D5 Finals: [2] Denver Nuggets vs Charlotte Hornets [3]

[Ian Noble]

GAME 5
SPACINGSPACINGSPAC	SPACINGSPA	SPACINGSPA	SPACINGSPA	SPACINGSPACINGSPAC
Denver Nuggets		@		Charlotte Hornets

		Min	FG	3PT	FT	TO	Blk	Stl	Reb	Ast	Pts
Nikola Vucevic		37	7/13	3/5	3/6	2	1	1	6	1	20
Pascal Siakam		28	9/18	2/6	4/4	1	2	0	6	4	24
Tobias Harris		41	5/10	0/0	3/4	3	2	0	11	2	13
James Harden		44	5/21	4/11	5/7	1	0	3	7	12	19
Ishmael Smith		28	3/6	1/3	0/1	1	0	0	2	3	7
Daniel Theis		21	2/3	1/2	2/2	1	0	1	4	0	7
Isaiah Thomas		20	4/9	2/4	1/1	1	0	2	2	5	11
Courtney Lee		8	2/3	0/1	0/0	1	0	0	0	0	4
Delon Wright		7	2/4	1/3	1/1	1	0	0	0	1	6
Jared Dudley		4	0/1	0/0	0/1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Gary Clark		1	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Johnathan Motley		1	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals			39/88	14/35	19/27	12	5	7	38	28
SPACINGSPACINGSPACING	S	SPAC	SPACIN	SPACIN	SPACIN	SPAC	SPAC	SPAC	SPAC	SPAC	SPAC

		Min	FG	3PT	FT	TO	Blk	Stl	Reb	Ast	Pts
Montrezl Harrell		37	4/7	0/0	3/4	2	3	1	6	2	11
Brandon Ingram		38	9/18	4/8	4/5	1	0	2	12	6	26
Paul George		47	11/23	4/12	4/5	1	3	3	14	7	30
Khris Middleton		31	7/13	3/6	0/0	3	0	1	4	6	17
Russell Westbrook		34	4/7	0/2	2/2	0	0	0	0	0	10
George Hill		19	6/7	2/2	0/1	2	0	0	3	5	14
Nerlens Noel		7	2/2	0/0	0/0	0	0	0	0	0	4
Jabari Parker		6	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Tony Snell		11	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0	2	1	0
Miles Bridges		3	0/1	0/0	0/0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Christian Wood		7	2/4	1/2	0/0	0	1	1	3	1	5
Robin Lopez		0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Chris McCullough		0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Nassir Little		0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jonathon Simmons		0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals			45/82	14/32	13/17	9	7	8	44	28
SPACINGSPACINGSPACING	S	SPAC	SPACIN	SPACIN	SPACIN	SPAC	SPAC	SPAC	SPAC	SPAC	SPAC

[James Kay]

The sim is just fucking with us at this point. That 4th quarter!


Check out Westbrook with his 10 points and 0 every thing else

[George Gervin]

Harden shooting 24% from the field in a pivotal playoff game could’ve been lifted straight from his IRL playoff performances.

[Alex English]

That 4th quarter was a dagger. I finally had some real optimism about winning the series since we were about to take the lead for the first time. Then it was taken all away.

I honestly can't see us beating Charlotte two games in a row, but who knows.

[Ian Noble]

GAME 6
SPACINGSPACINGSPAC	SPACINGSPA	SPACINGSPA	SPACINGSPA	SPACINGSPACINGSPAC
Charlotte Hornets		@		Denver Nuggets

		Min	FG	3PT	FT	TO	Blk	Stl	Reb	Ast	Pts
Montrezl Harrell		30	1/4	0/0	3/6	0	3	1	6	1	5
Brandon Ingram		37	7/15	2/3	3/3	4	1	3	7	5	19
Paul George		34	8/16	5/11	3/3	4	0	1	7	4	24
Khris Middleton		37	6/11	1/2	3/4	0	0	1	7	3	16
Russell Westbrook		39	10/22	0/3	1/5	1	0	1	9	9	21
George Hill		13	0/1	0/1	1/1	0	0	0	0	0	1
Nerlens Noel		19	1/3	0/0	0/0	1	1	0	4	0	2
Jabari Parker		14	0/2	0/1	0/0	0	1	1	3	1	0
Tony Snell		9	1/2	1/2	0/0	1	0	1	2	1	3
Miles Bridges		0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Christian Wood		8	0/4	0/1	0/0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Robin Lopez		0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Chris McCullough		0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Nassir Little		0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jonathon Simmons		0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals			34/80	9/24	14/22	11	6	9	45	24
SPACINGSPACINGSPACING	S	SPAC	SPACIN	SPACIN	SPACIN	SPAC	SPAC	SPAC	SPAC	SPAC	SPAC

