May 15, 2025 • 8 mins
Ahead of the Denver Nuggets facing the Oklahoma City Thunder in game six tonight, Dave Softy Mahler and Dick Fain head down to Denver to talk about the game with Nuggets Radio Host Mark Bertagnolli, plus an illness, Nikola Jokic, and the OKC hatred.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Casting live from the R and R Foundation specialist broad
Jest Studio. Now back to Saftie and Dick, powered by
Emerald Queen Casino, the vetting capital of the Northwest. On
sports Radio, Nutties three point three kJ.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
R rebound down to Christian Brown. You got a hurry
eight seven seconds front court, over to Westbrook Cliffside Gordon
for the win. Yeah, two point eight seconds left. Coming
back the other way. Williams from half court taked it
no good at the horn and the Denver Nuggets shock
the Oklahoma City Thunder in game number one.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
That is the voice of Jason Cosmiki, the voice of.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
The Denver Nuggets.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
That game feels like forever ago, by the way, the
joker in that game dropping forty two and then kind
of you know, inconsistent for sure, not shooting the ball well,
but then goes off for forty four.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Obviously in the loss the other night.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
But joining us right now on the radio show, a
man who in Denver, despite it, let's face it, Kevin
Shockey's complete ineffectiveness as the new program director of Altitude
Sports in Denver, this guy is flourished though as the
studio host for Denver Nugget basketball. They call him Berto.
Mark Bertanelli is with us on the radio program right now.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
Mark, How are you pale?
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Good?
Speaker 5 (01:17):
How you how y'all doing there in the Pacific Northwest?
Speaker 4 (01:20):
We are good.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
We are fired up to root for you guys, like
mad We're all Seattle fans. We have a saying up
here in Seattle, all right, So we're rooting hard for
you guys to take care of these bastards. So what's
the confidence meter look like before game six to night?
Speaker 5 (01:35):
Men?
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Oh man?
Speaker 5 (01:38):
Zero for me, Man, I'm nervous as hell. This game
is freaking me out, you know what I mean? Like,
I don't like these elimination games. But we just got
this news from the head coach of the Denver Nugget,
David Adam, and the interim head coach of the Denver Nuggets,
that Jamal Murray is sick, super sick, and I thought
that he'd probably give it a go. But the way
(01:58):
the way it sounds, they're talking about maybe trying to
find somebody else to start for Jamal tonight. That's how
sick he is. So that's that's not ideal when you
really only have two great players on your team to
start with.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Yeah, thanks a lot, Mark.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Why do you just start off by kicking us as
the balls while you're at it, By the ways.
Speaker 5 (02:15):
Throw a little sunshine down on that one, didn't.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
I all right? So I mean who's got to step up?
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Then?
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Who's gonna be the guy that steps up in that
secondary role behind the joker?
Speaker 5 (02:24):
Well, it's got to be one of the core for
I mean, Michael Porter Junior has struggled so much, and
I'm sure it's the shoulder or or his confidence or something.
So I mean, you can't put that on Mike tonight.
Maybe Aaron Gordon. Maybe Aaron Gordon can do it. Maybe
he can get it done. If Jamal's not gonna be
in there, because we all expect greatness from joker Jokes
(02:44):
is gonna show up and give you forty or twenty
or whatever it's gonna be. So you need somebody else.
Maybe maybe Russell Westbrook off the bench. Maybe Russ has
one of those games tonight and gives the Thunders some trouble.
I don't know, man, I am, I am super nervous.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Go this one.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
Well, I mean you should be right.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
I mean, you lose the game, you're done, by the way,
So nobody blames you for that. But Mark Bertanoli Studio
host Altitude Sports in Denver before Game six, Nuggets and
Thunder tonight, you Thunder, and you mentioned Russell Westbrook.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
There is he the.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Kind of guy that would hear all this talk, all
these anonymous reports that have come out about it being immature.
I know some people are coming to his defense and
saying that's not true. Is he the kind of guy
that would hear all that stuff and use that as
gas to have a big night tonight?
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (03:36):
Although Rusk goes one hundred miles an hour no matter what, right,
Like he lives his life a quarter mile at a time.
That's Russell Westbrook. He's just the crazy man. So and
I love chaos. I love chaos, and that's what he
brings to a basketball game. But is it going to
help you or hurt you tonight? I'm assuming that Russ
is going to bring that energy, but if he does
that thing where he starts missing shots, especially in the
(03:56):
second half of these games, and then instead of helping you,
heal hurts you. Man, I don't know. I don't know
what you're gonna get from Russ tonight. But let me
ask you discord. Let me ask you this question right here,
when the NBA here in a couple of months or
next summer, announces that Seattle is going to get an
expansion team, at that point, will you forgive OKC for
(04:19):
gaffling your team?
