March 6, 2025 • 21 mins
The Denver Nuggets are striving for consistency in their play as they approach the playoffs. Jamal Murray's fluctuating performances are a significant focal point as the team navigates a tight schedule and strives to find their rhythm.
• Overview of the Nuggets' recent results and performance
• Examination of Jamal Murray's inconsistent play
• Analysis of potential playoff opponents in the Western Conference
• Insights into team strategy and lineup adjustments
• Predictions for upcoming games against key rivals
• Discussion of the importance of maintaining motivation and focus
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
All right, everyone, welcome back to Fandom From Afar
.
The nuggets are never boring,and the past couple of weeks it
seems like there's so muchthat's gone on.
I'm going to cover some of itand then we're going to talk
about the Western Conference asa whole because, if you can
believe it, there are only 21games left in the season before
(00:25):
the playoffs start.
So we are not that far away andI want to kind of start
thinking about some matchups of,maybe, teams that the Nuggets
should be hoping win a few moregames and those that they should
be hoping lose a few more games, to give ourselves the best
chance of winning once theplayoffs start.
So I'm recording this onWednesday, the Nuggets play the
(00:48):
Sacramento Kings.
Tonight they just came off of afour-game road trip which, of
course, they won, lost, won,lost in typical Nuggets fashion,
and the games were interestingin their own ways.
The first game against thePacers all the Nuggets starters
played really well, the Nuggetslooked good and our hopes were
(01:10):
high.
Then they go to Milwaukee, andMilwaukee doesn't even play that
well, but the Nuggets just theycouldn't do anything Besides
Jokic.
Really everyone had a prettyterrible game.
And then, of course, thefollowing night playing the
Pistons.
Pistons have won eight in a rowone of the hottest teams in the
league, so of course theNuggets win.
(01:31):
They look good Pistons.
They got a lot of good youngtalent.
But obviously I was expectingthe Nuggets to win that one and
they were able to pull it out.
So the big one was on Sundayagainst Boston, and Boston
pulled out to a huge lead rightaway.
(01:52):
Second half Nuggets came back alittle bit, which really it's
just a microcosm of the Nuggetsseason, because in the first
half of the Nuggets seasonbecause in the first half Jamal
Murray looked like he could notbe bothered to move or try or
play hard, and then in thesecond half he got motivated and
(02:14):
was amazing.
And that's just Jamal.
We love him when he's playingand trying hard and Nuggets fans
just cannot understand why hecan't be that way to start a
game.
It seems like he has to havesomeone talk trash to him.
(02:35):
In this case I believe one ofthe players was talking trash to
him and he kind of took a hardfall and fell on his back and so
he loves the pain, he loves thedifficulty of fighting through
an injury and he just can'tmotivate himself to try hard in
a regular season game if there'snot that extra incentive.
(02:55):
And it's just so frustratingbecause the Nuggets hung in
there in the second half withthe Celtics when Jamal was
playing like he should.
In the second half with theCeltics when Jamal was playing
like he should and this was withMPJ not really doing much
without Aaron Gordon for thewhole game, with Russell
Westbrook being pretty ice coldfrom three, and still we were
(03:17):
hanging in there in Bostonagainst one of the best teams
and we shouldn't have to fightfrom 20 points down every time
because Jamal Murray justdecides not to try.
So I think Jamal's putting aton of pressure on himself for
the playoffs.
(03:37):
If he does this in the playoffsand can't flip that switch and
dominate and we get eliminatedearly, I would not be surprised
if they trade him.
And if he is motivated andplays like he should, I would
also not be surprised if we winthe championship again.
(03:58):
It's that big of a swing and hemakes that big of difference,
yet we can't get him to tryconsistently and I don't know
what to say.
That is just Jamal and we arepaying him so much money and
it's just frustrating.
But hopefully come June he'llbe there and we'll be excited.
(04:22):
But I just think this road tripjust was a perfect showcase to
show how inconsistent theNuggets are and we just never
know what team is going to showup.
So frustrating, but we are in agood spot.
And so I kind of want to goover what the West standings
look like, how I kind of viewwhat a matchup with each team
(04:43):
would look like for the Nuggets,like how I kind of view what a
matchup with each team wouldlook like for the Nuggets, and
then we'll kind of finish it offwith just my dream scenario for
how these last few weeks willturn out.
So obviously, number one isOklahoma City.
They have had an amazing season.
They really are an amazing team.
I love how they've been built,just how the players fit
(05:06):
together.
