Not liking Jokic is so weird to me. I get w Harden & CP3 that the flopping hurts their appreciation levels, even if you respect their talent. But what is it about a point center who can drop 30 point triple-doubles and throw behind the head no-looks for dunks that you don't LIKE?
The increasingly squeaky and terrified voice: "don't let him do it... don't LET HIM DO IT... d o n ' t l e t h i m d o i t t t t!!!" 😂😂😂
They let him do it.
@JoshuaPotash
Been asking for that for 2 years. You want kids in school? Fix your ventilation. Office buildings not getting use? Upgrade the HVAC to stop blowing Covid in my face. It's not for this epidemic, it's for EVERY one coming. Apparently it's too big an ask to even consider.
Durant takes his role as a superstar elder statesman seriously. Sticks around to give the Nuggets their props and make sure they know it's their job to win a title now. Love the videos of the NBA brotherhood, especially when they include Jokic as a member of The Club.
Denver fans: you're not out here defending Jokic's MVPs any more, right? He's got two of them. People trying to delegitimize Jokic's MVPs are like Steph deniers saying his rings are fake. Jokic is immortal at 27, and a ring at any time now puts him in the pantheon. Don't sweat it
Age at first title:
27 - Steph, LeBron
28 - Isiah Thomas, Shaq, Jordan, KD
30 - Wilt
31 - Hakeem, Dirk
32 - KG, Big O
33 - Dr J, Admiral, Jerry West
Jokic is 28, had a bubble playoff & 2 more where his team was wracked w injuries. The idea that he's behind schedule is silly.
Nikola Jokic mentions how the fans always loved him even when he wasn't playing - it's us, y'all. He's talking about the weirdos who got hyped for his Summer League & screamed for him to get time as a backup. We always loved you, big guy. And you've given us everything in return.
The Nuggets are 22 games over .500, with one of the youngest rosters in the league AND the most injured, while playing in the Western Conference (aka not on easy mode) and in first place. Enjoy this, Denver fans: it's something very special, and it's only just beginning.
@cevangelista413
HBO Max has actual content. Real movies, good actual films that you can watch. And as far as I can tell, Discovery bosses don't like or support that and would like that side of the business that they intentionally purchased to go away.
"Jokic needs to step it up in the playoffs" talk is weird.
Jokic averages 26.5 / 11.5 / 6.5 in the playoffs.
Other big man playoff averages:
Hakeem: 26 / 11 / 3
Shaq: 24.5 / 11.5 / 2.5
Duncan: 20.5 / 11.5 / 3
Giannis: 27 / 12 / 5
Embiid: 24 / 11 / 3
What are we talking about?
Before the season, my man Charles Barkley picked the
@nuggets
to win the Western Conference.
I found Chuck just moments for the
#NBAAllStar
game.
I do disagree with him on the Jokic playoff narrative.
@AltitudeTV
@AltitudeSR
This is the last season I want to see Nikola Jokic carry the entire world on his shoulders for the whole season. The Denver Nuggets owe it to him to make this easier. Some of that will come with health, and some requires roster adjustments. Time to figure it out. He deserves it.
This did not happen and will never happen, because the last guy who tried to cheapshot Jokic got bounced across the floor like a rubber ball. Jokic is his own enforcer and would have been fine in the 80s, Wilbon. Gotta beat him straight up - and good luck with that.
@akatepockett
Me to this dude who refuses to recognize his wife's talent, and wants to make sure she doesn't consider herself the success that she obviously is:
If you weren't watching this Nuggets game: Jokic was COASTING. He was facilitating, maintaining... then everything went south for Denver in the 3rd. So in the 4th and OT he put up THIRTY POINTS while playing in god mode & creating defensive moments. Unstoppable. Amazing. Nikola.
To all the Timberwolves fans out there: we in Denver have so much love for so many elements of your squad. Appreciate you doin it the right way - and I still believe it isn't quite your time yet. But if Denver plays like this maybe it is. Hoping you bring out the best in Denver.
Laughing my ass off at Jokic doing exactly what all of us thought he was doing: harness racing his horses, doing this acceptance interview with the stable dog hacking up a hairball nearby.