Speaker 4 (04:21):
Never ever?
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Because because because we we missed out on Harden Durant Westbrook.
Speaker 5 (04:27):
Yeah uh.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
And if the if we we've already missed out on
one NBA Finals appearance, we may miss out on a
second one, and we may miss out who knows, on
a championship. So at the top of the pyramid of
the most hated bastards in Seattle sports history sits a
guy named Howard Schultz and everybody else's number two in
my opinion forever, with a close second Clayton Bennett, no
(04:50):
question about it, you know. Tell me about tell me
about the Joker and why his numbers are so different
in this series than they were in the Clipper series.
Obviously you're playing a better team, but look at his
assist numbers. He's ever five assists and five turnovers a
game against Oklahoma City, whereas against the Clippers he was
ten assists and three turnovers.
Speaker 4 (05:08):
What how have they been defending him? Differently than the
Clippers did well.
Speaker 5 (05:13):
They have more bigs to throw at him. And I
really think the Joker's elbow is is kind of It's
been bothering them all season long. I think it is
especially bothering him in these playoffs series because Joker doesn't
miss the shots that he's been missing during this series.
The weird thing is is our stats guy just gave
us this information this morning. It's something crazy where Joker
(05:36):
in that last game. In that last game, Joker could
have ended up with I think it was seventeen assists,
but he ended up with five instead because his teammates
aren't making the show. Like He'll find a teammate in
an open position with an open shot and they throw
up an airball or a brick. And so the question is,
(05:56):
do you, I mean, do you just ask Joker to just,
you know, carry the offensive load and put up more
shots if his teammates aren't going to help him out,
If his teammates aren't going to knock down shots. What's
the answer to that question? Do you have Joker go
for sixty again?
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Who knows?
Speaker 3 (06:11):
So I'm looking at Mark and again Mark Bertanoli Studio
hosts for the Nuggets before they take on the Thunder
and a must win game tonight. You Thunder and the
ticket prices and maybe it's because we're getting close to
tip off, they're down to one hundred and twenty seven
bucks to get in the door. Conversely, and I realized
it's New York versus Denver, but still seven hundred dollars
to get in for the Nick game tomorrow against Boston.
(06:33):
I just wonder our fans residing to the fact that, hey,
we fired the coach, we fired the GM, we got
our championship, and this team is on the decline.
Speaker 4 (06:44):
What's the attitude of the fan base like out there.
Speaker 5 (06:47):
Well, the fan base has been trying to trade members
of this team all this season long, trying to find
help for Joker. They're like, Joker's never had an All
Star teammate. He's never had a teammate who's made an
All Star Game in tol You brought in the MVP,
the former MVP, Russell Westbrook this year, so it's like,
how do you get that man help? You know, with
the new NBA CBA you can't hit that second apron
(07:12):
or you're in all kinds of problems. So you could
basically play for two max guys, like three or four
mid level dudes and then a bunch of scrubs. The
ind of the bench and the problem for the Denver
Nuggets and the reason why Calvin Booth is in the
GM anymore, is that it goes Joker, Jamal Aaron Gordon,
Michael Porter Junior, and then kind of a lot of scirt,
you know what I mean, There's not much after that
(07:32):
after that, after you're starting five, So they daffle the GM,
they fire the head coach. We're all shocked. I think
the surprising thing is that Nugget fans forget about that
until they lose a game, you know what I mean,
this entire playoff run, they never bring up the fact
that the team fired coach alone until you lose a game,
and then they blame and then they blamed the coaching
(07:54):
or the move late in the season or whatever it was.
But you know, I mean, when you're up, when you're
up in the series against Okay and you start thinking
you're gonna make the Western Conference Finals, nobody's talking about
them firing of Michael Malone.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Burno, you're the man, and remember always remember you Sunday,
go get him tonight, Melo, we're pulling for you, big boy.
Go get him man, all right, thank you, you got it.
Mark Bertonoli from Denver Studio, host for the Nuggets. And
that's not good news, by the way, and the words
are rich More not good that Jamal Murray may not
play tonight. That kind of changes things, don't you think
(08:25):
they're nick We're gonna break textimonials and then a special
bonus edition, extended edition.
Speaker 4 (08:31):
This is like Return of the King.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Five hours at five o'clock fun with audio coming up
on ninety three three kJ RFM.