They are just a team full oftwo-way guys that play
outstanding defense and can dojust enough offense.
And then obviously, sheaGilgis-Alexander is absolutely
incredible for their offense.
He's probably going to win MVP.
(05:27):
I'll probably do a full segmenton that here, maybe in the next
episode, because it is funnyhow everyone, when talking about
the MVP, goes Jokic is the bestplayer in the league, but I got
to give the MVP to Shea.
It's obviously a narrative thatthey like they want to give it
to someone new and it's fine,like the one year Jokic didn't
(05:52):
win MVP.
A couple of years ago we wonthe championship.
I hope that happens again andit happens to all the best
players Like.
There's probably so many yearswhere LeBron or Jordan should
have won MVP but the voters weretired of voting for them so
they gave it to someone else andwe saw how that kind of worked
out for Embiid.
(06:12):
We'll come out the other sideand know that Jokic is still the
best player.
But the Thunder are incredible.
They are the one seed.
There is no doubt they are thebest team in the West are
incredible they are the one seed.
There is no doubt they are thebest team in the West and they
(06:34):
look pretty unstoppable rightnow.
They blow everyone out.
Their defense is swarming.
It seems like even the bestoffenses can't get much done
against their guys, and it's noteven just their starters.
They bring in guys like Cwallace and alex caruso who are
incredible defenders themselves.
So it's just kind of funnycomparing them to the nuggets.
I would say the thunders sixthbest defender would be our best
(06:56):
defender.
They are just absolutely loadedwith quality defenders and
that's why they're so scary.
They do have an amazing team,but they are so young.
It's kind of incredible howyoung they are and how good they
are already.
But with that, youth has comein experience.
(07:18):
They've been to the playoffs afew times, but just first or
second round, and so it's goingto be fascinating to see how
they handle the high pressuresituations and if they can do it
for four series in a row.
Now they're good enough where Iwould not be surprised if they
do and they win the championship.
(07:38):
But if we're looking at apossible Nuggets matchup, the
fact that the Nuggets have thatexperience and somewhat match up
size-wise if not have theadvantage size-wise with the
Thunder, it would be 50-50 in myeyes.
(07:59):
I would not be surprised eitherway.
Obviously the Thunder will havehome court advantage, but just
the fact that we have Jokicgoing up against either Chet
Holmgren or Isaiah Hartenstein,it's a huge advantage.
Now, obviously they have Sheagoing against either Jamal
Murray or Christian Brown, sothat's an advantage for them.
(08:20):
But Jokic controls the game inso many ways that while I think
we would be underdogs, I wouldnot be surprised if they could
pull out a series against theThunder.
Now the Lakers are number two.
They have been absolutely onfire with Luka Must be nice to
(08:43):
have undercover agents workingfor other teams.
That will just give you asuperstar for nothing, man.
I still can't believe thattrade, but it happened and the
Lakers look amazing.
One of those amazing games.
They destroyed the Nuggets andthey're looking scary.
They're.
I would say their pieces fitreally well together.
(09:09):
Luka and LeBron are verysimilar, but LeBron is enough of
a two-way player where he seemsto have taken a little bit of a
backseat to Luka and then hejust explodes.
And so LeBron has been puttingup these huge numbers because
Luka is doing a lot of the heavylifting and LeBron just gets to
attack the other team's lesserdefenders and it's working out
(09:33):
really well.
Obviously, austin Reeves is agreat player for them too.
Again, looking at the matchupwith the Nuggets, it's just such
a huge advantage for theNuggets to have Jokic versus
Jackson Hayes or whoever they'regoing to throw out there.
To have Jokic versus JacksonHayes or whoever they're going
to throw out there, it would bean extremely tough series.
I think it would be much closerthan the past two years where
(09:56):
we've eliminated the Lakers fromthe playoffs, but it would be
fun to watch and I would stilltake the Nuggets in a series
against the Lakers Now Nuggetsare number three right now.
Nuggets in a series against theLakers Now Nuggets are number
three right now.
They, like I said, they reallyneed Jamal AG MPJ to play the
(10:17):
way they should.
We are just so inconsistentthat it's possible that we could
beat any team and lose to anyteam, and that's just the way
they are right now.
Unfortunately, we just hadJulian Strother get injured, but
we are getting Peyton Watsonand Vlatko Kanchar back from
(10:39):
injury, so it's going to beinteresting these last couple of
weeks to see if those guys canget back into rhythm, if Jalen
Pickett can fill in for JulianStrother and we can find some
sort of consistency.