@NeolithicSheep
You are always the farmer I think of when Dr. Glaucomflecken references farmers in his videos. Incredibly frustrating to see everything you had to do yourself because "medical professionals" all wanted to name themselves Not It.
@Popehat
Fascinating that a bounty posse deputized-but-not regulated by the state is apparently some sort of uncounterable legal move. Speaks well of the legal system for sure.
@chrislhayes
You misunderstand the moral cosmology. It's actually "conservative men have the right to do whatever they want with the bodies of others" & in that framework, this is not an issue for them. There's no cognitive dissonance. The rest is just framing the issue to the public at large
Apparently all Jokic had to say was "I want to go on another fucking parade" and the whole squad is just gonna burn down every opponent until that happens, who knew?
@AITA_reddit
Me, before getting to the edits: Well I mean, I suppose there's some joke he could make that would just be so outrageously insensiti....
Me, reaching the edits: OH COME ON, GET DIFFERENT FRIENDS IMMEDIATELY. And if they're straight too, let them be better ones.
Shaq a couple years ago: Nikola Jokic reminds me of Big Country Reeves.
Shaq now: butchers Serbian language in good faith while declaring his love for Jokic to his face.
How far we've come.
BRUUUUUUCE.
Thanks for everything, man. Nuggets legend, just made in 2 years what Denver could pay in a 1 year deal + a 3 year extension, and can still get another big deal in his prime.
Get that bag, and remember that Denver will love ya forever.
ESPN reporting with
@malikaandrews
: Free agent Bruce Brown has agreed on a two-year, $45M deal with the Indiana Pacers, his agents Ty Sullivan and Steven Heumann of
@CAASports
tell ESPN. Denver — limited in what it could pay — loses a key piece to its repeat hopes.
Some parts of Denver fandom seem concerned that MPJ hasn't been seen in a lot of pics partying it up with the fellas.
Rest assured: He was on the trucks with them, and in Vegas, and holding the trophy. He's fine. Let the man cuddle the O'Brien in peace.
Keep in mind, this is what Nikola Jokic came into the league seeing. His 8th game, 9403 announced attendance but probably half that in the stands. It sounded like a tomb. Love the picture Corey showed with Nikola staring into stands stuffed full of people there to see him.
@RyanMarino
Can't believe rescue teams use the Jaws Of Life to pry people out of car accidents, knowing how dangerous driving cars is and how some of them will just be injured or killed in later accidents. What good even IS life if you've driven a car, anyway?
For Nuggets fans worried about a long-term prognosis for Jamal Murray: assuming it's simply an ACL and no other damage, this is a repair in sports that's gotten much better. The rehab process will help strengthen Murray's lower half, and he should storm back next April. Chins up.
"Everyone's chasing you - is there anyone you're chasing?"
Nikola Jokic: "We're chasing the Denver Nuggets, too."
Last year's Nuggets might be starting to hear footsteps from this year's squad soon.
Jokic talking about his offseason: didn't miss a day working on his body, might have missed a day or two, or a month... or two... on the basketball court.
Then walks into Ball Arena & casually puts up a triple-double because greatness has no limitations.
So lucky to have him.
@baddestmamajama
So glad they recast the role to him last minute. His insistence on doing everything himself, accurately, really paid off. Such a wonderfully physically emotive actor.
Me: It's weird not putting MPJ back in when the Nuggets are struggling to buy a shot
Jamal and Jokic: Make stuff happen, Nuggets also get a turnover
MPJ, great teammate that he is, just grinning ear to ear. All he wants is Ws.
Denver's last 2 losses are by 3 and 5 points, and in those 2 losses Nikola Jokic has 36 / 21 / 11 and 26 / 16 / 18. He CAN'T give you more than that. The rest of the team has to pick HIM up - and that includes Malone, whose full-bench rotation got destroyed in both games.
@RottenInDenmark
Also, sometimes I have a thought and go "wow, I obviously have some unresolved shit to work out" and then I go work on that, but Ben seems breezily incapable of self-improvement.
