It's Jokmas!

What if an unofficial holiday could encapsulate the brilliance of a singular athlete? As we celebrate "Jokmas," we reflect on Nikola Jokic's transformative influence on the Denver Nuggets. It's been a turbulent ride with thrilling peaks and disheartening troughs, highlighted by the palpable tension during their clash with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jamal Murray's visible discord with Aaron Gordon raised eyebrows, and the subsequent shocking defeat to the Washington Wizards amplified calls for change. Could leadership shifts or roster tweaks be the key to unleashing the Nuggets' full potential? This episode grapples with the team's internal dynamics and their impact on the court.

Yet, amidst the drama, hope emerges as Jamal Murray's demeanor takes a turn for the better. A pivotal moment against the Clippers offered a glimpse of rejuvenation, with Murray engaging warmly with teammates, igniting optimism for the Nuggets' playoff prospects. As we navigate this rollercoaster, our heartfelt thanks go to our loyal listeners who've stood by us, sharing in the Nuggets' journey. This festive season, we extend our gratitude and joy to our dedicated community, wishing everyone a Merry Jokmas and a Merry Christmas, celebrating the highs and lows of fandom together.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:05):
All right, everyone, welcome back to Fandom From Afar
and Merry Yokemas.
If you're listening to this, onSunday, december 15th, it is
Yokemas and I am ready to talksome Nuggets basketball with
y'all, so let's get started.
For those of you who don't knowwhat that is, it is the fake

(00:26):
holiday that Nuggets fanscelebrate From 2016, when Jokic
was inserted into the startinglineup and changed the franchise
history forever and truthfullychanged NBA history forever.
So we like to celebrate Jokemasaround here and I hope you do

(00:47):
as well.
Stop me if you've heard thisone before.
It has been a roller coasterride for the Nuggets since we
last recorded.
I don't know.
They're just so inconsistentand I know I've mentioned that
that's part of the joy offollowing a team throughout the
entire season is being able tosee the ups and downs and and

(01:11):
really appreciate the good withthe bad.
But, man, this team isfrustrating at times and we'll
go over some of the details, butuh, it's uh, this.
This beginning of the seasonhas been full of ups and downs
and a nice little winning streakwould be nice.
Is that too much to ask for?
So let's go over the game sincewe've last recorded and a lot

(01:35):
has happened and it's going tobe an exciting last couple weeks
of 2024.
So since we last recorded, wegot destroyed by the Knicks.
It was not even close.
The Nuggets didn't look likethey wanted to be there, it was
a whooping.
Then, of course, they beat theJazz, then they lost to the

(01:55):
Clippers.
Up and down, up and down theybeat the Warriors and then they
lost to the Cavs.
But I want to focus on theCavs' loss a little bit because
I think this started what couldbe one of the most important
couple days in the Nuggets'season.
The Cavs were up by quite a bit.

(02:18):
The Nuggets made a little bitof a run in the fourth quarter
and Aaron Gordon got fouled andwanted us to like huddle up with
the team really quick and hewas calling the guys over and
Jamal Murray kind of waved himoff and was not interested in
being part of the team huddle.

(02:39):
And obviously we've talked aboutJamal quite a bit on this
podcast and how he just lookseither checked out or
disinterested or just kind ofhas a bad attitude, and this was
maybe the most public displayof that and it was obviously
very disappointing.

(02:59):
Even Aaron Gordon when ithappened, kind of you could see
the frustration on his face andhe kind of was like whatever,
whatever man and I don't know ifaltitude sports meant to do
this, but they immediately cutto Jokic at the exact right
moment when that happened andyou could, you could kind of see
Jokic just take a deep breathand just just you just wonder

(03:22):
what's going through his head,like I can't believe this is
happening, and you just wonderwhat's going through his head,
like I can't believe this ishappening.
The same guys that were thecore of a championship squad now
don't even want to talk to eachother during a game, and so
this was obviously veryworrisome.
Jamal has had a rough season.

(03:42):
I've talked about it many timeson this podcast.
I think he's kind of in hishead.
He might be dealing withinjuries.
It seems like anything that cango wrong for Jamal has gone
wrong this year and he'sstruggling.
This Cavs loss and then whathappened next really was a low

(04:04):
moment for Jamal, and so what Imean by that is Jamal after the
Cavs game was then ruled out forthe Wizards game, and so he
wasn't even on the bench forthat game, and the Nuggets had
one of their lowest moments ofthe Jokic era.
The Wizards were on a 16-gamelosing streak and during that

(04:29):
16-game losing streak they hadlost by an average of 19 points.
So not only had they lost 16games in a row, but they were
getting blown out by teams andon top of that, they were
missing some of their betterplayers against the Nuggets.
So the Nuggets should have wonby 40.
If you already know, you knowwhere I'm going.