Gotta get that consistencybecause right now, like I said,
they play the Kings tonight.
I would not be shocked if welose to the Kings and then we
(11:00):
play the Thunder on Sunday and Iwould not be shocked if we beat
the Thunder on Sunday.
It's just who we are.
The Grizzlies are fourth.
They used to be second.
Obviously, the Lakers andNuggets have been playing really
well.
Grizzlies are falling a littlebit.
Jaron Jackson Jr just got hurt,so that's not going to help
them at all.
John Morant has been dealingwith a shoulder injury all
(11:23):
season, so he's been in and out.
The Grizzlies are one of thoseteams that they have a lot of
talent.
They really are talented, butfor some reason they just seem
to be a tier below the teamsI've talked about so far, and I
wouldn't be surprised if theykeep falling down the standings
to the point where it's possible.
The Nuggets play them in thefirst round, but any team with
(11:46):
the quality of players that theyhave I haven't even mentioned
Desmond Bain yet, who is.
I just love the way he playswith his little T-Rex arms, but
he's a great player and I wouldnot be surprised if they put up
a fight.
If the Nuggets do play them ina matchup and again, though, I
(12:07):
could see the Nuggets winningthat matchup the Nuggets can
beat anyone.
They just are so inconsistent.
The Rockets are in fifth placeright now.
Again, they're kind of like theThunder, but a couple years
behind where the Thunder are.
They have so many good youngplayers, they're building a team
the right way and their coachis tremendous.
(12:27):
So they're tough, talented, butI would say they're too young.
This would be a greatexperience for them to get into
the playoffs and play one ofthose top teams, put up a fight,
but I just don't think this istheir year.
But they are talented enoughwhere they could possibly shock
somebody.
Now, if they happen to match upwith the Nuggets, I do think the
(12:47):
Nuggets would get past themsomewhat easily.
But I do see them as one of theteams kind of on the rise and
will be tough for the nextcouple years.
Now, after the Rockets, I thinkthere's a big drop-off in the
teams as far as talent or evenjust kind of how scared I would
be if the Nuggets were facingthem in a playoff matchup.
(13:10):
So right now the Clippers arein sixth and if they have Kawhi
healthy, that definitely makesfor a tough matchup.
Norman Powell's been playinggreat, james Harden's always
good, but it's so unlikely thatKawhi can stay healthy.
It's just they don't fittogether.
They're a bunch of individuals.
I zubach he always puts up agood matchup against yokich, so
(13:32):
it's not quite the advantagethat uh yokich would be against
some of the other teams, butobviously it is still an
advantage and I just think thenuggets would handle business
pretty easily.
The warriors are moving up thatI wouldn't be surprised if they
move up past the clippers, pastpast the Rockets or even past
the Grizzlies.
The Jimmy Butler trade seems tohave really kind of energized
(13:56):
that team.
They're playing really welltogether.
Steph has a new life andthey're looking good.
But their biggest player isJimmy Butler, who's like 6'7".
So again, in a matchup with theNuggets, the Nuggets are huge
Jokic 7'0", monster MPJ 6'10",aaron Gordon 6'9".
(14:17):
And if you're going up againsta small team like the Warriors
are putting out right now, if wecan somehow stop a three-point
barrage and just hold them to ahalf-court offense, then I think
the Nuggets would have noproblem.
(14:38):
T-wolves, t-wolves they'restrange.
They have a really good teambut just haven't put it together
this year and, as I predictedin the preseason, julius Randle
has not been good for them.
I've never really liked hisgame, but I think they're
starting to figure some stuffout and I'm almost wondering,
because Randall's been out withan injury, if they're going to
come play off time, just maybenot play him very much, because
(14:59):
they've been playing so muchbetter without him.
So it's funny because they arepretty low in the standings and
there's a very good chance thatthe Nuggets would play them in
the first round or even secondround and, truthfully, they
would be one of the scariestteams for the Nuggets to play.
Nas Reed, rudy Gobert theymatch up really well with Jokic
(15:20):
and we've seen we saw last yearthey can somewhat limit Jokic
and if the other guys on theteam are not shooting well or,
in Jamal's case, having a mentalbreakdown, then they will beat
us.
And so, even though theirrecord is one of the poorest
that we're going to talk abouttoday, I would say they're one
of the scariest, besides theThunder, obviously, that I think
(15:42):
the Nuggets would struggle with.