		Min	FG	3PT	FT	TO	Blk	Stl	Reb	Ast	Pts
Nikola Vucevic		43	6/14	3/4	0/0	1	1	1	16	4	15
Pascal Siakam		37	7/20	1/7	1/2	2	2	2	5	2	16
Tobias Harris		37	5/8	1/3	4/4	3	2	0	6	1	15
James Harden		40	7/19	2/8	7/7	0	0	2	5	12	23
Ishmael Smith		23	0/1	0/0	1/1	2	0	0	2	3	1
Daniel Theis		17	5/9	1/3	2/3	1	0	0	5	0	13
Isaiah Thomas		25	2/7	1/5	0/0	2	0	1	3	2	5
Courtney Lee		12	1/3	0/2	0/0	0	1	2	4	0	2
Delon Wright		5	0/2	0/1	0/0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Jared Dudley		1	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Gary Clark		0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Johnathan Motley		0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Totals			33/83	9/33	15/17	12	6	8	46	24
SPACINGSPACINGSPACING	S	SPAC	SPACIN	SPACIN	SPACIN	SPAC	SPAC	SPAC	SPAC	SPAC	SPAC

[Ian Noble]

Wow. Even right until the end I had felt like Denver would make a resurgence. But yet another 1 point game and James Kay and the Hornets take their 2nd D5 Championship!

Congratulations James Kay!!! You went through Milwaukee, Boston and Denver to get here, you deserve it!!!



edit: this is the first time a 3rd Seed has won the 'chip since my Celtics back in 2012!

[Amare Stoudemire]

Congrats Alex English on a incredible season!
And congrats to the 2020 D5 hornets on another championship! You da man James Kay

[Tim Duncan]

Damn! Imagine trading LeBron and still winning the title. Congratulations James Kay

[Josh Barber]

5 straight ECF, 3 finals appearances, and 2 championships. The D5 Hornets are truly a dynasty. Congrats James!

Absolutely devastating for Alex to come so close again. The window is definitely still open for the Nuggets, but it will be much harder to return next season if the Warriors are healthy.

[George Gervin]

Really entertaining series with major implications not just for these two elite teams but D5 in general.

Charlotte now clearly in the drivers seat for its FAs to resign (assuming no crazy cap moves by the NBA), especially after PG just became the engine for this team’s success this year. Unlikely another suitor can pry any of those three starters away from Charlotte now.

For Denver, it was super close for the second straight year, and with the Warriors likely to be at full strength (along with the TWolves potentially having its trio back in full, and a few Western Conference playoff teams with at least one max FA slot to play with), next year figures to be a harder slog out West. That’s not even taking into account Tobias Harris could be a prime poach candidate for others in D5 with a max slot to fill, and the PG spot for Denver needs improvement.

[Alex English]

Of course it ends with another 1 point game. Congrats James Kay that was a pretty crazy series with how close every game was. I would've like it a lot more if I wasn't on the losing end of it, but that's the way it goes. Well done.

[James Kay]

Jun 13, 2020 17:58:58 GMT Alex English said:

Of course it ends with another 1 point game. Congrats James Kay that was a pretty crazy series with how close every game was. I would've like it a lot more if I wasn't on the losing end of it, but that's the way it goes. Well done.

I'm honestly shocked that it didn't come down to a Game 7 (though I was the only one that voted CHA in 6, ). This was a great series, so many close games, so much stress watching those ~15 second Youtube clips.


I'd encourage you not to blow it up, though. There is so much luck involved, I think, that it is always worth keeping a contender together. Yes, GSW will likely be back next year, and KAT will be healthy. But maybe GSW won't be healthy or Jokic (god forbid) will be injured or any other series of fortunate (for DEN) events. With Harden and Pascal on the same team the Nuggets will always have a chance to win it all.


