The Nuggets lost 111-124 to the Jazz away, which can be called the most upset game of the day, of course, the Jazz are also in good shape, but they thought that this season was rotten, and they won three in a row. At present, the Jazz record is still above the Warriors, we can only say that the Warriors dynasty has collapsed, and the boss still can't change the problem of the core aging after spending so much money. This offseason, it is estimated that the Warriors will disintegrate, and the owner will not be able to continue to invest endlessly.
After sending away Mitchell and Gobert, the Jazz actually maintained their condition okay, and the team moved forward in an orderly manner. Of course, in terms of hindsight, Gobert's trade is a year late in the face. Last season, the Timberwolves struggled, and everyone said the Jazz made money. But this season, the Timberwolves are first in the West, and Gobert has once again proved his ability. Now this operation of both sides can only be said to get what they want, neither side is a failure, and no side is a winner.
After winning the championship, the Nuggets' form has slipped this season, which is why it is difficult for the NBA to defend the title. The Nuggets were not in good shape from the beginning of the first quarter, but the Jazz were all shots. He hit five three-pointers in the first six minutes of the game, leading the Nuggets by 14 points at 23-9. Fortunately, Jokic stepped up and scored in response, but the Jazz still led by 11 points in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Clarkson came off the bench, and he first assisted Kessler to score a hook shot, and then scored five points in a row, and the Jazz stretched the gap to 16 points.
After a timeout, the Nuggets adjusted quickly, Malone let Jokic fire, and the Nuggets hit a 15-5 climax to chase down at least 6 points. But not to be outdone, Sexton hit the basket, and the latter scored five straight points. Clarkson and Markkanen also fired inside and out, and the Jazz regained an 18-point lead at halftime. In the second quarter, Clarkson and Sexton combined for 22 points, and in the second half, the Nuggets could only rely on the Joshua piecemeal, and the point difference could not be narrowed, and the Nuggets surrendered.
There were 23 turnovers on the Nuggets side of the game, their passing route was blocked, and although Jokic scored 27 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists on 8-of-9 shooting, he had a horrific 6 turnovers, which is no wonder the Nuggets lost. In addition, Pop scored 12 points, Gordon scored 12 points, and Murray made 6 of 15 shots. The Jazz were all-in, with Clarkson scoring 27 points and nine assists, Sexton 22, Markkanen 26 and Collins 15.
With their recent strength, the Jazz have a 19-20 record, just 0.5 wins away from the 18-18 Rockets in 10th place in the West. Considering the difficult schedule of the Rockets in the future, and the Jazz have recently bitten another wave of difficult schedules, I think it will not be a problem for the Jazz to overtake the Rockets and enter the play-offs in the near future. We can only say that the Rockets have really not gained much in the past few years of rebuilding, Jalen Green is still playing like a rookie in the third year, what is the upper limit Jordan, the lower limit Kobe, and now Jalen Green may not even be able to reach Clarkson's strength.
Tanhua Smith is decent, and he is indeed a big step behind Chet and Banchero. Amen Thompson, the No. 4 pick, did not perform well without a basket from the outside. The team can now get the hand of Shin Kyung, who is a rookie with the 16th pick, which shows the importance of ball quotient. And in terms of recruitment, James Harden didn't want to go, he had to take Van Jordan, and as a result, he couldn't bring the Rockets at all. In the past few seasons, the Raptors have been very well configured, with a large group of high-quality forward resources, but as a result, Van Jordan has not been able to make the playoffs, and the shooting rate has been less than 40% for many years. He can't even bring the Raptors to the playoffs, let alone the current Rockets, which are difficult for the Rockets this year.