I would still expect them towin, but it's very possible, if
the T-Wolves come out and weplay like we did last year, that
they would beat us.
So I'd almost say this is likea 50-50 matchup Now, teams 9
through 11, it's kind ofswitching every day, but it's
the Kings, it's the Mavericks,it's the Suns.
(16:03):
The Kings, they're okay, that'sthe best I can say for them.
Uh, so bonus, he, he's good andZach Levine's good.
Tamar DeRozan is fine, but Iwould not be scared of them in
in the in the playoffs.
Uh, the Phoenix suns they're adumpster fire.
(16:24):
They have some talent.
But, man, if you have everwanted to see a basketball team
that hates playing with eachother, watch the Phoenix Suns,
because it's almost like theyjust cannot wait for the season
to end already, and I can't waitto see what they do during the
offseason.
Now, while the Suns are adumpster fire.
(16:46):
Sadly, it's even worse for theMavericks.
The Mavericks obviously did theLuka trade.
Everyone could not believe theydid it, and it's only gotten
worse since giving up their25-year-old superstar and
getting nothing in return.
What they did get in return wasan injury-riddled Anthony Davis
.
He lasted one half and,surprise, surprise, got hurt.
(17:08):
They were going to build aroundAnthony Davis and Kyrie.
Sadly, kyrie tore his ACL justthe other day, so now it's very
possible that Anthony Davis andKyrie Irving only play one half
of basketball together, and thistrade just looks like the
(17:29):
biggest disaster in really allof sports like it.
It cannot be understood how badthis is looking and I just feel
so bad for mavs fans.
My boss at work is a mavs fanand, uh, condolences.
So my ideal final standings if Icould kind of press the fast
(17:51):
forward button and have thestandings work out exactly how I
, as a Nuggets fan, would wantthem would be as follows
Obviously, the Thunder are goingto be in first.
That's just not up for debate.
For the eighth seed, I wouldlike the T-Wolves, I would like
(18:14):
the T-Wolves.
Obviously, these standings I'mgoing to stack to make as hard
as possible for the Thunder andas easy as possible for the
Nuggets.
So I do think the T-Wolveswould present a tough matchup
for the Thunder, just like theywould for the Nuggets.
Their size, anthony Edwards.
Just, I think they're going togive whoever they play a tough
matchup and I would love it tobe the Thunder.
Now I'm going to have theNuggets finish, as the two seed,
as well as the Lakers areplaying right now.
(18:37):
I don't know if that's going tobe possible, but I do see.
If the Nuggets finish two, Iwould love for them to play the
Kings.
As I mentioned, they are as mehas you could possibly be, and
so I want to play them.
The Grizzlies will be in thirdin this scenario and we'll have
them play the Clippers.
Now, I don't know who I wouldwant to win that matchup
(19:01):
Probably the Grizzlies, becauseI think the Nuggets can match up
with the Grizzlies much easier.
Like I said, zubach does put upa tough matchup for Jokic and
then obviously going againstKawhi and James Harden could be
difficult.
So let's hope that theGrizzlies come out on top there
and then in this scenario I hadthe Lakers all the way down at
the fourth seed.
(19:22):
I can dream, can't I?
And I have them taking on theRockets.
I think that'd be a rock fight.
I think it would beat up theLakers a little bit.
I would expect them to come outon top, but I think it would be
tough.
So that would mean that theThunder and the Lakers would
play each other in the secondround and Nuggets versus
(19:43):
Grizzlies.
So obviously I like thatmatchup a lot better for the
Nuggets.
We're hoping that we breezethrough the Grizzlies and the
Thunder either get upset or havean extremely hard fought battle
with the Wolves and the Lakers,and they are in this scenario
just dragging their feet andbeat up and just cannot face the
(20:04):
Nuggets in the WesternConference Finals.
And the Nuggets win and we winthe championship.
Hurrah Dream scenario probablywon't happen, but we can dream
right.
So the last couple of weeks aregoing to be so interesting.
I actually cannot wait.
Like I said, nuggets have amatchup against the Kings and
the Suns this week, but thenSunday, monday, back to back, we
(20:26):
play the Thunder.
I think that could go a longway in determining the MVP race.
I think that could go a longway in determining the MVP race.
I think it could go a long wayin determining how confident the
Nuggets are going into theplayoffs.
And I think it's going to bejust really interesting to see
how each team reacts after thatfirst game.
Obviously, whoever loses thatfirst game could be extra
(20:48):
motivated.
