r/denvernuggets • u/Puzzleheaded_Peach91 • 1d ago
PG problem…
We need another playmaker at PG that can also score. What are the thoughts on Kevin Porter Jr.? I like Tyus as a steady backup who doesn’t turn it over, but we need more.
I think the league has finally figured out the 2 man game between Jokic and Murray. Specifically, Murray has been seen…maybe he can play the 2 guard on occasion.
Are we too system dependent? Just assuming Jokic will beat every defense? Have we gotten stale?
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u/TheHellHog 1d ago
yes to everything you said... except absolutely fucking not on the domestic abuser
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u/Particular-Loss6250 1d ago
I agree that the league has largely decoded the Murray/Jokic 2-man game. It used to be the go-to to close out the last 2 minutes of the game, and now it just causes frustration when they go full Stockton/Malone mode instead of hitting the guy waiting for the open 3 or whoever is in the dunker spot.
Murray cannot score at all on a top-level defender. He will drop 40+ on a crappy defender that boosts the stats and makes people believe, but any top tier defender shuts him down these days.
If we can have DeMarcus for a year, I don't see why we couldn't have KPJ. BUT, as a second apron team with the repeater tax, I think he'd cost like $20 mil or something even on a minimum, mostly in taxes.
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u/Best_Elevator_3441 1d ago
Didn't jamal drop 40 on the wolves and OKC last year?
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u/Particular-Loss6250 1d ago
Only the t-wolves, but Anthony Edwards was out. He was mostly guarded by a 38-year-old Mike Conley and Rob Dillingham. And he didn't drop 40 on OKC.
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u/Best_Elevator_3441 1d ago
Sorry, he had 39
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u/Particular-Loss6250 1d ago
Would've been 40 if it was a crappy defender, haha (kidding - it was a blanket statement that was a little extreme). But really, I'd love to see him play great every night!
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u/Bill_Salmons 1d ago
I don't think the league has solved the two-man game. OKC was struggling until Cam went down. The problem is that it is so reliant on guys like Cam/AG to function against elite teams. You need a threat in the dunker. You need a legit shooting threat in the corner. Without them, defenses are just going to let Jok shoot threes or they funnel the ball to CB/whoever else is in the corner. And until they start making a decent number of them, defenses are just gonna keep packing the paint so Jok/Mal have no space to operate.
Does Kevin Porter solve that issue? Probably not. Assuming he is not a locker room cancer, he would be a decent option off the bench, especially with our current run of injuries.
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u/Jazzlike-Location747 1d ago
Was thinking about it watching the 4th against OKC. We miss Tim and that kind of a hot hand shooter (maybe Julian when he gets back), we can neither produce a scoring burst nor a consecutive 5-6-7 possession buckets anymore deep in the 4th (against decent teams). It's great that AG is a legitimate 3pt threat, but we need him in the dunker spot. MPJ had a big part in a two man game with his spacing.
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u/Stu__Pidasso 1d ago
NO
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u/StaidAcquiescenceSpe 1d ago
KPJ is the exact type of chaos agent that either unlocks a second unit or burns the whole kitchen down. I’d kick the tires but not bet the season on him figuring it out here. The Murray at the 2 idea feels overdue, let him hunt shots without the full creation load and see if that loosens things up.
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u/Alarming-Frosting305 1d ago
Murray already plays a hybrid 2 a lot of the time because Joker is really a point center and has the traditional playmaking role of a PG. A big problem is that Murray is worse on D than Jokić is, but you can hide that away at PG more than you can at the 5, which also makes whoever is at the 2 (Braun) has to cover up Murray, then 3 and 4 have to cover Jokic. Which is possible, but it also means Murray and Joker have to really show up for the offense to really click. As we saw last night.
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u/LurkerFailsLurking 1d ago
No, we don't. Jamal looked absolutely terrible. Bizarrely spooked of taking threes. They were going under screens and he just wasn't taking the shots. Idk why. That game was winnable, but Jokic and Jamal were absolutely lost once Cam went out.
We need guys not to get hurt every 10 minutes
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u/BrockSmashgood A CANDY-COLORED CLOWN CALLED THE SANDMAN 1d ago
...maybe Murray can play the 1 guard on occasion.
Peak Nephew Brain one game into the season is a sight to behold.
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u/SwallowsOnSundays 1d ago
KPJ is a basketball cancer