Casting live from the R and R Foundation specialist broad
Jest Studio. Now back to Saftie and Dick, powered by
Emerald Queen Casino, the vetting capital of the Northwest. On
sports Radio, Nutties three point three kJ.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
R rebound down to Christian Brown. You got a hurry
eight seven seconds front court, over to Westbrook Cliffside Gordon
for the win. Yeah, two point eight seconds left. Coming
back the other way. Williams from half court taked it
no good at the horn and the Denver Nuggets shock
the Oklahoma City Thunder in game number one.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
That is the voice of Jason Cosmiki, the voice of.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
The Denver Nuggets.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
That game feels like forever ago, by the way, the
joker in that game dropping forty two and then kind
of you know, inconsistent for sure, not shooting the ball well,
but then goes off for forty four.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Obviously in the loss the other night.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
But joining us right now on the radio show, a
man who in Denver, despite it, let's face it, Kevin
Shockey's complete ineffectiveness as the new program director of Altitude
Sports in Denver, this guy is flourished though as the
studio host for Denver Nugget basketball. They call him Berto.
Mark Bertanelli is with us on the radio program right now.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
Mark, How are you pale?
Speaker 3 (01:17):
Good?
Speaker 5 (01:17):
How you how y'all doing there in the Pacific Northwest?
Speaker 4 (01:20):
We are good.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
We are fired up to root for you guys, like
mad We're all Seattle fans. We have a saying up
here in Seattle, all right, So we're rooting hard for
you guys to take care of these bastards. So what's
the confidence meter look like before game six to night?
Speaker 5 (01:35):
Men?
Speaker 2 (01:36):
Oh man?
Speaker 5 (01:38):
Zero for me, Man, I'm nervous as hell. This game
is freaking me out, you know what I mean? Like,
I don't like these elimination games. But we just got
this news from the head coach of the Denver Nugget,
David Adam, and the interim head coach of the Denver Nuggets,
that Jamal Murray is sick, super sick, and I thought
that he'd probably give it a go. But the way
(01:58):
the way it sounds, they're talking about maybe trying to
find somebody else to start for Jamal tonight. That's how
sick he is. So that's that's not ideal when you
really only have two great players on your team to
start with.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Yeah, thanks a lot, Mark.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
Why do you just start off by kicking us as
the balls while you're at it, By the ways.
Speaker 5 (02:15):
Throw a little sunshine down on that one, didn't.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
I all right? So I mean who's got to step up?
Speaker 2 (02:19):
Then?
Speaker 3 (02:19):
Who's gonna be the guy that steps up in that
secondary role behind the joker?
Speaker 5 (02:24):
Well, it's got to be one of the core for
I mean, Michael Porter Junior has struggled so much, and
I'm sure it's the shoulder or or his confidence or something.
So I mean, you can't put that on Mike tonight.
Maybe Aaron Gordon. Maybe Aaron Gordon can do it. Maybe
he can get it done. If Jamal's not gonna be
in there, because we all expect greatness from joker Jokes
(02:44):
is gonna show up and give you forty or twenty
or whatever it's gonna be. So you need somebody else.
Maybe maybe Russell Westbrook off the bench. Maybe Russ has
one of those games tonight and gives the Thunders some trouble.
I don't know, man, I am, I am super nervous.
Speaker 2 (02:59):
Go this one.
Speaker 4 (03:00):
Well, I mean you should be right.
Speaker 3 (03:02):
I mean, you lose the game, you're done, by the way,
So nobody blames you for that. But Mark Bertanoli Studio
host Altitude Sports in Denver before Game six, Nuggets and
Thunder tonight, you Thunder, and you mentioned Russell Westbrook.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
There is he the.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Kind of guy that would hear all this talk, all
these anonymous reports that have come out about it being immature.
I know some people are coming to his defense and
saying that's not true. Is he the kind of guy
that would hear all that stuff and use that as
gas to have a big night tonight?
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (03:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (03:36):
Although Rusk goes one hundred miles an hour no matter what, right,
Like he lives his life a quarter mile at a time.
That's Russell Westbrook. He's just the crazy man. So and
I love chaos. I love chaos, and that's what he
brings to a basketball game. But is it going to
help you or hurt you tonight? I'm assuming that Russ
is going to bring that energy, but if he does
that thing where he starts missing shots, especially in the
(03:56):
second half of these games, and then instead of helping you,
heal hurts you. Man, I don't know. I don't know
what you're gonna get from Russ tonight. But let me
ask you discord. Let me ask you this question right here,
when the NBA here in a couple of months or
next summer, announces that Seattle is going to get an
expansion team, at that point, will you forgive OKC for
(04:19):
gaffling your team?
