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What is Kraka Lakin or With Knox
listeners, I am Dance Valley coming at

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00:00:09,199 --> 00:00:15,320
you once more without my fantabulous co
host Adam Prommel. I am continuously excited

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to keep our team look ahead,
train plowing onward. We are up to

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the Denver Nuggets on our list,
and I will be speaking with Adam Madez,

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the VP of Creative Production at d
n VR Sports. He's also co

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host of the Locked On Nuggets podcast. Follow him at Adam Underscore Madez.

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That's at A D A D A
M Underscore M A R ees. He's

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a great follow I'm not sure anyone
covers the Nuggets specifically better than him.

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He is awesome. We had a
fun conversation covered a lot of ground in

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about forty five to fifty minutes before
we get started. Though, my usual

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reminder, my usual plea continue rating, reviewing, and subscribing to this podcast

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where where you get your podcast?
Downloading every episode really helps us with the

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seconds ten seconds out of your day
head over to iTunes search hardwin Knox,

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throw us a five start rating,
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a diehard Nuggets fan, you're a
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d NVR, or you really just
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also follow us on YouTube or go
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will come up subscribe to that channel. Not as I've sped through this intro

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and am sufficiently out of breath,
let's get to loads and loads and loads

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of Denver Nuggets talk with Adam Madez
from d NVR and the Lockdown Nuggets Podcast.

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Adam, thank you so much for
hopping back on the Hardward Knox podcast

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to talk some Denver Nuggets with me. Before we get started, of course,

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the most important question that I ask
every guest, how are you doing?

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I'm doing great, Dan, It's
good to be on. Man.

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It's gonna be talking nugs and maybe
hyping them up a little bit. I'm

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curiou your questions. I think you
know there's some good topics. I'm excited.

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Yeah, one topic is probably not
so excited to talk about those.

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It does start with Jamal Murray recovering
from that ACL injury. His absence obviously

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looms large, and the timing of
it last season is just so bizarre because

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it happens April twelve, thirteenth,
whoever that day was, and it makes

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sort of predicting a timeline of whether
he'll play this season or not very difficult.

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Do you have any sense of whether
that would be the plan or a

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realistic ballpark of when we could expect
him to return if he does. You

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know, I've always thought and been
talking to doctors and sports physiologists and this

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or that that March early March is
probably a realistic target date. But we

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don't know, and that it's entirely
possible that he's just not back this year,

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you know, not back to the
playoffs. It's possible maybe he's a

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couple of weeks ahead of that schedule, but for most people, kind of

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the consensus central part that people estimated
somewhere around their first week of March.

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I do like that we've gotten away
from when it first happened. Everyone was

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like, it's Jamal Murray, so
he's just gonna beat the timeline and come

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back early early. It's like he's
he's like part he basically one half one

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third of the Nuggets timeline out.
They would rush it. How do you

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see and I'll put if people are
watching this, I'll put point guard in

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air quotes. But how do you
see like the point guard rotation shaking out

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without him? Like? Who are
they relying on most in that spot this

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season? I gotta think it's Monte
Morris. He's the one that's been around

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the team the longest, has the
most familiarity with the starting unit. You

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know, he's played a lot of
minutes with those guys in the playoffs last

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year, he was the guy that
they threw in that starting lineup. Faku

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was there for a while, but
mostly I think because Monte was coming back

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from injury, and once the going
got tough, they went with Monte in

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the starting lineup, and I think
he's a good fit there. He's not

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dynamic like Jamal Murray. He's not
going to punish teams and create something out

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of nothing in isolation and off of
switches. I think that's the thing you

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look at that say where do they
get weakest going from Murray to yoke Well

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teams. Denver is very good at
punishing teams that try to switch against them,

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more so than I think maybe any
other team in the NBA. And

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so now you look at it and
say, Okay, if a big does

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get switched out onto Monte Morris,
is he cooking them the same way that

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Jamal Murray would. Probably not,
But for everything else, you know,

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just the continuity, being able to
run pick and rolls and dribble handoffs get

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them into their sets, chemistry with
all of the main players. You know,

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Monte has that in spades, as
well as being an extremely low mistake

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guy. And I know you know
this, but the fewer mistakes you make

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in the half court when you have
Yokich on your team, the more likely

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you're going to find a good shot
within twenty four seconds. So I think

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Monte will be a very steady and
probably a high floor replacement for Jamal Murray,

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a lower ceiling replacement, but a
high floor replacement for him. Yeah.

