Jarred Vanderbilt played 25 minutes on Wednesday, but the Timberwolves forward is still bothered by a left quad contusion, Chris Hine of the Star Tribune tweets. Head coach Chris Finch said Vanderbilt, who is listed as questionable to play on Saturday, is closer to 70% than 100% and he’ll remain on a minutes restriction.
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- Jamal Murray‘s practice with the G League Grand Rapids included some live work but he still must overcome some hurdles before he makes his season debut, coach Michael Malone told Mike Singer of the Denver Post (Twitter link). The Nuggets guard was assigned to Grand Rapids early this week and is expected to report back to the NBA team on Saturday.
- Nuggets swingman Will Barton has missed opportunities to play in the postseason due to injuries and he’s hopeful that will change next month, Singer writes. “That’s really all my focus is on is just staying healthy, trying to play good basketball and getting ready for the playoffs – something I’ve been looking forward to my whole career,” he said. “And I haven’t been able to be in there healthy. Now I have the chance if everything keeps going well.” Barton, who is signed through next season, is averaging 14.7, 4.9 RPG and a career-best 3.8 APG.
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker has looked sharp while getting extended playing time this week, Tony Jones of The Athletic writes. Alexander-Walker had 13 points and five assists against the Clippers on Friday after a 16-point outing against Chicago. The Jazz also believe Alexander-Walker, who is eligible for a rookie scale extension this offseason, can be a defensive factor off the bench.
Let’s hope Will doesn’t play too many minutes in the post season. He lost that game last night (along with Scott Foster). Still, the Cavs deserved the win, played harder down the stretch and had three players with double doubles. They look legit!
He’s 1 of their best players, he’s definitely gonna play a lot in the postseason
He’s unfortunately one of their best, at the moment. If you watch the team and listen to their fans (over on denverstiffs) he’s the most frustrating Nugget. Ill-advised shots, dribbling into traffic, Westbrook esque lack of awareness and effort on defense, never boxes out…
That he and AG are the next best players alongside Jokic illustrates Jokic’ value to a team with as many wins as Philly, but still jostling for home-court in a crowded West.
Will as a sixth man would be ok, but he’s out of his depth as a second or third option on a winning team.
I watch their team a lot. Obv I couldn’t care less what their fans think tho. This is the same fanbase that didn’t give any credit to any Broncos other than Elway until TDavis showed up. I fully expect certain ppl to dismiss Will Barton or anybody other than Jokic on the Nuggets so this is less than surprising. Will obv been playing at a high level on both sides of the court all yr long tho
Barton is mediocre in the end, despite being 6-6 with 6-1 energy & intent. Sometimes he is useful with that, sometimes it is not what he thinks.
Elway was relied upon for about 15 years before the Superbowl win, so, habits.
(Football talk:)
(Orange crush was king but brought assumed quality for Denver. It was up to Elway to be the title-winning difference… which did not happen, basically solo on offense, until a reliable rush attack opened space downfield.
Terrell Davis destroyed with that one cutback sweep with the timed cutblocks brought from the Niners by the HC.
Davis was short-lived but memorable at his peak, like the system that made it. Of course the play leads to side-helmet collisions for the RB and knee injuries to opposing LBs, so rules were made against it.
It is not used much anymore, not even by Zeke Elliot/Cowboys who is credited by Urban Meyer for a play leading to an Ohio State title: “plant that outside foot and go”.)
Malik Beasley/Naz Reid, Jordan Clarkson/Hassan Whiteside, De’Anthony Melton/Brandon Clarke, Bones Hyland/Demarcus Cousins or Jordan Poole/Otto Porter Jr, which of these west conf bench duos would you rather have going into these playoffs & why?… Rank a top 3 if possible…
Clarkson/whiteside
Poole/porter jr
Melton/clarke
Only reason i dont have cousins and hyland top 3 is because of the rook, but clarkson has probably the most playoff experience and has played with more stars(kobe, lebron, mitchell) it is also nice having a 7 footer who can block shots consistently even though he can be a lil lazy on offense and sometimes defense, but thats why hes a bench player.
Poole and otto are great 3 point shooters, otto is also a great rebounder and poole is a decent playmaker, but defense is lacking.
Melton and clarke are just great young players who know their role and i have them at 3 because of 1. Little playoff experience and 2. They could be starters on other teams.
I like the Cousins/Bones duo. Mainly because DMC allows the Nuggets to play with a 5-focussed offense during Jokic’ rest minutes. Bones has the irrational confidence to heat up quickly and has the rookie desire to play hard.
The other duos you mention have as much talent but Whiteside, Clark and Reid aren’t play makers and Otto doesn’t offer much more than being a sound veteran.
Perhaps it’s recency bias on my part as I’ve watched Denver’s bench go from losing leads every game to actually increasing them since Cousins signed and Bones took Facu’s minutes.
So to answer your top 3 question:
Bones and DeMarcus
Clarkson and Whiteside
Poole and Porter, in no particular order.