Whoever wins that first gamecould maybe take it easier in
the second game, or they couldtry and really prove a point to
win both games.
So I cannot wait for those twogames and I hope that y'all will
be able to watch them as well.
That's all I got for today.
Thank you, guys.
So much for listening and wewill talk to you next time.
All right, everyone, welcome back to Fandom From Afar
.
The nuggets are never boring,and the past couple of weeks it
seems like there's so muchthat's gone on.
I'm going to cover some of itand then we're going to talk
about the Western Conference asa whole because, if you can
believe it, there are only 21games left in the season before
(00:25):
the playoffs start.
So we are not that far away andI want to kind of start
thinking about some matchups of,maybe, teams that the Nuggets
should be hoping win a few moregames and those that they should
be hoping lose a few more games, to give ourselves the best
chance of winning once theplayoffs start.
So I'm recording this onWednesday, the Nuggets play the
(00:48):
Sacramento Kings.
Tonight they just came off of afour-game road trip which, of
course, they won, lost, won,lost in typical Nuggets fashion,
and the games were interestingin their own ways.
The first game against thePacers all the Nuggets starters
played really well, the Nuggetslooked good and our hopes were
(01:10):
high.
Then they go to Milwaukee, andMilwaukee doesn't even play that
well, but the Nuggets just theycouldn't do anything Besides
Jokic.
Really everyone had a prettyterrible game.
And then, of course, thefollowing night playing the
Pistons.
Pistons have won eight in a rowone of the hottest teams in the
league, so of course theNuggets win.
(01:31):
They look good Pistons.
They got a lot of good youngtalent.
But obviously I was expectingthe Nuggets to win that one and
they were able to pull it out.
So the big one was on Sundayagainst Boston, and Boston
pulled out to a huge lead rightaway.
(01:52):
Second half Nuggets came back alittle bit, which really it's
just a microcosm of the Nuggetsseason, because in the first
half of the Nuggets seasonbecause in the first half Jamal
Murray looked like he could notbe bothered to move or try or
play hard, and then in thesecond half he got motivated and
(02:14):
was amazing.
And that's just Jamal.
We love him when he's playingand trying hard and Nuggets fans
just cannot understand why hecan't be that way to start a
game.
It seems like he has to havesomeone talk trash to him.
(02:35):
In this case I believe one ofthe players was talking trash to
him and he kind of took a hardfall and fell on his back and so
he loves the pain, he loves thedifficulty of fighting through
an injury and he just can'tmotivate himself to try hard in
a regular season game if there'snot that extra incentive.
(02:55):
And it's just so frustratingbecause the Nuggets hung in
there in the second half withthe Celtics when Jamal was
playing like he should.
In the second half with theCeltics when Jamal was playing
like he should and this was withMPJ not really doing much
without Aaron Gordon for thewhole game, with Russell
Westbrook being pretty ice coldfrom three, and still we were
(03:17):
hanging in there in Bostonagainst one of the best teams
and we shouldn't have to fightfrom 20 points down every time
because Jamal Murray justdecides not to try.
So I think Jamal's putting aton of pressure on himself for
the playoffs.
(03:37):
If he does this in the playoffsand can't flip that switch and
dominate and we get eliminatedearly, I would not be surprised
if they trade him.
And if he is motivated andplays like he should, I would
also not be surprised if we winthe championship again.
(03:58):
It's that big of a swing and hemakes that big of difference,
yet we can't get him to tryconsistently and I don't know
what to say.
That is just Jamal and we arepaying him so much money and
it's just frustrating.
But hopefully come June he'llbe there and we'll be excited.
(04:22):
But I just think this road tripjust was a perfect showcase to
show how inconsistent theNuggets are and we just never
know what team is going to showup.
So frustrating, but we are in agood spot.
And so I kind of want to goover what the West standings
look like, how I kind of viewwhat a matchup with each team
(04:43):
would look like for the Nuggets,like how I kind of view what a
matchup with each team wouldlook like for the Nuggets, and
then we'll kind of finish it offwith just my dream scenario for
how these last few weeks willturn out.
So obviously, number one isOklahoma City.
They have had an amazing season.
They really are an amazing team.
I love how they've been built,just how the players fit
(05:06):
together.
They are just a team full oftwo-way guys that play
outstanding defense and can dojust enough offense.
And then obviously, sheaGilgis-Alexander is absolutely
incredible for their offense.
He's probably going to win MVP.
