Markus' NBA success

[Jockey]

I actually now wouldn't be surprised if he gets a solid multi-year offer in the low $millions/year to go to a younger/rebuilding team with more cap space & a shot at much more PT

Lotta minutes disappear next year with Jamal Murray coming back, but hopefully Howard has shown he can be enough of an asset.

[MU82]

Lotta minutes disappear next year with Jamal Murray coming back, but hopefully Howard has shown he can be enough of an asset.

A team with less of a logjam at guard could make Markus an offer. Every NBA team needs 3-point shooting.

[Silkk the Shaka]

A team with less of a logjam at guard could make Markus an offer. Every NBA team needs 3-point shooting.

Yes

[MU82]

Yes

Markus hasn't had as good an overall rookie year as Wes had with Utah way back when, so I doubt he'll get the kind of $$$ that Wes did from Portland, but the situation is the same.

It now would be pretty surprising if Markus wasn't on some NBA team's 15-man roster next season.

[Herman Cain]

Markus hasn't had as good an overall rookie year as Wes had with Utah way back when, so I doubt he'll get the kind of $$$ that Wes did from Portland, but the situation is the same.

It now would be pretty surprising if Markus wasn't on some NBA team's 15-man roster next season.

Markus has two chances. He can make a 15 man roster or he still has 3 years eligibility to be a 16/17 man.

He just needs to be at a place where he can get consistent minutes.

[JPG]

Markus only shooting 27% now on 3s. Had a nice streak there when they constructed some special plays to set him up for wide open catch & shoot 3s, which worked, but the defenses have caught on and are now taking a lot of those good look situations away.

[BM1090]

Markus only shooting 27% now on 3s. Had a nice streak there when they constructed some special plays to set him up for wide open catch & shoot 3s, which worked, but the defenses have caught on and are now taking a lot of those good look situations away.

This isn't true. He's shooting 58% on threes in the series and shot 43% in April. He is shooting 27% on threes overall because he struggled mightily February through April. If anything, Markus and Denver have adjusted.

[Herman Cain]

Markus has one job that is to be like Vinnie" The Microwave " Johnson , or going back even further; to become a modern day" Dowtown "Freddie Brown.

Once he went from garbage time to real minutes he has been able to demonstrate the requisite output.

M@N

[Jockey]

A team with less of a logjam at guard could make Markus an offer. Every NBA team needs 3-point shooting.

Of course, but I think the Denver coaches are starting to trust Markus. He's getting minutes in big games.

And his attitude is off the charts.

[JPG]

This isn't true. He's shooting 58% on threes in the series and shot 43% in April. He is shooting 27% on threes overall because he struggled mightily February through April. If anything, Markus and Denver have adjusted.

I'm speaking about the 3pt percentage early on in the series which was out of sight well in excess of 58%, but he's not getting the pure looks as before,  since Denver has adjusted to the 2-3 man plays that were set up for Howard, which allowed those sensational numbers.......he's now at 42% in the last 2 games (still very good), but lower than when he had those wide open looks.

[PGsHeroes32]

I'm speaking about the 3pt percentage early on in the series which was out of sight well in excess of 58%, but he's not getting the pure looks as before,  since Denver has adjusted to the 2-3 man plays that were set up for Howard, which allowed those sensational numbers.......he's now at 42% in the last 2 games (still very good), but lower than when he had those wide open looks.

Markus has had 1 bad shooting game out of 5 in this series. It was his highest volume game but it was also the one where it was a blow out and guys were just launching from all over.

Denver has actually used Markus really well in the other 4 games. Hes shooting(mostly) good shots in flow otherwise hes zigging and zagging around the half court forcing guys like Lillard to run around and follow him.

Markus is 6/10 from 3 and 9/15 overall in the 4 games he was used as a true role player off the bench.

The other game was the outlier where Denver was down a whopping 27 after 3 qtrs.

