![]() ![]() They combined to shoot 25-of-37 from the field. When told by the media that Ishbia was the fan, Malone replied “I don’t give a s-.”īooker and Durant have been generational offensively, at the kind of efficiency shooting the basketball that’s simply not common. “He was going to get the ball and some fan is holding onto the ball who wants to be a part of the game. “I think it’s crazy Nikola got a technical foul in that situation,” Malone said. “I thought the league was supposed to protect me. “He (the referee) told me I was elbowing the fan, but the fan put his hands on me first,” Jokić said. ![]() It’s an incident the basketball world will have its eyes on during Monday’s off day, simply because of the ramifications of that decision. If the Nuggets have proven not to have an answer for Booker or Durant, the Suns clearly don’t have one for Jokić either. Jokić, simply put, was historic on Sunday night, scoring 53 points on 20-of-30 shooting from the field, while handing out 11 assists. But, the league’s decision one way or another is bound to have a gargantuan impact on the series. The Nuggets, after the game, were furious that Jokić received punishment in the form of a technical foul. But Ishbia didn’t surrender the ball, forcefully held it from Jokić and inserted himself into the game in a way that you can’t do as an owner. He did make contact, which is something the league never wants with somebody in the stands. Looking at the video, Jokić did brush Ishbia with his forearm. What isn’t clear is if the NBA will take further action against Jokić, either in the form of a fine or a suspension for Game 5. Ishbia dropped into his chair, a fan was ejected and Jokić was given an unsportsmanlike technical foul. ![]() Late in the second quarter, Jokić tried to retrieve a loose ball that went out of bounds from Phoenix owner Matt Ishbia, eventually brushing him off with a forearm when Ishbia wouldn’t surrender the ball, which had been turned over to Denver on a rebound. There is an element, however, that involves Nikola Jokić, that the Nuggets are going to have to sweat out on Monday. The defense, the film study, making adjustments, figuring out rotations on Booker and Durant, that part is within Denver’s control. We have to have a much better urgency on the defensive end.” They know how we’re guarding those two players, (Durant and Booker), and they did a good job tonight of making us pay for it. They scored 129 points tonight, and we haven’t done a good job of taking anything away. ![]() “We left it somewhere in the desert, because it didn’t arrive in Phoenix. “What’s clear is that our defense didn’t show up this weekend,” Malone said. And now, for the first time in the postseason, they are entering a game on Tuesday night with real pressure to win. All of those changes, they’ve gone towards flipping a series that seemed short-lived as early as five days ago.Īs a result, the Nuggets, the top playoff seed in the Western Conference, have a battle on their collective hands. Figuring out that playing Deandre Ayton major minutes has a real shelf life. Most importantly, Phoenix coach Monty Williams has made adjustments that have appeared to turn things around. All three of them were instrumental over the weekend as the momentum in this series has shifted. All three of them were non-factors early in the series. More importantly, in a series where the Suns struggled to find help for Booker and Durant for two games, those guys have gotten timely shots that have proven to be daggers from the guys off the bench. Denver, after playing well defensively in two games, has allowed Devin Booker and Kevin Durant to find their collective legs in this series and the results have been deadly for the Nuggets. That being said, the Nuggets have some things to figure out.Ī 129-124 loss in Sunday night’s Game 4, combined with Friday night’s loss in Game 3 exposed some things to Nuggets head coach Michael Malone and his team that clearly need adjusting, and maybe even overhauling. That won’t happen unless they lose a game at Ball Arena in Tuesday night’s Game 5 against the Phoenix Suns. PHOENIX - The Denver Nuggets aren’t in real trouble yet. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |