November 28, 2025 • 11 mins
We recap a 13-4 start that swings from a statement win in Houston to puzzling losses against the Bulls and Kings, then pull real lessons from injuries, depth minutes, and Cam Johnson’s heating up. Predictions, corrections, and a reading rec keep us honest and curious.
• key wins over Timberwolves and Rockets
• costly injuries to Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun
• Peyton Watson’s leap in minutes and impact
• Spencer Jones and Zeke Nnaji evaluation window
• Cam Johnson’s shooting return and spacing effect
• NBA Cup path with a must-win vs Spurs
• honest review of missed predictions
• book recommendation: Why So Serious by Mike Singer
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:04):
Alright everyone, welcome back to Fandom from
Afar.
It's been an interesting coupleweeks for the Nuggets, and uh
we're gonna go over all thattoday.
Kind of do a quick review of thegames, uh look at some trends
from the past couple weeks, andthen of course go over some uh
some new predictions and go oversome things that I got wrong.
So should be a good time.
(00:25):
Let's jump right into it.
The first game after the lastepisode was a big game against
the T-Wolves.
They had all their playershealthy, and the Nuggets have
kind of turned the tables.
They are two and over Minnesotanow, and both games coming in
Minnesota, so that could be anadvantage for later on in the
season.
(00:45):
Next up, the Chicago Bulls.
We called it.
We knew the Nuggets were gonnalose one of these games to a
team that they had no businesslosing to.
And in this case, Javon Carterwas on fire, and the Nugg took
the loss.
Next up was the Pelicans, Zionwas back.
(01:06):
It didn't matter.
Jokic had a triple-double,Nuggets won somewhat easily.
The biggest game of the year sofar.
The Nuggets took on the Rocketsin Houston, and Nuggets got the
win.
It didn't come without a cost.
AG got hurt, he is out for sixweeks, and that is going to be
(01:29):
painful.
But for that one night, Nuggetsare good, gotta win.
And then losing to the Bullswasn't enough.
The Nuggets had a frustratingloss to the Kings.
The Nuggets had no energy.
Russell Westbrook was playingamazing, and Nuggets took the
loss, so not ideal.
(01:51):
And then most recently, we hadnot an easy win against the
Grizzlies, but a win is a win.
And Jokic gave us two greathighlights with his third
quarter buzzer beater from halfcourt, and then one of the best
passes of his career with aspinning bounce, no look pass to
Peyton Watson.
(02:12):
So fun game overall.
13-4 is our overall record.
You really can't complain aboutthat.
As I mentioned last episode, theNuggets have had some close
calls in these games thatthey've lost.
They really could have an evenbetter record, but I'll take
13-4 all day.
So let's look at some trendsfrom the past two weeks.
(02:34):
And Thursday was Thanksgiving.
So I thought we'd spin theseinto what I'm thankful for.
So the first thing I'm thankfulfor for the Nuggets is injuries.
Like I told you, I'm trying tospin this positive.
So the positive aspects of theinjuries so far, and if you
(02:56):
haven't seen the injuries, arefor Christian Brown and Aaron
Gordon.
Both players are out for sixweeks, so we are down two
starters.
And the positive is it is earlyin the season, so they have
plenty of time to come back.
Once they come back, there'll beplenty of time to get back in
shape, integrate with the teamagain, build that chemistry.
(03:18):
So it is early, and that's good.
Now, one other bright spot is itgives an opportunity for Peyton
Watson to step in.
He really could step in foreither player, but right now
he's stepping in for ChristianBrown, and he's been playing
amazing.
He's scoring more than he's everscored before.
(03:39):
He looks very comfortableshooting the three-point shot
right now, and he's rebounding.
I like the way P Watts playing.
Now, if you remember in ourpreseason episodes, he did not
get signed to a contractextension, so he is probably
extra motivated to takeadvantage of this opportunity,
and he is showing what he cando.
(04:01):
Now, whether that leads to a bigcontract from another team this
offseason, we'll have to waitand see.