[MU82]

Markus has had 1 bad shooting game out of 5 in this series. It was his highest volume game but it was also the one where it was a blow out and guys were just launching from all over.

Denver has actually used Markus really well in the other 4 games. Hes shooting(mostly) good shots in flow otherwise hes zigging and zagging around the half court forcing guys like Lillard to run around and follow him.

Markus is 6/10 from 3 and 9/15 overall in the 4 games he was used as a true role player off the bench.

The other game was the outlier where Denver was down a whopping 27 after 3 qtrs.

Excellent data and very good point.

And almost the entirety of that 27-point deficit Denver faced in that one game came while Markus was on the bench.

[PGsHeroes32]

Excellent data and very good point.

And almost the entirety of that 27-point deficit Denver faced in that one game came while Markus was on the bench.

Yeah hes been far from a liability in his minutes this series.

5 short minutes so far tonight but the Nuggets were +2 in that stretch even though he didn't attempt a shot. Had a really nice assist though.

[Herman Cain]

Would like to see the Nuggets get a win here and win the series.

Markus would have another series then .

[Afroman]

While he didn't play a big role in the series clincher, Markus finished the six-game series +9 in 92 minutes. He scored 33 points and was 12-for-29 from the floor, including 9-for-20 from three.

[PGsHeroes32]

Accidentally posted this on the other thread

Markus rode pine today but the Nuggets closed it out and hes moving on to Round 2.

Awesome stuff.

[1SE]

While he didn't play a big role in the series clincher, Markus finished the six-game series +9 in 92 minutes. He scored 33 points and was 12-for-29 from the floor, including 9-for-20 from three.

Yeah, give the struggles he had early on this season, the fact he played as much as he did (even given the injuries) is really a testament. Hopefully he gets some good run (and makes a positive impact) in the next series too.

[1SE]

Markus getting some love

https://nugglove.com/2021/06/05/denver-nuggets-three-players-earned-roster-spot-next-season/4/

https://www.denverstiffs.com/2021/6/4/22518265/the-nuggets-didnt-have-anything-to-prove-and-they-proved-it-anyway

[MU82]

Markus getting some love

https://nugglove.com/2021/06/05/denver-nuggets-three-players-earned-roster-spot-next-season/4/

https://www.denverstiffs.com/2021/6/4/22518265/the-nuggets-didnt-have-anything-to-prove-and-they-proved-it-anyway

The writer of the first article assumes, perhaps erroneously, that the best Howard might be able to get is another two-way contract. If he continues to play as he has, it's very possible that a team (maybe even the Nuggets) would give him a "real" contract for next season.

Ya gotta love this from the second article (unless you're one of Scoop's few Markus-haters):

Markus Howard was a two-way rookie contract this year, and at 5'10" was always going to be at a major disadvantage in the NBA. Imagine the surprise when he was in the playoff rotation for the Nuggets after barely playing all season, shooting 9-of-20 from three in his 92 playoff minutes and giving the Nuggets a proper spark off the bench. A great story

Agree - a great story!

[1SE]

Good to see Markus get some meaningful minutes again and hit a nice 3 in the first half and I think held his ground defensively (except for silly touch foul on Jae's 4 pt play). Frankly I thought they should have put the second unit back in in the latter part of the 3rd quarter - all of them, but Jokic in particular, were looking flat - I think they could have used a bit of instant O. Hopefully the Nuggets can stretch out the series and get him some more court time.

[lawdog77]

He didnt close out fast enough on the first three he gave up, then closed badly on Jae. Aside from that, I thought he played well. In fact, once he hit the three, I thought Monte and Millsap missed him a few times for some wide open threes. I thought he had a chance to go into Markus mode. Now, I'll take my Markus glasses off.