@JustNoMIL1
@AITA_reddit
She could have just seasoned the damn primavera to her liking if it was "too bland." She could have eaten the food and shut up about it. She could have gotten her own mac and cheese if she wanted to be a dick about it. Nah, let her starve & the husband gets mac & cheese now too.
@SharonCoryell4
@DrRJKavanagh
Not only does the police department not have to pay for the damages, the insurance company - because the destruction was caused by the police and therefore "lawful" - may not cover it either. 14 year old dead, house gone, no one pays except the family.
@AnaMardoll
People need to realize that MORE Republican-affiliated women are against legalized abortion than men (as least as of the prior presidency). They're not being dragged along, they are leading the pack.
The assistant to the intern on the Jokic account at Nike who has been storing up ideas for half a decade is about to have their moment in the sun.
All the gear. Give us ALL of it.
Dear National Audience: may I introduce you to the Denver Nuggets?
Denver Nuggets, meet everyone who has only heard about you on Sportscenter recaps with no highlights.
And 1-1 on free throws. One of the most impressive things to me about Jokic is that he can be an MVP-level performer without getting star-level big man free throw attempts.
I think it's great that the 30th draft pick and the 41st draft pick are playing like absolute monsters with Sequoia-sized chips on their shoulders. If the NBA can't figure out how to market that if it winds up as the Finals, that's a league problem. Basketball fans are in heaven.
The Nuggets are the 4th team to reach the Finals and never face a team with a win percentage of .550 or above in that postseason, joining the 1956 Warriors, 1957 Celtics and 1959 Celtics
Gary Harris is gonna be one of those LaPhonso-Ellis-type stories in Denver, where if only he could have stayed healthy things would have turned out so much differently. Pro's pro, and I hope he can find health and impact in the rest of his career.
I was so wrong about Reggie Jackson. I didn't mind re-signing him as an emergency option but I did not think he had this much starter quality and consistency in his game still.
Just gotta rescue hard-working players from the Clippers and get them to Jokic Ball I guess.
My favorite part of this is Christian Braun, who is like a bouncer at a club that has strict instructions not to let Jamal Murray jump or run on the court in any way.
Jamal's Restraint Enforcer.
@elizaorlins
ACAB because taken as a whole, there is nothing that can be done from the inside to change the architecture of policing in this country. Those who do try are fired or expunged. The only way to change it is to rethink policing, to remove what came before and do it differently.
Still in shock that Scott Foster treated the Nuggets for a night like they have an arena in Los Angeles. Is this how it feels to be a big market superstar team? Refs just look at you in a tight contest and say "don't worry fam, I got this"?
Super weird.
@AlishaGrauso
@therealsupes
"A warrior shaman received a vision from the panther goddess Bast, who led him to the heart-shaped herb, a plant that granted him superhuman strength, speed, and instincts." - N'Jobu in Black Panther
Some guy: hope that shaman got a training montage, too sus otherwise
After sitting the final 18 minutes of Nuggets loss, Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga has lost faith in Steve Kerr and no longer believes that Kerr will allow him to reach his full potential, sources say.
Story at
@TheAthletic
with
@anthonyVslater
:
Tony Brothers to Malone, per the Denver broadcasters: "I'm not gonna put up with disrespect." But the team and fans have to put up with these ridiculous calls?
Love people who are both terrible at their jobs and petty about it. One of these days the NBA has to step in.
There are amazing players around the league. It's in a very good place with the post-Bron generation stepping up. But there is no one I'd rather have as my star than Nikola Jokic. Every game is a gift in Denver. Looking forward to the rest of this decade as a basketball fan.
MPJ is literally one of the greatest shooters in NBA history. He was accused of being a selfish player before he ever got in the NBA. And all he's ever done is want to help his team win, however he can. Anti-diva mentality, and a crucial key if Denver is gonna win it all.
Michael Porter Jr: "I'm here in the playoffs. This is a dream come true. I'm starting for the No. 1 team in the West and playing a lot of minutes. And we're up two games in the playoffs. This is all you can ask for."
@modernistwitch
The other problem: the left-leaning leaders at the start of Gen X died (AIDS/drugs). The right-leaning ones got rich on Wall St, so they kept influence. The 90s counter-culture stuff was the back half of the generation screaming at the front half & Boomers. Still screaming, btw.