The Nuggets will have the rightto match whatever contract he
signs, but obviously, with howexpensive their roster is
already, I don't know if they'llbe able to afford to do that.
So Peewat has really stepped upin this opportunity.
Another person that's had achance to play a little bit more
(04:23):
with the AG injury is SpencerJones.
Spencer's an interesting player.
He is extremely physical.
And in the last episode, Imentioned that Bruce Brown is
setting that tone forphysicality so that the referees
won't call it every time.
Well, Spencer does not have thatrespect yet.
He sets the tone forphysicality, and it seems like
(04:45):
he gets two fouls almostinstantly every game, but he is
a solid defender.
He's got a funky looking shot,but it goes in, and I like him.
For a two-way player, you reallycan't ask for more.
So Spencer's getting anopportunity, and then even Zeke
is getting an opportunity toplay a little bit more.
So hopefully he can have somepositive minutes and maybe
(05:10):
rebuild his trade value a littlebit.
Because what have we been sayingfor the past two years?
We would love to trade ZekeNajee.
He is far underplayed the valueof how much we're paying him.
And I think we could get someoneso much better for that amount
of money.
So if Zeke can somehow have ahot couple weeks and we can
(05:31):
trick someone into trading forhim, that would be wonderful.
And last, Cam Johnson's gettingan opportunity down two
starters.
It's really up to him to step upa little bit.
And we'll go over this a littlebit more later, but he really
has stepped up.
And so Cam Johnson, even thoughit's not necessarily more
(05:51):
playing time for him, his rolehas increased, and so far he has
really filled that roletremendously.
Well, let's just go right intoCam.
Cam can shoot.
Now we've talked in our last fewepisodes that he's been doing
everything right except makingshots.
Well, lately, he's been makingshots.
(06:14):
He sat out one game with like astrain in his arm, and it was
really only the one game hemissed.
He came back and now all of asudden is just on fire.
He's still doing all theintangibles that he was doing
earlier, but now he's making theopen shots, and he's been having
some great games recently, and Ijust love it.
(06:34):
This is the Cam Johnson that wewere expecting, and so if this
continues and the other guyscome back healthy, then again,
the Nuggets will be a force.
And the third thing I amthankful for is just being a
Denver sports fan.
I can't remember a time when theNuggets, the Broncos, and the
(06:56):
Avalanche were all this good atthe same time.
The Nuggets, obviously, secondin the West, definitely one of
the title favorites.
The Broncos are leading the AFCWest with one of the best
records in the AFC.
And with their defense, they aredefinitely a Super Bowl
contender.
And then there's the Avalanche.
They've only lost once all year.
(07:19):
They are running away with thebest record in the NHL, and they
look like they're unstoppable.
So let's appreciate it while wehave it now because who knows
what's going to happen the restof the season for all three
teams.
But right now it is certainlyfun.
Well, let's get into somepredictions for the next two
(07:40):
weeks.
These predictions, as always,are guaranteed to be right or
wrong.
We'll see.
But they're guaranteed to besomething.
And my prediction is the Nuggetswill win their game Friday
night.
And what does that mean?
That means that they win theirgroup for the NBA Cup.
Now, the Nuggets, the first twoyears of the Cup, have not
(08:03):
advanced to the knockout rounds.
Obviously, the Nuggets, aveteran team, doesn't really
care that much about it.
But this year, they've beenwinning the right games, and
with a win against the Spurs onFriday, they will be in the
knockout round.
I believe it's in Vegas, andwe'll see what happens.
You never know.
Like the Bucks and Lakers havewon it the past couple years, so
(08:27):
it didn't really mean playoffsuccess, but hey, if there's
something to win, you might aswell win it.
So my prediction is the Nuggetswill beat the Spurs and they
will get to go play in theknockout round for the NBA Cup.
One more prediction.
I think the Nuggets will haveanother game just like they did
(08:47):
against the Bulls and the Kings,where they will lose to a
terrible team that they have nobusiness losing to.
So upcoming, we are playing boththe Pacers and the Hornets.
You would think that we wouldblow both those teams out, but I
just have a feeling there'sthere's going to be a tough
night in there somewhere.