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Look, my co host Adam Fromwald
thinks that Monte Morris is like the

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greatest player of all time. So
you preaching the choir over here? Is

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there any like sense of are they
going to rely on fak who more than

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Austin Rivers? Because because aust River
seemed like he played a fairly important role

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when he signed with them. But
then you look at like, just this

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roster is still so freaking deep,
and so it feels like someone's gonna get

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squeezed somewhere, And so was there
like a tug of war between those two

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at all? Well, what I
love is, first of all, I've

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never heard anybody pronounced the emphasis on
the second syllable fako, But I kind

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of like it. And it's not
like I get to say it a ton,

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So fako is actually a much better
It's an improvement on the name.

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So I'm gonna start calling him fako. So I think that Monte is almost

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certainly, you know, the starter
and locked into that role. I'd be

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a little bit surprised if if that
changed. You know, they'll be injuries,

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they'll be differ things that happen.
But the second unit is really interesting.

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Question. You didn't ask me about
Bones Thailand. But I have to

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get into him here to answer this, to answer your question, and that

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is that Bones Thailand, Denver's rookie
has looked outstanding in the Summer League and

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then looked equally as outstanding in the
preseason. And typically I would say,

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you know, rookie's not really gonna
count him. You got veteran players.

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You have to show that. But
I look at Bones Thailand and what he's

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done CONCEPTI he has not had it, but he has yet to have a

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bad game, either Summer League or
preseason. And I look at that and

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I think he provides scoring. He's
been pretty steady, a little turnovers a

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little high, and that's probably one
of the things that might keep him on

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the bench. But he runs to
pick and on credibly well, very advanced

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field. And I think if you
look at Denver's second unit right now,

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without Bones, it would be Faku, it would be Austin, Austin Rivers

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and PJ. Dozer. None of
those guys are liable three point shooters.

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They can knock down a shot,
but they're not spacing the floor. Nobody's

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running over top screens to keep those
guys from launching it off the dribble three

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pointer. And I look at that, and I go, can you win

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in the NBA even with the bench
unit? Can you win if you don't

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have that threat the one, two
or three? And so Bones, who's

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a very big threat from deep,
might replace one of those guys. It's

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not going to be PJ. Doger, so let's count him out. He's

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more of a small forward anyway.
With the Nuggets figuration. So now you

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look at Facu and Austin Rivers,
I would not be surprised if, either

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right out of the gate or at
some point in the early go of this

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season, one of those guys gets
bounced in favor of Bones, both because

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he might just be better overall,
but also because he provides there's a little

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bit of a redundancy between those other
three that Bones might kind of create a

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little bit more spacing, a little
bit more dynamic playmaking. And yeah,

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he's been fantastic. I just you
know, I feel like we're not that

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far removed from wanting Michael Malone to
play Michael Porter Junior more and so it's

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hard for me to really envision him
leaning semi significantly on a rookie. Do

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you think that's something that he would
actually be open to given how like better

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and heavy the rest of the roster
is. So we joke all the time

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here at d NBR about there being
Malone guys and not Malone guys. And

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Malone guys are tough, they're smart, they're very low mistakes, so they're

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dialed in so they don't make a
lot of mistakes. And then I would

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say even there's a little bit of
there's just like Michael Malone was a point

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guard in college, right, he's
a point guard's mind. So guys that

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maybe favor just seeing the game from
a point guard standboy, Michael Porter is

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none of those things, right.
He's an incredibly talented player, but smart.

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No, he came in missing a
couple of years, he had to

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catch up. He was behind the
curve from a basketball sort of and you

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know, feel for the game intelligence
standpoint low mistake. Well, Michael Porter

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is not that easy defensively, especially
he makes a lot of mistakes. So

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I think when you contrast that to
bone to one of the surprises out of

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him and their early go in the
preseason so far has been how much more

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of a point guard he is?
I think he was thought of as the

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score who comes in, is always
looking for a SHOT's been a great passer

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both in summer league and in preseason, and so I think he's more of

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a Malone type guy. The mistakes. So the one thing you know,

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the over is this or that or
the one thing that could keep him on

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the bench, Because to your point, that is a thing that I think

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all coaches, but especially Malone,
look at and say, I just need

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I'd rather have somebody I know is
not going to make mistakes than somebody that

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I know is going to make shots. But I think he's low enough mistake

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that he'll get over that hump pretty
pretty quickly, if not right out of

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the gate. So to answer your
question shortly, yes, I think that

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I think that he has a much
better chance of getting early minutes than Michael

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Porter did just because of that low
mistake and his ability to slot right in.