[PGsHeroes32]

Good to see Markus get some meaningful minutes again and hit a nice 3 in the first half and I think held his ground defensively (except for silly touch foul on Jae's 4 pt play). Frankly I thought they should have put the second unit back in in the latter part of the 3rd quarter - all of them, but Jokic in particular, were looking flat - I think they could have used a bit of instant O. Hopefully the Nuggets can stretch out the series and get him some more court time.

Nuggets definitely needed to switch it up a bit in the 3rd. The just let the same guys keep getting boat raced.

[1SE]

Some pretty positive words for Markus from Tim Connelly

Another young player who stood out, especially towards the end of the season and the playoffs, was Markus Howard. Although the former Marquette star was the Big East's all-time leader in scoring, there weren't many expectations for him as he came on to the Nuggets as an undrafted free agent. In the last two weeks of the season and the playoffs, Howard proved his scoring touch can translate into the NBA. The 22-year-old averaged 14.2 points per game in the final five games of the regular season, shooting 44.4 percent from three during that stretch. He also managed to contribute sparingly in the playoffs, shooting 42.3 percent from three and averaging 4.7 points in 12.4 minutes per game.

"Markus was great, I thought he was fantastic," Connelly said. "His mental toughness was off the charts – to be thrown into the fire and produce like he did. So expect him to continue to improve...It wasn't by accident that he was the all-time leading scorer in the Big East."

"He was great and provided huge offensive boosts when we were really struggling in that Portland series. So, he's a guy who we think has several more years to reach and we're hopeful and excited to see how he reaches those years.""

https://www.nba.com/nuggets/news/connelly-eos-presser-20210618

[MU82]

Some pretty positive words for Markus from Tim Connelly

Another young player who stood out, especially towards the end of the season and the playoffs, was Markus Howard. Although the former Marquette star was the Big East's all-time leader in scoring, there weren't many expectations for him as he came on to the Nuggets as an undrafted free agent. In the last two weeks of the season and the playoffs, Howard proved his scoring touch can translate into the NBA. The 22-year-old averaged 14.2 points per game in the final five games of the regular season, shooting 44.4 percent from three during that stretch. He also managed to contribute sparingly in the playoffs, shooting 42.3 percent from three and averaging 4.7 points in 12.4 minutes per game.

"Markus was great, I thought he was fantastic," Connelly said. "His mental toughness was off the charts – to be thrown into the fire and produce like he did. So expect him to continue to improve...It wasn't by accident that he was the all-time leading scorer in the Big East."

"He was great and provided huge offensive boosts when we were really struggling in that Portland series. So, he's a guy who we think has several more years to reach and we're hopeful and excited to see how he reaches those years.""

https://www.nba.com/nuggets/news/connelly-eos-presser-20210618

Love hearing this about our all-time scoring leader. Thanks for posting.

[Herman Cain]

Some pretty positive words for Markus from Tim Connelly

Another young player who stood out, especially towards the end of the season and the playoffs, was Markus Howard. Although the former Marquette star was the Big East's all-time leader in scoring, there weren't many expectations for him as he came on to the Nuggets as an undrafted free agent. In the last two weeks of the season and the playoffs, Howard proved his scoring touch can translate into the NBA. The 22-year-old averaged 14.2 points per game in the final five games of the regular season, shooting 44.4 percent from three during that stretch. He also managed to contribute sparingly in the playoffs, shooting 42.3 percent from three and averaging 4.7 points in 12.4 minutes per game.

"Markus was great, I thought he was fantastic," Connelly said. "His mental toughness was off the charts – to be thrown into the fire and produce like he did. So expect him to continue to improve...It wasn't by accident that he was the all-time leading scorer in the Big East."

"He was great and provided huge offensive boosts when we were really struggling in that Portland series. So, he's a guy who we think has several more years to reach and we're hopeful and excited to see how he reaches those years.""

https://www.nba.com/nuggets/news/connelly-eos-presser-20210618

This is an excellent end of season review from Markus by his ultimate boss. Looks like he will be on the team for multiple years .

It really helps  MU on the recruiting front to have another guy in the Association .