Alright.
(09:08):
Everybody's favorite section.
What did I get wrong lastepisode?
Well, there's a few things.
I predicted that the Nuggetswould go four and two.
Oh, I'm sorry, I predicted theywould go five and one, and they
went four and two.
So I was close, but that doesnot count.
That was definitely wrong.
I did, however, predict thatthey would lose to either the
(09:28):
Kings or the Bulls, and theNuggets doubled down and lost to
both of them.
Now I was wrong as well.
I was not too worried about theinjuries to both Christian Brown
and Cam Johnson.
And obviously, Christian is outfor six weeks.
That is a big loss.
But like I said, Cam has kind ofreset himself from his injury
(09:49):
and is back and playing well.
Unfortunately, AG replaced himon my worry scale, and AG is out
for six weeks as well.
So we will see.
We will see if if those guys wespoke about earlier can step up
and really hopefully it's avaluable experience for some of
these young guys.
Alright, ways to be a betterfan.
(10:10):
As always, I always want to havea recommendation for anyone that
listens to this to become abetter basketball fan.
And I just finished the NikolaJokic book by Mike Singer called
Why So Serious.
It took me forever.
I just, it was my own fault.
I really enjoyed the bookthroughout.
It was just a matter of mesitting down to actually read
(10:32):
it.
And I really enjoyed it.
Like a lot of the stories I hadheard before, but Mike found
some interesting angles or justinterviews with some of the
players to get a little bit moredetail in there from some of
those stories.
It's it's it covers Jokic'swhole career up to this point.
So I really enjoyed some of thestuff from when he was a boy to
(10:54):
a young man to a teenager toreally growing up in Serbia.
I thought that part was justreally interesting.
And then some of thebehind-the-scenes stuff from
when he has been a DenverNugget, I just thought it was
incredible.
He he he got quite a few peopleto talk to him for this book,
and I I really enjoyed it.
So if you are a Nuggets or aJokic fan at all and have not
(11:18):
read Why So Serious, I stronglyrecommend it.
Well, I hope everyone had afantastic Thanksgiving and you
are still eating leftovers.
There's so much good sports towatch this weekend, and I hope
you're doing that and spendingsome good quality time with the
family.
We have another interestingcouple weeks for the Nuggets
(11:40):
coming up, and I will be rightback here to review it and go
nuts.
Alright everyone, welcome back to Fandom from
Afar.
It's been an interesting coupleweeks for the Nuggets, and uh
we're gonna go over all thattoday.
Kind of do a quick review of thegames, uh look at some trends
from the past couple weeks, andthen of course go over some uh
some new predictions and go oversome things that I got wrong.
So should be a good time.
(00:25):
Let's jump right into it.
The first game after the lastepisode was a big game against
the T-Wolves.
They had all their playershealthy, and the Nuggets have
kind of turned the tables.
They are two and over Minnesotanow, and both games coming in
Minnesota, so that could be anadvantage for later on in the
season.
(00:45):
Next up, the Chicago Bulls.
We called it.
We knew the Nuggets were gonnalose one of these games to a
team that they had no businesslosing to.
And in this case, Javon Carterwas on fire, and the Nugg took
the loss.
Next up was the Pelicans, Zionwas back.
(01:06):
It didn't matter.
Jokic had a triple-double,Nuggets won somewhat easily.
The biggest game of the year sofar.
The Nuggets took on the Rocketsin Houston, and Nuggets got the
win.
It didn't come without a cost.
AG got hurt, he is out for sixweeks, and that is going to be
(01:29):
painful.
But for that one night, Nuggetsare good, gotta win.
And then losing to the Bullswasn't enough.
The Nuggets had a frustratingloss to the Kings.
The Nuggets had no energy.
Russell Westbrook was playingamazing, and Nuggets took the
loss, so not ideal.
(01:51):
And then most recently, we hadnot an easy win against the
Grizzlies, but a win is a win.
And Jokic gave us two greathighlights with his third
quarter buzzer beater from halfcourt, and then one of the best
passes of his career with aspinning bounce, no look pass to
Peyton Watson.