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He wasn't not so guilty pleasure of
mind leading into the draft, just

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watching like his you know, his
shooting with its cantortions around the rim.

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So I'm hoping minutes. I love, I would love to see that.

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Did you know, real quick,
did you know he was a playmaker,

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because that's the thing. Every every
scouting report I saw said two things.

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One handled not very good. Well, that hasn't been accurate. In fact,

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the nuggets were pulled who has the
best handle on the team. They

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almost all said Boat has the best
handle on the team. So that part

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of the scouting report was out.
And then the other part was, you

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know, he's a score as a
gunner, but I'm so impressed with how

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well he reads the court and how
willing he is as a passer. Does

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that part surprise you at all?
Yeah, that that actually floors me.

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I think it was the handle,
And then it was wondering would he'd be

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able to get those tough shots off
at the NBA level just looking at I

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don't know his sometimes his motive operations
felt a little slow, but seeing him

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in preseason specifically like that part looks
fine. But the playmaking is absolutely a

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surprise. And so I guess that
makes easier for a lot easier for him

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to get minutes if he's actually able
to fill that table setting role. Michael

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Porter Junior's role after Michael Porter Junior
was largely fantastic after Jamal Murray went down.

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Just how does his offensive rollo change
heading into this season a little bit,

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because it still felt like he wasn't
necessarily operating a ton on the ball

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without Murray last year. Is that's
something we should expect to see him doing

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more in the half quarters? He's
still going to be that guy that's predominantly

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I guess the best way for me
to describe it is he scores all these

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points and it just feels like most
of them are just coming entirely within the

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flow of everything else that's happening around
him. So I am sure that he

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will just get more shots, and
you know they'll they'll be a little bit

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more. The ball will find him
a little bit more. But I'm a

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bit surprised he's only played two preseason
games at the time of recording this,

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the offense hasn't really looked any different
with regards to him. I don't know

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that they're necessarily running more actions to
him. He maybe has a little bit

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more of a green light to be
aggressive once the ball finds him with the

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natural rhythm. But I think the
thing about Michael Porter's game that people probably

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don't realize just yet is that he's
mostly an off ball player, meaning he

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catches the ball off of screens or
off of cuts or off of rebounds,

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and he goes up with it.
And that's part of what makes him so

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great as a scorer, is he's
always ready to shoot. But he's not

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necessarily a guy that you kind of
give the ball to a whole lot and

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just say makes something, you know, dribble at six times, run off

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a pick and roll whatever, And
so far in the preseas I thought maybe

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he would add a little bit of
that. I don't know that he's added

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that, or that Denver is interested
in having him add that. He's really

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just more. He took a lot
of shots last year. I mean he

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00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:52,919
scored I think twenty four points per
game after Jamal Murray went down, so

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00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:56,240
it wasn't like he was had a
shortage of shots. But I wouldn't be

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surprised if he gets two or three
more just from you get to be a

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little bit more aggressive once you catch
the ball, attack one dribble, move,

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attack and get it off one or
two times more per game. But

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honestly, I think his game is
more or less what last year is more

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or less what it will be this
year, just hopefully a little bit better.