Speaker 4 (04:21):
Never ever?
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Because because because we we missed out on Harden Durant Westbrook.
Speaker 5 (04:27):
Yeah uh.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
And if the if we we've already missed out on
one NBA Finals appearance, we may miss out on a
second one, and we may miss out who knows, on
a championship. So at the top of the pyramid of
the most hated bastards in Seattle sports history sits a
guy named Howard Schultz and everybody else's number two in
my opinion forever, with a close second Clayton Bennett, no
(04:50):
question about it, you know. Tell me about tell me
about the Joker and why his numbers are so different
in this series than they were in the Clipper series.
Obviously you're playing a better team, but look at his
assist numbers. He's ever five assists and five turnovers a
game against Oklahoma City, whereas against the Clippers he was
ten assists and three turnovers.
Speaker 4 (05:08):
What how have they been defending him? Differently than the
Clippers did well.
Speaker 5 (05:13):
They have more bigs to throw at him. And I
really think the Joker's elbow is is kind of It's
been bothering them all season long. I think it is
especially bothering him in these playoffs series because Joker doesn't
miss the shots that he's been missing during this series.
The weird thing is is our stats guy just gave
us this information this morning. It's something crazy where Joker
(05:36):
in that last game. In that last game, Joker could
have ended up with I think it was seventeen assists,
but he ended up with five instead because his teammates
aren't making the show. Like He'll find a teammate in
an open position with an open shot and they throw
up an airball or a brick. And so the question is,
(05:56):
do you, I mean, do you just ask Joker to just,
you know, carry the offensive load and put up more
shots if his teammates aren't going to help him out,
If his teammates aren't going to knock down shots. What's
the answer to that question? Do you have Joker go
for sixty again?
Speaker 2 (06:11):
Who knows?
Speaker 3 (06:11):
So I'm looking at Mark and again Mark Bertanoli Studio
hosts for the Nuggets before they take on the Thunder
and a must win game tonight. You Thunder and the
ticket prices and maybe it's because we're getting close to
tip off, they're down to one hundred and twenty seven
bucks to get in the door. Conversely, and I realized
it's New York versus Denver, but still seven hundred dollars
to get in for the Nick game tomorrow against Boston.
(06:33):
I just wonder our fans residing to the fact that, hey,
we fired the coach, we fired the GM, we got
our championship, and this team is on the decline.
Speaker 4 (06:44):
What's the attitude of the fan base like out there.
Speaker 5 (06:47):
Well, the fan base has been trying to trade members
of this team all this season long, trying to find
help for Joker. They're like, Joker's never had an All
Star teammate. He's never had a teammate who's made an
All Star Game in tol You brought in the MVP,
the former MVP, Russell Westbrook this year, so it's like,
how do you get that man help? You know, with
the new NBA CBA you can't hit that second apron
(07:12):
or you're in all kinds of problems. So you could
basically play for two max guys, like three or four
mid level dudes and then a bunch of scrubs. The
ind of the bench and the problem for the Denver
Nuggets and the reason why Calvin Booth is in the
GM anymore, is that it goes Joker, Jamal Aaron Gordon,
Michael Porter Junior, and then kind of a lot of scirt,
you know what I mean, There's not much after that
(07:32):
after that, after you're starting five, So they daffle the GM,
they fire the head coach. We're all shocked. I think
the surprising thing is that Nugget fans forget about that
until they lose a game, you know what I mean,
this entire playoff run, they never bring up the fact
that the team fired coach alone until you lose a game,
and then they blame and then they blamed the coaching
(07:54):
or the move late in the season or whatever it was.
But you know, I mean, when you're up, when you're
up in the series against Okay and you start thinking
you're gonna make the Western Conference Finals, nobody's talking about
them firing of Michael Malone.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Burno, you're the man, and remember always remember you Sunday,
go get him tonight, Melo, we're pulling for you, big boy.
Go get him man, all right, thank you, you got it.
Mark Bertonoli from Denver Studio, host for the Nuggets. And
that's not good news, by the way, and the words
are rich More not good that Jamal Murray may not
play tonight. That kind of changes things, don't you think
(08:25):
they're nick We're gonna break textimonials and then a special
bonus edition, extended edition.
Speaker 4 (08:31):
This is like Return of the King.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Five hours at five o'clock fun with audio coming up
on ninety three three kJ RFM.
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