All of them are good though. Melton in particular will be the next bench player a young team try to poach away to start for them. (NY, Hou, Pels etc)
I agree. The only reason i don’t have hyland/cousins in my top 3 is that he is a rookie and we haven’t seen him in the playoffs yet, also boogie hasn’t necessarily been the healthiest player in the playoffs
Melton already got signed to a long-term deal by Memphis a couple summers ago so he’s locked up for the foreseeable future. I sorta doubt Memphis would trade him either bc of Ja’s injury concerns
I love Bones/Boogie as well but I’m confused as to why you consider Bones’ confidence to be irrational? Seems like he has plenty reason to be confident, especially as a shooter. Also Clarke/Reid are both pretty good playmakers if not quite on Boogie’s level. And Otto offers consistent shooting from 3, which is more than just being a sound vet
It’s irrational because he hasn’t done anything yet and is a rookie who is only getting minutes on the home strait of the season and that’s due to injuries.
Most rookies play scared – they have playing time, contract, reputation to save face on. Bones plays with an abandon I love, but he’s such an emotional player that that is what is fuelling him, rather than prior experience in the NBA. I’m not knocking him.
Will Barton on the other hand, you’re wrong about. You have a slightly condescending tone in most of your comments and you’re exposing yourself with this one.
I’ve watched every minute of every Denver game the last few years. Barton is a great guy, a guy I want on my team, just not a guy who should feature in this offense. He’s the definition of sixth man. If Murray and MPJ return to form next year, you want a defensive wing starting. Reed could be that but too late to tell as he won’t play in the playoffs.
You can even see his coach and teammates’ body language when he chucks up a shot five seconds into the shot clock against the flow of play/the hot hand/the play call (an every game occurrence). Exasperation.
Bones has buried over 100treys already & done so very efficiently. That’s definitely something & it’s only possible bc he’s been getting pt the entire season. Bones is definitely an emotional player but it’s his talent that is fueling his success much moreso than his exuberance. I completely agree that in a perfect world the Nuggets would be 100% healthy & he’d be a 6th man but in this world Denver is 109-62 with Will starting over the past 3yrs which is extremely good. It’s a trip that you criticize my tone bc yours is actually much more condescending. You are condescending toward Will Barton, a unequivocally great basketball player who’s currently having his best pro season on 1 of the top10 teams in the league. I am condescending toward you, a literal nobody. Which of us is more in the wrong?
If you look at advanced statistics, everyone who’s name isn’t Campazzo is having best-season-ever on a winning team because of Jokic. HIS gravity, HIS iq, HIS talent. It’s basically that they’re winning IN SPITE of the average talent of everyone not named Jokic.
Barton is the 29th rated ‘second best player’ in the league and similarly ranked shooting guard.
Here’s another way of looking at it, look at the Nuggets starting five since the injures to Murray and Porter Jr, how many of them would start on another team?
My point is not to trash Barton. He’s one of the best players in the world. My point is that he shouldn’t be playing so many minutes. He can start if you like, but Forbes is a better shooter and Rivers/Reed are better defenders.
Hence my original post -‘I hope he doesn’t play so many minutes in the postseason’.
When Denver made it to the WCF Barton was injured. He’s a turnover machine, takes Ill advised shots, plays horrible defense and always comes up small when it matters most. There’s a reason Barton was moved to the bench vs SA a few years ago in the playoffs. You should watch a little closer Sankara. Had to make an account just to let you know how clueless you are.
“Which of us is more in the wrong?”
Exactly. All that posting and no reasoning. There is no “unequivocal” without facts. The 102-62 is not due to a player with a below-average PER of 14 who does not even do the little things, like Gordon or Moore.
Tired of trying to talk level to a kid with implanted notions. A mind is a terrible thing to waste.
Someone mentioned Whiteside being a bit lazy? If you’ve watched him this season, that’s been an incredibly rare thing to see. He seems highly motivated as Gobert’s backup.
Whiteside just moves slowly sometimes. It looks lazy compared to Gobert, who is always active. Whiteside needs to practice making quick moves, read a lot of books, and watch a lot of mystery movies/TV shows. That’ll help his brain react faster and train his motor skills to move faster. The talent and skill are already great!
Drummond seemingly has challenged himself to be quicker, to keep pace. The playoffs should show a positive result, without him being a ballhog like in Cleveland. It was never going to work there. He was always a step slow but is not yet old, so gets chances… NYC energy may be at work. Or just time & chances given. But a +10 Rtg, 23 PER says, say, a 4/$40 next year? He has been durable— one missed span last year. They are both at min now.
Happy for NAW! You could tell it was only going to be a matter of time before the Jazz gave him a real chance to play. He’s perfect for the 1st quarter lineup and 4th quarter when other guys either need to warm up or get cold. He seems to shine best in those scenarios. He’s got good playmaking and defensive instincts as well. He’s not Ingles, but he can help fulfill that role.
I was also impressed with Butler’s composure and body control. He can literally score on any sized player.
Paschall was very aggressive and physical! We’ll need that going forward into the playoffs. Perfect time to remind the coaching staff of that.
Good to hear; they will be needed… all those bang-ups listed above don’t even include tired (he said) Conley!