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Defensively, it feels like he can
be sort of a playmaker there where

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it's like, I don't you don't
trust me to defend one on one when

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you're watching him, like if he's
going to make plays around the basket or

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something, do you think that there's
another level or that there's a league average

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or better defender in there, or
is sort of those high points last season

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like kind of his his peak.
So, Michael Porter, I think that

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his highs will be really high defensively
because he's so athletic. He's really light

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on his feet, and you know, at six ft ten six eleven,

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he covers a lot of grounds.
So every now and then he comes across

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the court and makes a block shot
that you go, wow, that's a

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Draymond Desk rotation or something like that. The problem with him is that,

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and there's slow progress on this every
year, although I think slower than average

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progress for a player of his skill
set. He still doesn't read the court

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well. He's late to react,
he misses assignments, he misses switches,

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or doesn't communicate properly, and so
I think the problem with him isn't just

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what does the average possession look like, it's what does the lower ten percentile

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defensive possession look like? And for
him, there's a lot of open dunks

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given up because he just didn't read
his rotation in time, and of course

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those look the worst and they also
count for the worst. If you give

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up, you know ten percent of
your possessions are a terrible mistake. That

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that's gonna weigh down your average quite
a bit. So I progress has been

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slow. He's much better than he
was two years ago, but I still

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think he's going to be a guy
that is a weak link from a do

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you make mistakes every you know,
every every so often on the defensive end?

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I think I think he still does
that. I'm sure you've been asked

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this a ton. Did you have
any thoughts about his extension where it felt

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very much like a no brainer?
But there's also just in the back of

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my mind at these the back issues
that is just such a very substantial investment

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to go into someone that could have
problems staying or still has like a question

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mark there. Yeah, you know
what's interesting about that is I've actually spoken

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with some some sports medical experts,
doctors, even surgeons who work on backs

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in particular, And the number one
thing I hear about the back issue is

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that he's not any more likely to
reinjure his back, but that his career

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is likely to be shorter. And
Michael Porter himself actually talked about this on

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the JJ Reddick podcast, where he
said, I probably plan on playing just

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for about ten years, and after
ten years, I'll probably have to retire

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because then I extend, you know
whatever. So it was the first time

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I've ever publicly heard him say that. But again, I don't know that

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it's going to be one of these
things where you should expect back tightness ever

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so often. It's more just not
to further damage it. You probably get

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a ten year run before you start
to risk things. That being said,

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his family as also has a history
of some other injuries. You know.

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I think his brother had two ACL
injuries. I think he's got a couple

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of sisters that have had ACL injuries. I don't know if there's a genetic

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thing or if you should read into
it. He's really really tall and really

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really skinny, so you can imagine
there's some torque on those knees. That

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is unique to players like a Yannis, like Kevin Durant and Siakam and those

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types. But I don't really think
about the injury more than I do for

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most players who are just sort of
athletically unique. What did you think about

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the Aaron Gordon extension. I was
surprised, to speak to my part first,

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at how many people were just like
shocked by it, because I don't

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know, when your team as good
as the Nuggets like that, you weren't

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spending that money on someone else,
and so the reaction to it was a

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little bit surprising to me. The
reaction, I think because you always look

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at contracts in the vacuum right and
think, oh, is he worth this

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on the open market? If there
was just this draft or you know,

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you just paid all the players this
joined rosters by what their market value is,

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it wouldn't make sense. But Aaron
Gordon is the perfect was in a

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perfect spot where Denver had their roster
in place. He was the final piece,

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and the question for the Nuggets was
not how much is Aaron Gordon worth?

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It's do you want Aaron Gordon?
Or do you not want Aaron Gordon?

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And if you wanted him, you
had to pay a little bit of

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a premium to get him and to
keep him. And I think Denver's at

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a point now where they've saved on
money, to be honest, Let's be

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honest with the Cronkies. They haven't
gone into the tax for a decade.

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Over a decade, they've saved on
money in the past. Maybe it's catching

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up to him a little bit,
but I think they still come out ahead

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quite a bit in this equation.
And yeah, it's maybe a little bit

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over priced. But when that roster
was fully healthy for that glorious ten day

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stretch or whatever it was, Aaron
Gordon looked absolutely incredible andre iguodala esque in

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the way he tied everything together on
the defensive end. And then it wasn't

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that he was dynamic on offense.
It's just that he fit into the offense

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so perfectly, that what he provided
athleticism, cutting, rebounding fits so perfectly.

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So he's a perfect piece, and
sometimes you have to pay a premium

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for the perfect piece. What is
the Is there a different path to optimizing

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him on offense without Jamal Murray into
the fold? In the fold? Excuse

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me? Yeah, that's such a
great question, and that was The thing

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about him last year is he looked
great right for the playoffs, and I

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think the playoffs they just needed something
out of him that he wasn't able to

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give, you know, a little
bit. He went back to Orlando where

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it's like, hey, can you
take this guy half the drill or can

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we post you up? Can you
do this? Like he can do that.