(04:52):
The Nuggets lost.
Not only did they lose, butJokic had one of the best games
in his career.
It was a career high in points,but probably one of the best
games in NBA history.
But he was the only Nugget thatcame to play.
Jokic finished with 56 points,16 rebounds and 8 assists, but

(05:19):
really none of the other Nuggetslooked like they wanted to be
there again.
They have a bad habit of justthinking that Jokic will do
everything and he can, but thisgame just showed that even
against a terrible, terribleteam, jokic can have an amazing
game, but if his teammates arejust standing around and missing

(05:40):
shots and not playing anydefense at all, they're going to
lose to the worst team in theNBA.
So this was a disaster, really.
Just like I said, it could notget any worse.
At this point.
Jokic was visibly frustrated.

(06:01):
Even after the game.
He had a quote of saying likeback in my home country, if a
team plays like this, they willget fined or lose their starting
position.
And Jokic never calls teammatesout like that, and he may have
been referring to himself aswell, like he probably thought
that he could do more because heknows there's no reason why

(06:22):
they should have lost to thewizards.
But Jokic, it was panic timepretty much for the fans, for
the Nuggets media, really forthe national media as well, and
I don't know.
Something was wrong.
The connectivity of the team.
They look like they don't enjoyplaying basketball together,

(06:45):
they don't enjoy being aroundeach other, and that's obviously
an issue, and so something hadto change.
So, um, the media, the fans onsocial media, were saying how
the nuggets cannot wasteyokich's career with teammates
that don't even want to be outthere.
So do they fire him alone?

(07:06):
Has he kind of lost his touchwith with the team?
Do they fire Calvin Booth, whoput the team together, or both?
Do they trade everyone exceptfor Jokic and try and start over
?
All possibilities were on thetable and I think, luckily, the
Nuggets had a game within 24hours.

(07:28):
They had a back-to-back inAtlanta and so it was good that
this panic wasn't able to extendfor a day or two longer.
Just because I would includemyself, nuggets fans and media
we were kind of freaking outbecause that Wizards loss was
that bad.
So they did have the game inAtlanta and it was really going

(07:55):
into the game.
We knew it was going to be aturning point.
If the Nuggets responded great,if they played like they did in
Washington, then major changeswere going to happen, like I I I
told my wife, if the Nuggetslose this game, I would not be
surprised if Coach Malone getsfired on the way home.

(08:16):
I bet there would be majortrades.
It could have been anything.
Luckily, the Nuggets did respond.
They played a great team game.
Jokic had 48, 14 rebounds andeight assists, so back-to-back
games within 24 hours.
He just had two absolutelyamazing games.

(08:37):
But it was the fact that histeammates actually came to play.
Jamal Murray was out again andI don't know.
Michael Porter Jr stepped up.
Really, a lot of the bench guysstepped up.
It was a sign that something isin there with this team and
they can do it, because theHawks were actually one of the

(08:58):
hottest teams in the NBA.
They had won six in a row.
It was in Atlanta, where theHawks always play really well,
and it just showed that when theNuggets put their mind to it,
they can play really welltogether, which is so
frustrating all these otherlosses that they've had this
season because it's clearlyshowing that they're just not
focused or they're not puttingin the effort.

(09:18):
But in Atlanta they did, and soobviously nobody got fired,
nobody got traded.
But the bad part is they hadthe next five days off and you
just wonder was this a one-timething?
They just wanted to show okay,hey, we can do this, and they

(09:39):
proved it in Atlanta.
But now, with five days off,are they going to lose that
momentum?
Are they going to fall backinto those bad habits?
The Nuggets have had a couplestretches this season already
where they've had extended timeoff with a couple days in
between games, and they've lostevery single game coming out of
that rest.
I think they're a rhythm team.
They like to play every otherday or so and have that rhythm

(10:02):
together.
But they came out against theClippers and played really well.
So that is an official two-gamewinning streak.
So that's exciting, but theyplayed well.
The most important thing isJamal.
He was back and he played great.
Jokic was actually just okayduring the game.