(05:27):
I'll probably do a full segmenton that here, maybe in the next
episode, because it is funnyhow everyone, when talking about
the MVP, goes Jokic is the bestplayer in the league, but I got
to give the MVP to Shea.
It's obviously a narrative thatthey like they want to give it
to someone new and it's fine,like the one year Jokic didn't
(05:52):
win MVP.
A couple of years ago we wonthe championship.
I hope that happens again andit happens to all the best
players Like.
There's probably so many yearswhere LeBron or Jordan should
have won MVP but the voters weretired of voting for them so
they gave it to someone else andwe saw how that kind of worked
out for Embiid.
(06:12):
We'll come out the other sideand know that Jokic is still the
best player.
But the Thunder are incredible.
They are the one seed.
There is no doubt they are thebest team in the West are
incredible they are the one seed.
There is no doubt they are thebest team in the West and they
(06:34):
look pretty unstoppable rightnow.
They blow everyone out.
Their defense is swarming.
It seems like even the bestoffenses can't get much done
against their guys, and it's noteven just their starters.
They bring in guys like Cwallace and alex caruso who are
incredible defenders themselves.
So it's just kind of funnycomparing them to the nuggets.
I would say the thunders sixthbest defender would be our best
(06:56):
defender.
They are just absolutely loadedwith quality defenders and
that's why they're so scary.
They do have an amazing team,but they are so young.
It's kind of incredible howyoung they are and how good they
are already.
But with that, youth has comein experience.
(07:18):
They've been to the playoffs afew times, but just first or
second round, and so it's goingto be fascinating to see how
they handle the high pressuresituations and if they can do it
for four series in a row.
Now they're good enough where Iwould not be surprised if they
do and they win the championship.
(07:38):
But if we're looking at apossible Nuggets matchup, the
fact that the Nuggets have thatexperience and somewhat match up
size-wise if not have theadvantage size-wise with the
Thunder, it would be 50-50 in myeyes.
(07:59):
I would not be surprised eitherway.
Obviously the Thunder will havehome court advantage, but just
the fact that we have Jokicgoing up against either Chet
Holmgren or Isaiah Hartenstein,it's a huge advantage.
Now, obviously they have Sheagoing against either Jamal
Murray or Christian Brown, sothat's an advantage for them.
(08:20):
But Jokic controls the game inso many ways that while I think
we would be underdogs, I wouldnot be surprised if they could
pull out a series against theThunder.
Now the Lakers are number two.
They have been absolutely onfire with Luka Must be nice to
(08:43):
have undercover agents workingfor other teams.
That will just give you asuperstar for nothing, man.
I still can't believe thattrade, but it happened and the
Lakers look amazing.
One of those amazing games.
They destroyed the Nuggets andthey're looking scary.
They're.
I would say their pieces fitreally well together.
(09:09):
Luka and LeBron are verysimilar, but LeBron is enough of
a two-way player where he seemsto have taken a little bit of a
backseat to Luka and then hejust explodes.
And so LeBron has been puttingup these huge numbers because
Luka is doing a lot of the heavylifting and LeBron just gets to
attack the other team's lesserdefenders and it's working out
(09:33):
really well.
Obviously, austin Reeves is agreat player for them too.
Again, looking at the matchupwith the Nuggets, it's just such
a huge advantage for theNuggets to have Jokic versus
Jackson Hayes or whoever they'regoing to throw out there.
To have Jokic versus JacksonHayes or whoever they're going
to throw out there, it would bean extremely tough series.
I think it would be much closerthan the past two years where
(09:56):
we've eliminated the Lakers fromthe playoffs, but it would be
fun to watch and I would stilltake the Nuggets in a series
against the Lakers Now Nuggetsare number three right now.
Nuggets in a series against theLakers Now Nuggets are number
three right now.
They, like I said, they reallyneed Jamal AG MPJ to play the
(10:17):
way they should.
We are just so inconsistentthat it's possible that we could
beat any team and lose to anyteam, and that's just the way
they are right now.
Unfortunately, we just hadJulian Strother get injured, but
we are getting Peyton Watsonand Vlatko Kanchar back from
(10:39):
injury, so it's going to beinteresting these last couple of
weeks to see if those guys canget back into rhythm, if Jalen
Pickett can fill in for JulianStrother and we can find some
sort of consistency.
Gotta get that consistencybecause right now, like I said,
they play the Kings tonight.
I would not be shocked if welose to the Kings and then we
(11:00):
play the Thunder on Sunday and Iwould not be shocked if we beat
the Thunder on Sunday.