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Every now and then he does something
you're like, that was that was

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gorgeous. But most of if you
just one hundred times he has to post

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up. Yeah, those numbers aren't
going to be great. I think the

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thing that they've done in the preseason
I actually expected it. But the thing

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they've done a lot that I'm encouraged
by is using him as the entry point.

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So rather than have him off ball
or in the dunker or in the

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corner where maybe his gravity isn't as
strong as it can be, have him

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bring the ball at the court and
initiate it, and then he's the first

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cut. It's not that he's doing
anything crazy. You're not running pick and

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rolls, but you at least make
his man have to guard him, you

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know, bringing the ball at the
court and at the entry point, and

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you create a lot interesting things off
of that. The other thing that Denver's

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doing now that I think will be
interesting to watch is I mentioned one of

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the things that makes Denver special offensively
is that teams the best defenses really like

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to switch. Denver is sort of
a switch breaker. And I think when

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you add Michael Order Junior and Nikola
Yokich and Aeron Gordon in your front court,

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if you switch any of those things, Aaron Gordon's really strong. So

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if you get if you if you
have a small undersize three and you want

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to put a better defender who's maybe
bigger on Michael Porter. Now you have

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a small undersized guy guarding Aaron Gordon
in the post. Can he post him

303
00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:22,039
up? Can he get grab rebounds? And then even just running double pinned

304
00:18:22,039 --> 00:18:25,759
down actions with him and Yokich,
you generate a lot of guys just switching

305
00:18:25,759 --> 00:18:27,839
a bunch of different things. And
if Aaron Gordon gets a point guard switched

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00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:32,240
onto him, he should he should
be either posted up or more likely just

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go go rebound. Just get ready
for the rebounding position because he should have

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an advantage there And Denver's done a
lot of that using him as the first

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on double stagger screens. That creates
a lot of switches for him, and

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I'm interested to see how he takes
advantage of that. His rebound numbers were

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not great last year. I think
this year that's going to be an area

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where he can really contribute to Denver's
just pounding the offensive glass, and he

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00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:56,880
should have a lot of switches that
make that easier for him. How do

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you see sort of that secondary four
five rotation behind Yo Kich and Gordon shaking

315
00:19:02,599 --> 00:19:03,599
out? Is it maybe not?
You know, on the outline, I

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00:19:03,599 --> 00:19:07,240
made it out to be an issue
because I'm assuming maybe you want to play

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MPG eight to four a little bit. You have both rains Jamichael and Jeff,

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and then Zeke Nagi is in there. Again. This team is just

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00:19:12,359 --> 00:19:15,920
so deep, and so I'm curious
how you see like that sort of secondary

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00:19:15,960 --> 00:19:18,240
front court rotation shaking out. Well, I think you end up throwing out

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00:19:18,359 --> 00:19:22,039
the Zeke Naji Bull Bowl, Black
co Chan Chart trio. Those guys all

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00:19:22,599 --> 00:19:26,599
somebody gets injured, I think they're
gonna step in, But I think you

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00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:30,079
throw out those guys for your regular
ten man rotation even before Jamal Murray gets

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00:19:30,079 --> 00:19:33,960
healthy. I agree with you that
I would love to see Michael Porter play

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00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:37,039
a little bit more four, especially
it's staggered lineups. Maybe you have lineups

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00:19:37,039 --> 00:19:40,359
to have Barton or Dozer at the
three and Michael Porter at the four.

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00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:44,440
But I think the base for Denver
on staggered units is going to be Jeff

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00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:47,559
Green and Jamichael Green as your four
five, and really it's just two fourths.

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I mean, we know how it
is with second units. Jamichael Green

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probably guards the bigger of the two
players. But those two guys in your

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front court, and I expect them
both to play a decent amount of minutes,

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00:19:57,599 --> 00:20:02,240
maybe twenty minutes or so, which
kind of covers most of those minutes.