(10:23):
He did not put up big stats, hewas just kind of there and I
don't think it was necessarilyan accident.
I think Jokic wanted to see ifthe other guys could step up and
they did.
Like I said, jamal was great,aaron Gordon was back and he
played really well and RussellWestbrook just was pure energy.

(10:46):
He was flying around, some ofthat good, some of that bad.
He had some turnovers, but Ithink that energy is what we
were hoping that he would bringand I think it rubs off on other
guys because Christian Brownand Peyton Watson fed off of
that and they all three had thecrowd just so pumped up and I
think the crowd was so excitedto see Jamal actually hitting
shots.
And it was a good team win andshows that the Nuggets do not

(11:11):
need Jokic to score 50 pointsevery game.
They don't need him to have 20rebounds.
They don't need him to have 10assists every game.
The other guys can fill inthose gaps and I'm sure Jokic
absolutely loved it and it wasjust great to see the Nuggets
win as a team.
It's really been impossible topredict what the Nuggets are

(11:34):
going to do, but but it's greatto see that they have this in
them and that there is stillhope that this team can do some
damage when it comes to theplayoffs.
But it is just so frustratingthat the inconsistency is always
there.
You just never know whichNuggets team is going to show up

(11:55):
from night to night.
So if I had one wish this yokemiss, it would be that jamal
murray just finds some joy inbasketball again, and by that I
just mean that it just seemslike the weight of the world has
been on jamal and obviouslyhe's brought that upon himself

(12:15):
by his performance and the wayhe performed in the playoffs
last year.
But there was a small moment inthe Clippers game that has given
me hope, and it's not thatJamal played really well, it's
not that Jamal looked somewhatquick again, and it's amazing

(12:41):
how fast it comes and goes withJamal, because in that Cleveland
game he looked like he waswearing concrete shoes, like he
could not move.
Uh, there was a particular playwhere uh Jamal got switched out
and he had uh George's Yangguarding him, who's one of the
slowest players in the NBA, andJamal was trying all his
crossovers and glitch shots andeverything like that and he

(13:03):
could not get around him.
The old Jamal should have beenable to get around him with
absolutely ease and Jamal justcould not get around him.
And I just remember thinking,oh no, that is bad.
But in the Clippers game he wasquick again.
He had a nice acrobatic layup.
I know I've been commenting onJamal's arms quite a bit, but he

(13:27):
looks like he's been workingout.
He's looking thin.
I think I even saw a little bitof a tricep muscle which I
don't remember ever seeing onJamal Murray.
So I think he's been putting inthe work and getting in shape
and that's exciting.
But that small moment that I wastalking about for the Clippers
game it was during the timeout.
The Nuggets were up by a goodamount so I think they kind of

(13:49):
felt confident in the game.
But Altitude Sports was showingthe Nuggets huddle and Ryan
Saunders, one of the assistantcoaches for the Nuggets, was
drawing up a play and justtalking about defense and Jamal
Murray, deandre Jordan andRussell Westbrook were sitting
directly in front of him and I'mnot sure what Coach Saunders

(14:10):
said, but almost immediately allthree guys threw their towels
at the coach and were just kindof having a good time and they
were just cracking up, laughingand everything.
And this was big to me.
Well, it's kind of ironic thatI loved the fact that Jamal
Murray threw a towel,considering I gave him such a
hard time for throwing that icepack in the playoffs last season

(14:32):
.
But I loved this moment, thismoment.
I haven't seen Jamal smile insuch a long time.
It was so nice to see himcracking up with his teammates,
having a positive interactionwith his assistant coach and
just it looked like the oldJamal again and I think I know
that's a small moment, but Ithink maybe he's kind of come

(14:54):
over the hump and he's kind offinding that old Jamal again.
And really this season it allcomes down to Jamal.
We can't trade him.
He is our point guard for thisyear and I really hope that the
Jamal that we saw in theClippers game is going to be the
Jamal that we have the rest ofthe year.

(15:14):
Before I go, I did just want tothank all the listeners.
If you've taken time to listento any or all of my episodes, I
really appreciate it.
I got the report from mypodcast host and saw that my
podcast has grown this year andI really appreciate if you
listen and if you've told any ofyour family or friends about

(15:36):
this, if they're a Nuggets fan.
That is the best way for me tocontinue growing and I love
doing this and I appreciate youlistening right now and I wish
you a Merry Yokemas and a MerryChristmas.