It's just who we are.
The Grizzlies are fourth.
They used to be second.
Obviously, the Lakers andNuggets have been playing really
well.
Grizzlies are falling a littlebit.
Jaron Jackson Jr just got hurt,so that's not going to help
them at all.
John Morant has been dealingwith a shoulder injury all
(11:23):
season, so he's been in and out.
The Grizzlies are one of thoseteams that they have a lot of
talent.
They really are talented, butfor some reason they just seem
to be a tier below the teamsI've talked about so far, and I
wouldn't be surprised if theykeep falling down the standings
to the point where it's possible.
The Nuggets play them in thefirst round, but any team with
(11:46):
the quality of players that theyhave I haven't even mentioned
Desmond Bain yet, who is.
I just love the way he playswith his little T-Rex arms, but
he's a great player and I wouldnot be surprised if they put up
a fight.
If the Nuggets do play them ina matchup and again, though, I
(12:07):
could see the Nuggets winningthat matchup the Nuggets can
beat anyone.
They just are so inconsistent.
The Rockets are in fifth placeright now.
Again, they're kind of like theThunder, but a couple years
behind where the Thunder are.
They have so many good youngplayers, they're building a team
the right way and their coachis tremendous.
(12:27):
So they're tough, talented, butI would say they're too young.
This would be a greatexperience for them to get into
the playoffs and play one ofthose top teams, put up a fight,
but I just don't think this istheir year.
But they are talented enoughwhere they could possibly shock
somebody.
Now, if they happen to match upwith the Nuggets, I do think the
(12:47):
Nuggets would get past themsomewhat easily.
But I do see them as one of theteams kind of on the rise and
will be tough for the nextcouple years.
Now, after the Rockets, I thinkthere's a big drop-off in the
teams as far as talent or evenjust kind of how scared I would
be if the Nuggets were facingthem in a playoff matchup.
(13:10):
So right now the Clippers arein sixth and if they have Kawhi
healthy, that definitely makesfor a tough matchup.
Norman Powell's been playinggreat, james Harden's always
good, but it's so unlikely thatKawhi can stay healthy.
It's just they don't fittogether.
They're a bunch of individuals.
I zubach he always puts up agood matchup against yokich, so
(13:32):
it's not quite the advantagethat uh yokich would be against
some of the other teams, butobviously it is still an
advantage and I just think thenuggets would handle business
pretty easily.
The warriors are moving up thatI wouldn't be surprised if they
move up past the clippers, pastpast the Rockets or even past
the Grizzlies.
The Jimmy Butler trade seems tohave really kind of energized
(13:56):
that team.
They're playing really welltogether.
Steph has a new life andthey're looking good.
But their biggest player isJimmy Butler, who's like 6'7".
So again, in a matchup with theNuggets, the Nuggets are huge
Jokic 7'0", monster MPJ 6'10",aaron Gordon 6'9".
(14:17):
And if you're going up againsta small team like the Warriors
are putting out right now, if wecan somehow stop a three-point
barrage and just hold them to ahalf-court offense, then I think
the Nuggets would have noproblem.
(14:38):
T-wolves, t-wolves they'restrange.
They have a really good teambut just haven't put it together
this year and, as I predictedin the preseason, julius Randle
has not been good for them.
I've never really liked hisgame, but I think they're
starting to figure some stuffout and I'm almost wondering,
because Randall's been out withan injury, if they're going to
come play off time, just maybenot play him very much, because
(14:59):
they've been playing so muchbetter without him.
So it's funny because they arepretty low in the standings and
there's a very good chance thatthe Nuggets would play them in
the first round or even secondround and, truthfully, they
would be one of the scariestteams for the Nuggets to play.
Nas Reed, rudy Gobert theymatch up really well with Jokic
(15:20):
and we've seen we saw last yearthey can somewhat limit Jokic
and if the other guys on theteam are not shooting well or,
in Jamal's case, having a mentalbreakdown, then they will beat
us.
And so, even though theirrecord is one of the poorest
that we're going to talk abouttoday, I would say they're one
of the scariest, besides theThunder, obviously, that I think
(15:42):
the Nuggets would struggle with.
I would still expect them towin, but it's very possible, if
the T-Wolves come out and weplay like we did last year, that
they would beat us.
So I'd almost say this is likea 50-50 matchup Now, teams 9
through 11, it's kind ofswitching every day, but it's
the Kings, it's the Mavericks,it's the Suns.