(02:12):
So fun game overall.
13-4 is our overall record.
You really can't complain aboutthat.
As I mentioned last episode, theNuggets have had some close
calls in these games thatthey've lost.
They really could have an evenbetter record, but I'll take
13-4 all day.
So let's look at some trendsfrom the past two weeks.
(02:34):
And Thursday was Thanksgiving.
So I thought we'd spin theseinto what I'm thankful for.
So the first thing I'm thankfulfor for the Nuggets is injuries.
Like I told you, I'm trying tospin this positive.
So the positive aspects of theinjuries so far, and if you
(02:56):
haven't seen the injuries, arefor Christian Brown and Aaron
Gordon.
Both players are out for sixweeks, so we are down two
starters.
And the positive is it is earlyin the season, so they have
plenty of time to come back.
Once they come back, there'll beplenty of time to get back in
shape, integrate with the teamagain, build that chemistry.
(03:18):
So it is early, and that's good.
Now, one other bright spot is itgives an opportunity for Peyton
Watson to step in.
He really could step in foreither player, but right now
he's stepping in for ChristianBrown, and he's been playing
amazing.
He's scoring more than he's everscored before.
(03:39):
He looks very comfortableshooting the three-point shot
right now, and he's rebounding.
I like the way P Watts playing.
Now, if you remember in ourpreseason episodes, he did not
get signed to a contractextension, so he is probably
extra motivated to takeadvantage of this opportunity,
and he is showing what he cando.
(04:01):
Now, whether that leads to a bigcontract from another team this
offseason, we'll have to waitand see.
The Nuggets will have the rightto match whatever contract he
signs, but obviously, with howexpensive their roster is
already, I don't know if they'llbe able to afford to do that.
So Peewat has really stepped upin this opportunity.
Another person that's had achance to play a little bit more
(04:23):
with the AG injury is SpencerJones.
Spencer's an interesting player.
He is extremely physical.
And in the last episode, Imentioned that Bruce Brown is
setting that tone forphysicality so that the referees
won't call it every time.
Well, Spencer does not have thatrespect yet.
He sets the tone forphysicality, and it seems like
(04:45):
he gets two fouls almostinstantly every game, but he is
a solid defender.
He's got a funky looking shot,but it goes in, and I like him.
For a two-way player, you reallycan't ask for more.
So Spencer's getting anopportunity, and then even Zeke
is getting an opportunity toplay a little bit more.
So hopefully he can have somepositive minutes and maybe
(05:10):
rebuild his trade value a littlebit.
Because what have we been sayingfor the past two years?
We would love to trade ZekeNajee.
He is far underplayed the valueof how much we're paying him.
And I think we could get someoneso much better for that amount
of money.
So if Zeke can somehow have ahot couple weeks and we can
(05:31):
trick someone into trading forhim, that would be wonderful.
And last, Cam Johnson's gettingan opportunity down two
starters.
It's really up to him to step upa little bit.
And we'll go over this a littlebit more later, but he really
has stepped up.
And so Cam Johnson, even thoughit's not necessarily more
(05:51):
playing time for him, his rolehas increased, and so far he has
really filled that roletremendously.
Well, let's just go right intoCam.
Cam can shoot.
Now we've talked in our last fewepisodes that he's been doing
everything right except makingshots.
Well, lately, he's been makingshots.
(06:14):
He sat out one game with like astrain in his arm, and it was
really only the one game hemissed.
He came back and now all of asudden is just on fire.
He's still doing all theintangibles that he was doing
earlier, but now he's making theopen shots, and he's been having
some great games recently, and Ijust love it.
(06:34):
This is the Cam Johnson that wewere expecting, and so if this
continues and the other guyscome back healthy, then again,
the Nuggets will be a force.
And the third thing I amthankful for is just being a
Denver sports fan.
I can't remember a time when theNuggets, the Broncos, and the
(06:56):
Avalanche were all this good atthe same time.
The Nuggets, obviously, secondin the West, definitely one of
the title favorites.
