Man Nuggets fans have gotta hope this is true. He’s looked mediocre at best for them for the last 8ish months, including an awful Olympics performance.

Clips feel they owe Minnesota one. Probably split with Dallas. Should be able to win 2/3 among HOU-MEM-GSW.

I read that someone heard a fan yelling at Russ after missing 2 FTs, thank you for the chicken sandwiches, and that we still love you. Hilarious.

The big thing facing the Clippers is the 6 games lined up after the Tues POR game. MIN-HOU-DAL-DAL-MEM-GSW is nuts. But there’s a 4 day break after MIN Weds before HOU Sun, and then there’s the 10-day NBA Cup break, or whatever it is–all of which is pure gold for the Clippers. Does Kawhi come back against DAL on Dec 19?

There was a good amount of Mann-Miller-Coffey-Batum, etc. in the first half, when Harden only played 14 minutes. They all made a big impact at different times. Ty’s trick was the extra 1st half rest and then playing Harden the entire second half, which skews the sample quite a bit. 25 minutes for Norm, coming back, is another huge factor–great to see the return of the calvary.

Hard to know what to think. Can’t say that I missed the KPJ show in any way, for one thing. Loved seeing TMann bring it home in swashbuckling fashion, love Batum. The play where he got set on defense and Jokic ran right into him, and the Clips challenged and the refs made up some gibberish about ‘rhythm’ was fantastic.

Harden’s percentages are rising steadily. It was worth it for him to stay on the floor for the Clips to get this win against a formidable opponent. Dunn and others can ease his load, and that seems to be happening. It has the potential to cut down the turnovers as well. Dunn’s still doing all sorts of things, even with his shot absent–but maybe TMann’s shot is coming around, it certainly was solid last night, and that makes up for it. Jordan Miller can get all the good shots that KPJ takes.

I’m not dismissing the KPJ experiment, but it was excessive and it’s nice to get a break. Portland tomorrow should be completely different from this DEN game, and the Clips need to make up for the very unfortunate game #4 POR defeat.

The funny thing is that the Clippers have all these guys and they’re so similar, but they have tiny shades of difference. They’re all really good, that’s the main thing.

There’s the Righties (TMann & Dunn) and the Lefties (DJJ, Amir, JMill). Not sure that anybody has mentioned the preponderance of southpaws on the Clippers, led by James Harden (is he #2 all-time for NBA left handers, after Bill Russell? I’m probably forgetting someone.). KPJ is on the list, but I’m not counting him in the Quintet.

So start with the Lefties, since this is about DJJ. He doesn’t have the bulk and strength, but that’s trumped by his verticality and length. He and Dunn are an amazing one-two defensive line, even better because they have Zu behind them. The instincts of both of them are phenomenal–Nic Batum has the same instinctual thing going, making tiny little movements and plays that disrupt and add defensive pressure. Maybe there’s a better word for it than “instinct,” it’s hard to describe, but all three of those guys have it.

You turn to offense, and DJJ does a lot of good things, including his ability to hit the 3 and to finish lobs. He seems to need a tiny extra beat to get the 3, unlike Amir, and he doesn’t drive to the basket quite the same way that Amir and JMill do. I wouldn’t call it passive–he just picks his spots, and he’s not quite the same threat with the dribble that Amir and JMill are.

With Norm back, and Bamba as well, the goal is for all these guys to get their minutes and step up in waves. The lineups will probably continue shifting, but the hope is to find a way to go from strength to strength. It seems like DJJ is the obvious 5th starter once Kawhi comes back, but you never know. Every single member of the Quintet can do the job.