2/3/26 7:00PM Nuggets 33-17 @ Pistons 36-12

[casimir]

If it ain’t rough, it ain’t right?

[buddha]

42 minutes ago, Deleterious said:

Yeah.  More important, early Bird and not full Bird rights.  That could get a bit sticky if another team makes him a decent offer.  

then let him go and find the next third string point guard in the g league like you did with this one.

[buddha]

28 minutes ago, Deleterious said:

Why is it always such a struggle?  Denver is down a starter tonight.  Another starter is playing his first game back after a long injury layoff and is on minute restrictions.  Their best player is playing his third game back after an injury and on a minutes restriction.  But somehow it's  a 2 point game with 2 minutes left.  

you already know the answer.

the faced this same team without jokic and barely won.

a win is a win, and everyone makes a run in nba regular season games, but we all know this team is flawed.  and we all know the cure.  its just difficult to get the right medicine.  

[Deleterious]

2 minutes ago, buddha said:

then let him go and find the next third string point guard in the g league like you did with this one.

I do admire the hate.  

[Hongbit]

In addition to the shooting and secondary scoring issues,  there’s also one at backup PG.   We have nobody that can distribute and get looks for their teammates.    

[buddha]

1 minute ago, Deleterious said:

I do admire the hate.  

its my superpower.

[NYLion]

Good win against a team but, again, you can see the absolute grind it is for the Pistons in the clutch because they have Cade who isn't really a regular take over guy (like Murray for example) and nobody else who can get you a bucket reliably. This is going to be  big problem in the playoffs.

[Hart]

It didn’t help that Ausar was on the bench for a lot of the crunch time minutes.  Why Deniss Jenkins was in the game guarding Murray is beyond me.  

[Tigeraholic1]

Whats the plan with Sasser? He plays decent when given the chance. 10 points 4 assists against the G league Nets in 15 minutes. 

[Deleterious]

59 minutes ago, Tigeraholic1 said:

Whats the plan with Sasser? He plays decent when given the chance. 10 points 4 assists against the G league Nets in 15 minutes. 

Emergency backup in case of injuries or foul trouble.  They already picked up his option for next season, so he will be back unless traded.  Free agent summer of 2027 and will probably be gone then.  

[gehringer_2]

1 hour ago, Hart said:

It didn’t help that Ausar was on the bench for a lot of the crunch time minutes.  Why Deniss Jenkins was in the game guarding Murray is beyond me.  

Ausar ended up on Jokic on the Nuggets 2nd to last possession and he just took it to the hoop like Ausar wasn't even there. Good Peter Principle example.   

[Tigeraholic1]

 

 

[Hongbit]

They need to get a nice cushion and solidify the top seed early so they can rest Cade a bit before the playoffs.   He’s going to have to play 45 minutes a game if they make it to the later rounds.   God help them if he ever happens to get in foul trouble.

Or they could make a move for a secondary scorer and also a real backup PG

[Betrayer]

JB tries to throw this one away again by benching the defensive player of the month and the best perimeter defender in the league for most of the critical 4th quarter minutes.

The guy is +9 (second only to Cade), got you 5 extra possessions, and had Murray in jail most of the night yet JB thinks that making the offense marginally better (theoretically) is more important than stopping the opponents clutch player and getting easy buckets from transition and put backs even though every stat shows otherwise.

The only person surprised that Murray went on a scoring run when Ausar was on the bench was JB...once again. This is getting really tiresome. I'm glad one of the reporters asked JB about it after the game. His answer was terrible, but at least someone asked.

[Deleterious]

This is what happened.  The sub was Ausar off, Cade on.

 

[Betrayer]

It really makes no sense. The eye test and the stats back up Ausar's immense value to this team on both ends of the court.

His minutes should mirror the star player he's assigned to shut down unless he's in foul trouble. Jamal Murray is 28 and Ausar is 23, yet JB treats Ausar like he's on a minutes restriction.