver Nuggets went 3-1. Key performances came from Jamal Murray, Malik Beasley, and Paul Millsap brought huge lifts to the team. The MVP of the week, however, has to go to none other than Nikola Jokic. He averaged 23.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per game. Here is your recap of each game from this week.
It was looking a bit dicey at the end of the third quarter in Boston, playing the Celtics, but a quick 5-0 run all by Torrey Craig in 1.1 seconds was precisely the spurt of energy that propelled the Denver Nuggets the rest of the way to clinching a nine-point win, a sweep of the season series, and most importantly: a playoff berth. The first one in six years.
Monday night was a special one at the TD Garden, where Boston Celtics fans weren’t worried about how the team played or the result of the game. Instead, they honored a man who poured his heart and soul into the city of Boston.
That man, Isaiah Thomas, made his first appearance at the TD Garden for the first time since being dealt in the Kyrie Irving trade nearly a year and a half ago. The Celtics played his tribute video for him during the first TV timeout, earning a standing ovation from everyone in the Garden and a few tears from Thomas himself.
Michael Malone, during his post-game press conference after Tuesday night’s win against Minnesota, came right out and said, “I made the decision to shorten the rotation, only play 8 guys in the first quarter, and I’m going to continue to do that for the time being.” That rotation included the regular starters in Murray, Harris, Barton, Millsap, Jokic, and the 3 most crucial bench pieces with Morris, Beasley, and Plumlee.
It’s only been 7 games since Isaiah Thomas’ return and the honeymoon phase with fans and local media is already wearing off. I get it, he hasn’t played in 11 months and he’s going to have to find that groove again and work his way back and that’s all well and good, but not here and certainly not at this point in the season.
It all began when Will Barton landed awkwardly on a fastbreak layup and hurt his hip and core against the Phoenix Suns on October 20. Since then, a lingering hamstring injury to Gary Harris. A broken toe as well as ankle soreness for Paul Millsap. An ankle sprain for Jamal Murray and a controversial suspension of Nikola Jokic. Every starter has missed at least one game this season. Somehow, the incredible amount of depth the Denver Nuggets have has kept them in the top of the daunting Western Conference, but as the team begins the final stretch of the regular season, it’s time to get the opening night Starting Five back on the floor.
The All-Star break is finally upon us and the first half (or so) of the season is gone, and there have been several surprise developments that have come this season. To talk about what we saw so far this season, a few of our wordsmiths have come together to talk about it.
So, without further ado, let’s get into it.
It was a wild day at the NBA Trade Deadline. Lots of moves were made. The Philadelphia 76ers acquired Tobias Harris, the Toronto Raptors snatched Marc Gasol, and the Los Angeles Lakers did NOT get Anthony Davis, despite an offer that included upwards of six players including key core pieces and multiple first round draft picks. The Denver Nuggets, however, decided not to make a move at the deadline and frankly, it may have been for the best.
The year is 2011. The NBA world is still shaking after LeBron James decided to “Take his talents to South Beach” and team up with Dwyane Wade and eventually Chris Bosh to form a big 3 that would ultimately go on to win 2 NBA Finals in 4 years. It was also yet another year of Carmelo Anthony making it to the All-Star Game. He was a starter for the Western Conference as a representative of the Denver Nuggets. Little did Nuggets fans know that he would be traded to the New York Knicks just 3 days later. And little did Nuggets fans know that he would be the last player to represent the team in an All-Star Game for 8 years.
The NBA trade deadline is just around the corner and the rumor machine is on fire. While most teams won’t make a deal, each will consider many options between now and the February 7th deadline. In a six part series, I will provide one trade each NBA team should consider making between now and the trade deadline. The Northwest division is up next and here is a trade each team should make. Be sure to check out the previous parts on the the Southeast division, Central division and Atlantic division.
A huge ovation ensued from the remaining crowd at the Pepsi Center with 3:53 to go when word came over the PA saying: “Checking into the game, please welcome number eight, Jarred Vanderbilt.” This was his first action in 5-on-5 basketball since last February. 329 days ago. “I know he did not play until the end of the game and it was well in hand, but Jarred was really nervous about playing,” head coach Mike Malone explained. “He hadn’t played since last February. For him to get over that fear and to go out there and have three or four impactful minutes — I mean, that pass he made was an incredible pass — he showed you that in three minutes and 53 seconds he gets you three rebounds — he is a rebounding machine. I am happy he got those first-game jitters out of the way.” Vanderbilt finished his almost four minutes of play with one incredible assist in transition to Malik Beasley, he showed off his highly touted rebounding ability wrangling in three rebounds and the most important of all the stats, he scored his first career point, going 1-2 at the free-throw line. Vanderbilt summed it up saying “It was just amazing to get back out there and start playing again.”
“Everyone on your feet. No one sits until we score. Let’s make some noooiisssee!” That’s the opening you hear from PA announcer Kyle Speller just before the opening jump ball every night in the Pepsi Center or also know as “The Can,” and it was no different from Section 102 on Friday night.
A week defined by blowouts. There were 4 games on the slate for this week, all at home and the Denver Nuggets went 3-1. Key performances came from Jamal Murray, Malik Beasley, and Paul Millsap brought huge lifts to the team. The MVP of the week, however, has to go to none other than Nikola Jokic. He averaged 23.5 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 9.8 assists per game. Here is your recap of each game from this week.
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