Refs really bailed out Jokic when Dwight was covering him in the 4th There was like literally no contact outside of Jokic throwing his body into Dwight
There was one foul where Howard had his hands up and was moving away from Jokic. Got tagged for it. They did not allow him to play rugby in the paint like he always does...
Nuggets whined about game 1 calls, Jokic in foul trouble, game 2 Dwight gets all the whistles, so predictable. Refs need to just let players play, it’s the playoffs.
But for context sake, we're lucky Dwight bested him in game one and will again this series. This is a guy who had a foot out the door of the league on a non guaranteed deal and is only here because Boogie got hurt. The other is the team's franchise player yet to enter his prime and some are already calling him the best passing big ever.
Dwight is a huge asset in this Series to wear down & frustrate Jokic.. Just don't put him in to close the game again Frank.. Unless we're up 20.
I agree hes very valuable to us thats why I want more gm.1 Howard, Gm 2 version seems to have gotten frustrated and overly aggressive and Jokic used it to his advantage
They used to call Dwight soft. Now, he's the NBA's biggest bully and enforcer. Best part about that is that it is exactly what we need. Dwight made and earned his money. He understands that his role is to be a pest and commit hard fouls to throw the opponents off their game. It reminds me of what Shaq used to do... if they come hard into the lane, make them pay and foul them hard. I love this new Dwight... Old Dwight was an absolute force but this Dwight is much more like-able. I hope we can grab a couple of rings for Dwight.
I'm not even sure it's Dwight that changed. I think it's the league and the young players that changed. Dwight looks like the same old Dwight with a better attitude... but the league is so unbelievably soft these days that his regular play is now seen as "bullying & enforcing". I love what he brings to our team, but it's kinda sad that his brand of basketball, which IMO is as normal for a big man as it gets, is suddenly seen as tough. I guess old school centers would probably get suspended multiple games for what they used to do under the basket.
lol, like jamal murray is the silent assassin. if it motivates dwight to bring it, i'm all for it. denver's the underdog and gets to play the "nobody believes in us" card and take the fight to goliath. you can't just sit back for it.
While I believe there is some truth to what you are saying, this is a mature Dwight who has been humbled by rejection around the league, and accepts that as his athleticism and status in the league has declined, he has to shut up, work hard and affect games in whatever way he still can. Would a younger Dwight have handled not getting the minutes in the Rocket series? It seems like Dwight saw the bigger picture, and then when he could return, took it out on the Nuggets.
^ No. But I did mention his attitude is better. I was really talking about his physicality and being an enforcer.
There has been a huge change since the Malice in the Palace and it's been heading downward since. Players today just have very little incentive to have to fight with the amount of $ they are getting paid and the endorsements that they can lose if they act like a wacko out there. There has been a mentality change with Dwight, IMO. He used to be bothered by whether people liked him. Kobe said that Dwight was always worried about what people thought of him and wanted to make them love him. This Dwight does not care about anyone out there other than his teammates.