No…the Minnesota TWolves are not a mirage of any sort regardless of Jamal Murray’s leg injury status. These guys are for real. These guys are legit.
Remember in last year’s NBA Playoffs the TWolves had neither Naz Reid (the winner of my prestigious TSNS Award this season….Toughness, Smarts, Nasty, Snarl), and excellent 3D wing player McDaniels was injured as well and not available.
I can’t remember which one of these dudes broke his hand punching a wall late last regular season after a defeat…. but that has stuck with me on my TSNS charting of players in the NBA ever since. Dr. El Prez loves both these guys. You cannot subsitute for having players who detest defeat. Lombardi charted players in this manner as well. These are the guys you want next to you in the foxholes on your flanks.
So…basically Game 3 tomorrow night in Minnesota is an elimination game for the defending champ Denver Nuggets. THEY ARE IN SERIOUS TROUBLE.
Also…remember this…last year the Denver Nuggets had my winner of last year’s prestigous TSNS Award when Bruce Brown easily won the award. Not even close. Bruce Brown is not a member of this Nugget team, while unfortunately…Reggie Jackson is. If I were Coach Malone…what I’d basically do tommorow night…is go with Justin Holiday, Christian Braun, and Peyton Watson off the bench unless one of my top eight guys has to leave the rotation and keep Reggie in the seat next to me.
I remember last spring when the Nuggets had completed their magical run to the NBA ‘ship and I walked into Dr. Showalter’s office wearing my official 2023 Denver Nugget Championship ball cap. He looked at me and smiled. He asked, “So you’re a Nugget fan and not a Thunder fan?”
I replied, “Yep…the Thunder lost me with all their tanking and scripted losing for three straight seasons. Tanking isn’t in my DNA.”
I then told him about my week in Denver over Father’s Day Week and the championship parade.
He replied, ” You’re still remembering that little talk we had about the holistic approach we’re going to take with this very serious Stage 4 cancer situation you have…right?”
I nodded and answered, “Yeah, absolutely. Trust me….Mike knows when to do his cancer work… then live well, and when to take a nap moving forward. We’re good. I won’t over do it.”
He wrote something down on my chart, smiled, gave me a little fist pump and walked out of the office.
I’ll write something about the Thunder after their first ‘real’ NBA road Playoff game in Dallas. New Orleans was total shit. In fact, the feeble Pelicans were the team I seeded No.16 in this year’s complete ranking of the sixteen teams who advanced to the NBA Playoffs.
Don’t take this wrong Thunder Trump Rabble Nation…I think the Thunder are legit as well. But let’s see the Thunder play a legit road playoff game against a good team before we annoit them as winners in the West.
In closing…a shout out to Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan. That ending was epic…literally one for the ages.
Peace always. Be jammin’ and be happy.
MJ