I saw Michael Jordan's whole career. Hakeem, Shaq, Duncan & obviously Bron. Large swaths of Magic, Bird & Kareem.
"Soothing" is not really a HOFer adjective but Jokic's game is a cool glass of lemonade on a hot day. Other guy's might be scarier, more energetic. Not many better.
Let's talk this morning about Jalen Pickett. He's a very unique PG - Denver didn't draft him to fit in. You don't take Pickett unless you like his specific brand of basketball, because he's a floor general not a combo guard. Pickett doesn't get sped up. 1/
Good morning to all Denver fans enjoying this official Jokic Rest Day. These days don't come along very often - hope the team store has a celebratory nap blanket with Nikola's face on it or something.
@JustinMRhoades
@SawyerHackett
@0liviajulianna
The 21st Century. I know you're outraged that this is happening but unfortunately, enough people believing this sort of thing is from a bygone era (instead of stuff that happens right now) is how stuff like this continues to happen right now. We're not actually better than this.
Nuggets need those DPEs to get some guys a break and fill out the rotation. If Dozier and MPJ are done for the year, they need to declare them so and get more players in. And if Bol won't play, they need that slot too. Can't grind Jokic to paste.
Jokic: thanks for this award, it is nice to be in the company of guys like Wilt who won it twice
NBA on TNT: 5 minutes of whining about Jokic winning it, while also saying it's completely fair that he won it.
The first year this happened I was annoyed. Now I enjoy the tears.
Aaron Gordon: "I never imagined this in my whole life, it's crazy. It's love yo, look - it's love. It's more than what I expected, it's crazy that's what's up - the love from the city is fire."
Mr. Nugget spitting fire and loving every second.
Just randomly thought about this jacket & how AG and the rest of the Nuggets are carrying so many former Nuggets' dreams on their backs if they get this title done.
5 decades full of Almost and Not Quite and a lot of Not Even Close, and they all get paid off with a win tomorrow
Perk is really saying Dirk's MVP season was gifted to him because he was white? Dirk? C'mon now. Everything about Perk's anti-Jokic rant is unserious nonsense, but especially that.
Two guys who spent a season rehabbing next to each other, pulling each other through the long days and the pain, talking about this goal together.
MPJ and Jamal - just a beautiful thing.
Nuggets will have a lot of eyes on this run. Durant first, then if they beat the Suns it's either Steph or LeBron on deck? This is how you wrest the league from the hands of legends.
Really hope Denver gets up for every single quarter of this postseason, it's all right there.
Denver could have paid this. They did not want to. That means they had better use the little bit of flexibility this grants them in a very smart way, or it's going to look like hubris shortly, the kind that squanders title aspirations. Thanks for the banner KCP, always a Nugget.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope intends to sign a three-year, $66 million deal with the Orlando Magic, sources tell
@TheAthletic
@Stadium
. Massive pickup for the rising Magic, acquiring the starting shooting guard of two NBA title teams.
The Nuggets currently have their
#2
point guard playing in summer league and he's had a game and a half with basically nothing to show for it against mostly guys who will never play in the NBA, if you're wondering how the battle to back up Jamal Murray is going.
I just want to talk a little about belief today. The Nuggets are one win from their first NBA Finals & their early mantra, "Don't Skip Steps" is on the doorstep of fruition. It's predicated on the belief that the elements of a championship team are grown, not bought, and that 1/
I understand that Nugglife has Denver fans on edge 24/7, but I'm gonna need everyone to breathe about the KD thing.
The playoffs are about having a big enough ship to ride out the waves, and Denver has the biggest aircraft carrier in the league. Enjoy the battle - it'll be fun.
Peyton Watson about Nikola Jokic and the commercials: "I think that we really share a bond and our chemistry is just continuing to increase game by game, so being able to do stuff like that with him off the court is special."
I used to think Shaq's "I wasn't familiar with your game" stance on players was out of the ordinary for someone whose job it is to follow the NBA. The mass of media folks telling on themselves regarding Jokic & how little they have ever watched the 2x MVP shows me it's the norm.