Denver Nuggets Win Do or Die Game 5
The Denver Nuggets and Miami Heat faced off in a do or die game 5, with the Nuggets coming out on top. It was a hard-fought battle, with neither team giving an inch. The game was far from pretty, but the Nuggets were able to make the plays they needed to in order to pull out the win.
Rebounding and Points in the Paint
The Heat were unable to rebound with the Nuggets, and they were also unable to score points in the paint. This ultimately proved to be the difference in the game, as the Nuggets were able to take advantage of these weaknesses.
Jokic is the Finals MVP
The best player on the floor was the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic. He shot 12 of his 16 shots, and took advantage of the zone defense. He finished the game with 28 points, 16 rebounds, and 4 assists, and was named the Finals MVP.
MVP of the Finals
Not only is Nikola Jokic the Finals MVP, but he has also brought the big man back and has conducted himself with the utmost professionalism throughout this season. He was right there for the MVP of the regular season and has been fantastic all year.
Celebrating with Coach Malone
Jokic, his brothers, and Coach Michael Malone have been spending a lot of time together over the last eight seasons, celebrating with Coach Malone. It was a great scene, with many people in Denver waiting a long time to celebrate again.
ABA to NBA
This franchise began as an ABA team in the 1960s and came over as one of four teams in the merger from the ABA. They had never made it to the NBA Finals until this spring, and now they have an NBA championship.
Contending for Years to Come
The core group of the Nuggets is all well south of 30 years of age, so they should contend for years to come. For now, it is time to celebrate the Nuggets’ five-game win over the Miami Heat. It was pretty obvious from the beginning of the series that Denver was the better team. The Heat have a culture of hard work and playing together, but they ran into a team that played just as hard and just as together, but with the best player on the floor in Jokic.
Talent and Size
Making plays down the stretch, whether that was in the zone or whether it was surprisingly, this defensive plays as well stepping up on screens getting his hands on balls, the Denver Nuggets were able to take over Take Miami simply because, at the end of the day, the talent won out. Yeah, I mean so much talent on this roster, but I think also people don’t realize so much size at every position. If you look at the Denver Nuggets from point guard all the way to jokic massive Eric Gordon people, don’t realize Michael Porter. Jr is 6 10 and give him a lot of credit.
Impact on the Glass
Today, Porter Jr. had a double double despite not shooting the ball particularly well, but found a way to make an impact on the glass. Pointing to the paint for him, he struggles shooting it, but he came up with a big game with a double double when he had 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Size Advantage
When you talk about that size, where it really shows up, as in the rebounding category, you know Denver outrebounded Miami 57-44 using their size and lens. In the fourth quarter, the defense really held Miami to 18 points and that’s what showed up for them just 38 points in the second half from Miami.
Offensive Struggles
Denver had struggled during the regular season with offense, but found lightning in a bottle in the early rounds, particularly against Milwaukee and stunning the number one seeded bucks. But offensively, they just couldn’t hang with Denver in this series.
Denver Played Real Life Defense
Denver started playing real life defense, paying attention to detail and closing out on Aaron Gordon’s closeouts. Michael Porter, at 6’10”, and KCP were able to take away open looks. Outside of game two, where Denver admitted they didn’t come out with the right focus, Miami didn’t have any good offensive games in the series.
Batman Struggled
Batman played his butt off in the series, but coming into tonights game, he was 13-36 from the paint. It’s unclear what his numbers were tonight, but he struggled with Denver’s defense, whether it was Jokic or Gordon or whoever was over there.
Denver Had All the Answers
Timber had all the answers to the test; everything that Miami threw at them, Denver had a counter for. Denver was the best team in this series, and the best team throughout the NBA this year. Nothing they did in this series surprised us.
Miami Heat Give Credit to Bam
The Miami Heat gave credit to Bam for his consistent and steady performance throughout the series. He competed on both ends and needed a sidekick to give him some relief. Bam had to rebound, pass, and score, but the Heat were missing Tyler Hero and Victor Oladipo. Eric Spoelstra was struggling to find someone to put in when Bam wasn’t on the floor. He went to Zeller and Love at times, but there wasn’t much size on the team.
Tyler Hero Storyline
The storyline of the night was Tyler Hero. It was assumed he was available for game five, but he never made an appearance. It would have been tough to put someone in a closeout game who hadn’t played in two months. Making sure he had his legs was a priority.
Denver Nuggets Win Championship at Home
The Denver Nuggets have done something that hasn’t been done in a long time – win a championship on their home floor. After a disastrous start with four turnovers in the first two and a half minutes, Denver was able to pull off a 94-89 victory.