Great series, see you next season

[Tom Izzo]

Imagine trading away LeBron James and winning the championship any way. I feel like this supremely hurts the chances that George leaves

[Tom Izzo]

Or maybe it's like Kawhi. He got the ring for his team, now it's time to go home

[Ian Noble]

Jun 13, 2020 22:19:12 GMT Tom Izzo said:

Or maybe it's like Kawhi. He got the ring for his team, now it's time to go home

The committee are actually going to put both Paul George and Russell Westbrook's PO decision into this same narrative.

/s

[George Gervin]

Jun 13, 2020 22:19:12 GMT Tom Izzo said:

Or maybe it's like Kawhi. He got the ring for his team, now it's time to go home

I’m way less interested in the PG decision than I am the Kawhi one— legitimately based on his real life precedent, regardless of the cap considerations, he should opt out to explore options at least 

[James Kay]

Jun 13, 2020 22:30:44 GMT George Gervin said:

Jun 13, 2020 22:19:12 GMT Tom Izzo said:

Or maybe it's like Kawhi. He got the ring for his team, now it's time to go home

I’m way less interested in the PG decision than I am the Kawhi one— legitimately based on his real life precedent, regardless of the cap considerations, he should opt out to explore options at least 

Kawhi's PO decision is one of the most straight-forward in years. He obviously opts out, because nothing is preventing him from re-signing with Chicago. (Not saying anything about whether he would/should re-sign with CHI, but he 100% opts out, even if it's just to re-sign with CHI to a longer deal).

[George Gervin]

Jun 13, 2020 22:37:00 GMT James Kay said:

Jun 13, 2020 22:30:44 GMT George Gervin said:

I’m way less interested in the PG decision than I am the Kawhi one— legitimately based on his real life precedent, regardless of the cap considerations, he should opt out to explore options at least 

Kawhi's PO decision is one of the most straight-forward in years. He obviously opts out, because nothing is preventing him from re-signing with Chicago. (Not saying anything about whether he would/should re-sign with CHI, but he 100% opts out, even if it's just to re-sign with CHI to a longer deal).

Agreed he should opt out, but moreso the resigning front; Kawhi showed last offseason money isn’t the driver, and I don’t think a long term max with Chicago is going to sway him to be loyal

[Tom Izzo]

Jun 13, 2020 22:42:57 GMT George Gervin said:

Jun 13, 2020 22:37:00 GMT James Kay said:

Kawhi's PO decision is one of the most straight-forward in years. He obviously opts out, because nothing is preventing him from re-signing with Chicago. (Not saying anything about whether he would/should re-sign with CHI, but he 100% opts out, even if it's just to re-sign with CHI to a longer deal).

Agreed he should opt out, but moreso the resigning front; Kawhi showed last offseason money isn’t the driver, and I don’t think a long term max with Chicago is going to sway him to be loyal

Yeah I agree...Kawhi's real life precedent is pretty strong. The two arguments used all the time are money and championship hopes. He turned down both in Toronto. He didn't even try to go for the repeat...Kawhi's LA desire is as strong as ever. IMO it just depends on if D5 LA teams want him...LAC isn't in the picture, so...

[Tim Duncan]

Jun 13, 2020 23:00:43 GMT Tom Izzo said:

Jun 13, 2020 22:42:57 GMT George Gervin said:

Agreed he should opt out, but moreso the resigning front; Kawhi showed last offseason money isn’t the driver, and I don’t think a long term max with Chicago is going to sway him to be loyal

Yeah I agree...Kawhi's real life precedent is pretty strong. The two arguments used all the time are money and championship hopes. He turned down both in Toronto. He didn't even try to go for the repeat...Kawhi's LA desire is as strong as ever. IMO it just depends on if D5 LA teams want him...LAC isn't in the picture, so...

I don't think it is just the LA factor.He wanted PG13 to join him in LA to ensure that the team is competitive. The D5 LA teams do not have a comparable supporting cast.

[Tom Izzo]

The Lakers are in position to potentially offer kawhi and PG

[Ian Noble]

This was actually Russell Westbrook's second D5 championship - silencing the haters for good!