(16:03):
The Kings, they're okay, that'sthe best I can say for them.
Uh, so bonus, he, he's good andZach Levine's good.
Tamar DeRozan is fine, but Iwould not be scared of them in
in the in the playoffs.
Uh, the Phoenix suns they're adumpster fire.
(16:24):
They have some talent.
But, man, if you have everwanted to see a basketball team
that hates playing with eachother, watch the Phoenix Suns,
because it's almost like theyjust cannot wait for the season
to end already, and I can't waitto see what they do during the
offseason.
Now, while the Suns are adumpster fire.
(16:46):
Sadly, it's even worse for theMavericks.
The Mavericks obviously did theLuka trade.
Everyone could not believe theydid it, and it's only gotten
worse since giving up their25-year-old superstar and
getting nothing in return.
What they did get in return wasan injury-riddled Anthony Davis
.
He lasted one half and,surprise, surprise, got hurt.
(17:08):
They were going to build aroundAnthony Davis and Kyrie.
Sadly, kyrie tore his ACL justthe other day, so now it's very
possible that Anthony Davis andKyrie Irving only play one half
of basketball together, and thistrade just looks like the
(17:29):
biggest disaster in really allof sports like it.
It cannot be understood how badthis is looking and I just feel
so bad for mavs fans.
My boss at work is a mavs fanand, uh, condolences.
So my ideal final standings if Icould kind of press the fast
(17:51):
forward button and have thestandings work out exactly how I
, as a Nuggets fan, would wantthem would be as follows
Obviously, the Thunder are goingto be in first.
That's just not up for debate.
For the eighth seed, I wouldlike the T-Wolves, I would like
(18:14):
the T-Wolves.
Obviously, these standings I'mgoing to stack to make as hard
as possible for the Thunder andas easy as possible for the
Nuggets.
So I do think the T-Wolveswould present a tough matchup
for the Thunder, just like theywould for the Nuggets.
Their size, anthony Edwards.
Just, I think they're going togive whoever they play a tough
matchup and I would love it tobe the Thunder.
Now I'm going to have theNuggets finish, as the two seed,
as well as the Lakers areplaying right now.
(18:37):
I don't know if that's going tobe possible, but I do see.
If the Nuggets finish two, Iwould love for them to play the
Kings.
As I mentioned, they are as mehas you could possibly be, and
so I want to play them.
The Grizzlies will be in thirdin this scenario and we'll have
them play the Clippers.
Now, I don't know who I wouldwant to win that matchup
(19:01):
Probably the Grizzlies, becauseI think the Nuggets can match up
with the Grizzlies much easier.
Like I said, zubach does put upa tough matchup for Jokic and
then obviously going againstKawhi and James Harden could be
difficult.
So let's hope that theGrizzlies come out on top there
and then in this scenario I hadthe Lakers all the way down at
the fourth seed.
(19:22):
I can dream, can't I?
And I have them taking on theRockets.
I think that'd be a rock fight.
I think it would beat up theLakers a little bit.
I would expect them to come outon top, but I think it would be
tough.
So that would mean that theThunder and the Lakers would
play each other in the secondround and Nuggets versus
(19:43):
Grizzlies.
So obviously I like thatmatchup a lot better for the
Nuggets.
We're hoping that we breezethrough the Grizzlies and the
Thunder either get upset or havean extremely hard fought battle
with the Wolves and the Lakers,and they are in this scenario
just dragging their feet andbeat up and just cannot face the
(20:04):
Nuggets in the WesternConference Finals.
And the Nuggets win and we winthe championship.
Hurrah Dream scenario probablywon't happen, but we can dream
right.
So the last couple of weeks aregoing to be so interesting.
I actually cannot wait.
Like I said, nuggets have amatchup against the Kings and
the Suns this week, but thenSunday, monday, back to back, we
(20:26):
play the Thunder.
I think that could go a longway in determining the MVP race.
I think that could go a longway in determining the MVP race.
I think it could go a long wayin determining how confident the
Nuggets are going into theplayoffs.
And I think it's going to bejust really interesting to see
how each team reacts after thatfirst game.
Obviously, whoever loses thatfirst game could be extra
(20:48):
motivated.
Whoever wins that first gamecould maybe take it easier in
the second game, or they couldtry and really prove a point to
win both games.
So I cannot wait for those twogames and I hope that y'all will
be able to watch them as well.
That's all I got for today.
Thank you, guys.
So much for listening and wewill talk to you next time.
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