Nicole Jokic with the Goggles
Nicole Jokic was a key factor in the Nuggets’ victory, wearing goggles and a hundred ski mask. After the win, Jokic was given a champagne shower inside the arena.
Good Minutes from Duncan Robinson, Streus and Gabe Vincent
The Nuggets were able to get good minutes from Duncan Robinson, Streus and Gabe Vincent throughout the playoffs. This helped them to stay in the game and eventually pull off the win.
Great Celebration
The celebration inside the arena was great, with Nuggets fans and family of personnel getting on the stage to get photo opportunities. It was a great moment for the team and the city of Denver.
Defensive Struggles
There are some teams that, when they’re not doing it defensively, they have a “woe is me” attitude. They put their head down and they start giving up shots. Even when the shots weren’t falling, even when they were turning it over, you would see a great hustle back by guys, like Contavious Caldwell-Pope, to get in on those plays on some of those turnovers. So they weren’t playing at a high efficiency level early on, but the hustle was there from the jump.
Nicola Yokich’s Historic Run
Then there’s Nicola Yokich, who has done something no player has ever done before. He led all players this postseason in points, rebounds, and assists. Keep in mind the Nuggets only played 20 games because they only lost four times in the playoffs.
MVP Consideration
I see hero, Finals, MVP is this the greatest playoff run that we’ve seen in NBA history? I had to go to an MVP on this one in terms of the player of a player, not a team – that’s a player. I would have to compare this to what Shaq did. Okay, because Shaq’s run was unreal right and it was something that we didn’t know if we would see that type of dominance again from a center, because the game was evolving and changing. But to see the Joker do this, as at the center position, where the game right now is so heavily weighted for the small player and the perimeter player to have a center come in and do this, when you know really, everything is stacked against the big man.
Isaiah Thomas: A Dominant Performance
Isaiah Thomas has been making waves in the NBA, becoming one of just 10 players in history with multiple regular season MVPs and a Finals MVP on his resume at the age of 28. His performance in the finals was particularly impressive, shooting 12 for 16. This type of guard-like touch is rarely seen in big guys, and it’s clear why Thomas is being compared to the greats of every era.
Nikola Jokic: Stat Padding Accusations
At the beginning of the season, there were accusations that Nikola Jokic was stat padding. However, after his performance in the finals, it’s clear that these accusations were unfounded. Jokic took whatever was available to him, and never forced a shot. Those who haven’t watched Denver basketball will now be tuning in to see what he’s capable of.
More Hardware in Thomas’ Future
It’s hard not to see more hardware in Thomas’ future. With his impressive performance in the finals, it’s clear that he’s still young and has plenty of potential.
Jokish’s Leadership and Teamwork
“It really infuriated me,” said a lot of people, “when I watched him play as a big man, I marvel at what he’s able to do. He takes shots when they’re there, but he’ll pass up a good shot to get a great shot. There’s times where he could easily shoot a floater, but he understands the importance of getting Aaron Gordon a live dunk. Yeah, Aaron Gordon has to play all this hard defense, so let me reward my guy and give him a quick dunk real quick, so he feels good. You know you got to feed your dogs if you want him to hunt.”
Jokish understands that and offensively he’s as skilled as anybody from the post position that we’ve ever seen. Not only is it skill, but he’s a great teammate and has become a great leader. When you have that leadership, good teammate and then he’s the best player, then he’s gonna put in the work ethic and lay the foundation for some success for a long time.
When you look at Murray, Malone and Jokish, they got the coats, they got the one and they got the five. So they really have everything lined up for the next couple of years and you can kind of build around that.
Jokic’s Impact on Denver
Denver has been on the rise since the arrival of Isaiah Thomas, but it’s been the emergence of Nikola Jokic that has really taken the team to the next level. Jokic is a unique player in that he doesn’t need a lot of touches to be effective, yet he can still put up impressive numbers. He has the ability to get other players shots and make them feel good, while still putting up 30-20-10 stat lines.
Gravity of Jokic’s Game
The gravity of Jokic’s game is something that hasn’t been seen since the Steph Curry championship years. Opposing defenses have to react to wherever he is on the floor, making it difficult to contain him. He has the ability to take over a game without needing the ball in his hands, something that is rare in today’s game.
Nikola Jokic has been a major factor in the success of the Denver Nuggets, and his unique style of play has made him one of the most impactful players in the league. His ability to take over a game without needing the ball in his hands is something that has been rarely seen in recent years, and it has made him a force to be reckoned with.