The Broncos are leading the AFCWest with one of the best
records in the AFC.
And with their defense, they aredefinitely a Super Bowl
contender.
And then there's the Avalanche.
They've only lost once all year.
(07:19):
They are running away with thebest record in the NHL, and they
look like they're unstoppable.
So let's appreciate it while wehave it now because who knows
what's going to happen the restof the season for all three
teams.
But right now it is certainlyfun.
Well, let's get into somepredictions for the next two
(07:40):
weeks.
These predictions, as always,are guaranteed to be right or
wrong.
We'll see.
But they're guaranteed to besomething.
And my prediction is the Nuggetswill win their game Friday
night.
And what does that mean?
That means that they win theirgroup for the NBA Cup.
Now, the Nuggets, the first twoyears of the Cup, have not
(08:03):
advanced to the knockout rounds.
Obviously, the Nuggets, aveteran team, doesn't really
care that much about it.
But this year, they've beenwinning the right games, and
with a win against the Spurs onFriday, they will be in the
knockout round.
I believe it's in Vegas, andwe'll see what happens.
You never know.
Like the Bucks and Lakers havewon it the past couple years, so
(08:27):
it didn't really mean playoffsuccess, but hey, if there's
something to win, you might aswell win it.
So my prediction is the Nuggetswill beat the Spurs and they
will get to go play in theknockout round for the NBA Cup.
One more prediction.
I think the Nuggets will haveanother game just like they did
(08:47):
against the Bulls and the Kings,where they will lose to a
terrible team that they have nobusiness losing to.
So upcoming, we are playing boththe Pacers and the Hornets.
You would think that we wouldblow both those teams out, but I
just have a feeling there'sthere's going to be a tough
night in there somewhere.
Alright.
(09:08):
Everybody's favorite section.
What did I get wrong lastepisode?
Well, there's a few things.
I predicted that the Nuggetswould go four and two.
Oh, I'm sorry, I predicted theywould go five and one, and they
went four and two.
So I was close, but that doesnot count.
That was definitely wrong.
I did, however, predict thatthey would lose to either the
(09:28):
Kings or the Bulls, and theNuggets doubled down and lost to
both of them.
Now I was wrong as well.
I was not too worried about theinjuries to both Christian Brown
and Cam Johnson.
And obviously, Christian is outfor six weeks.
That is a big loss.
But like I said, Cam has kind ofreset himself from his injury
(09:49):
and is back and playing well.
Unfortunately, AG replaced himon my worry scale, and AG is out
for six weeks as well.
So we will see.
We will see if if those guys wespoke about earlier can step up
and really hopefully it's avaluable experience for some of
these young guys.
Alright, ways to be a betterfan.
(10:10):
As always, I always want to havea recommendation for anyone that
listens to this to become abetter basketball fan.
And I just finished the NikolaJokic book by Mike Singer called
Why So Serious.
It took me forever.
I just, it was my own fault.
I really enjoyed the bookthroughout.
It was just a matter of mesitting down to actually read
(10:32):
it.
And I really enjoyed it.
Like a lot of the stories I hadheard before, but Mike found
some interesting angles or justinterviews with some of the
players to get a little bit moredetail in there from some of
those stories.
It's it's it covers Jokic'swhole career up to this point.
So I really enjoyed some of thestuff from when he was a boy to
(10:54):
a young man to a teenager toreally growing up in Serbia.
I thought that part was justreally interesting.
And then some of thebehind-the-scenes stuff from
when he has been a DenverNugget, I just thought it was
incredible.
He he he got quite a few peopleto talk to him for this book,
and I I really enjoyed it.
So if you are a Nuggets or aJokic fan at all and have not
(11:18):
read Why So Serious, I stronglyrecommend it.
Well, I hope everyone had afantastic Thanksgiving and you
are still eating leftovers.
There's so much good sports towatch this weekend, and I hope
you're doing that and spendingsome good quality time with the
family.
We have another interestingcouple weeks for the Nuggets
(11:40):
coming up, and I will be rightback here to review it and go
nuts.
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