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I'm curious to see where Michael Porter
at the four fills into all of

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this, because if that happens,
you're you reduced the minutes for a Jeff

335
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Green origin Michael Green, who I
think both expect to play about twenty minutes

336
00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:17,039
or more and probably are good enough
to play twenty minutes or more. So

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00:20:17,079 --> 00:20:18,960
if you slide Michael Porter down there, it cuts into those minutes. But

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outside of that, I think that's
where it goes. And then PJ Dojer

339
00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:26,720
off the bench as the backup small
forward, and he's been fantastic and both

340
00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:30,000
when he was healthy last year and
in the preseason so far. I guess

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00:20:30,000 --> 00:20:32,119
the other question, if you're playing
MPG at the four, like they don't

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00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:34,599
have a lot of as Davis,
this roster's true wings, it's like Dojer

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00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:37,119
and then Michael Porter Jr. And
that, but you know, really might

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be it. And so that's if
you move him to the four, you

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kind of have to fill those minutes
with You mentioned Barton at the three,

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00:20:41,599 --> 00:20:45,680
or are you're playing Austin Rivers up
at three or something like that. Michael

347
00:20:45,680 --> 00:20:48,359
Malone last year played PJ Dojer at
four more than you would think. I

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00:20:48,359 --> 00:20:52,000
mean he that was like not a
lineup he was afraid to go to.

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And maybe some of that was injuries, but I don't know. But so

350
00:20:55,880 --> 00:21:00,599
playing him as a small forward almost
feels natural now. It's like it's his

351
00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:03,440
second biggest lineup. He's used me, he's been too, so he's probably

352
00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:07,079
more of a traditional two. He
plays three primarily for the Nuggets, and

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00:21:07,079 --> 00:21:11,160
he's even played four in the past. So I could see Michael Malung going

354
00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:12,559
to lineups like that. Again,
that gets Michael Porter at the four.

355
00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:17,799
So Nicole Yokich. Well, actually, let me ask you this question first,

356
00:21:17,839 --> 00:21:22,599
between Zeke Naji Chasar and then bow
ball. If there was one of

357
00:21:22,599 --> 00:21:25,839
those guys that played by a semi
meaningful role on this team this season,

358
00:21:25,839 --> 00:21:29,920
who would you guess that that it
would be? That's such a hard question.

359
00:21:30,519 --> 00:21:33,640
I think Black co chanchar Is by
is far and away the most reliable

360
00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:37,079
player there. He's the highest floor
lowest ceiling by by a mile. In

361
00:21:37,079 --> 00:21:40,799
fact, those two things are almost
touching. He's gonna give you, you

362
00:21:40,839 --> 00:21:44,279
know, low mistakes. He'll probably
knock down thirty five percent of his wide

363
00:21:44,279 --> 00:21:47,319
open, you know, his open
three pointers. He'll rebound a little bit.

364
00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:51,519
So I think it's him just because
of if you're talking about a guy

365
00:21:51,559 --> 00:21:53,960
that sneaks in because somebody's hurt,
you're probably going with a guy who's not

366
00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:56,319
going to stick out for any bad
reasons, not gonna stick out for any

367
00:21:56,319 --> 00:21:59,559
good reasons. But he's not gonna
stick out for any bad reasons. And

368
00:21:59,599 --> 00:22:00,839
in fact, Ver has done that
over the last two years. One of

369
00:22:00,839 --> 00:22:04,039
their most memorable regular season games over
the last two years, we refer to

370
00:22:04,079 --> 00:22:07,240
it as the Seven, when they
went into Utah with just seven healthy players

371
00:22:07,279 --> 00:22:11,279
Blackgo was one of them, and
they beat Utah in large part because he

372
00:22:11,319 --> 00:22:14,279
did everything he's supposed to cut,
defend, rotate, all that stuff.

373
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So I think he's the guy that
most likely to play. Zeke Naji had

374
00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:22,319
so much momentum coming into this summer, so much moment at forty point five

375
00:22:22,359 --> 00:22:26,880
percent from three defends really really well, he thought, Okay, there's something

376
00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:32,480
to this guy. He couldn't have
had a worse summer league and pre season,

377
00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:34,119
so much so that if you ask
me this, you know, four

378
00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:37,240
months ago, I would have said
I would see Glagi by a mile.

379
00:22:37,079 --> 00:22:41,839
It's his spot to lose. I
think he lost it. That's how that's

380
00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:47,480
how poorly things have gone. So
I would probably put him in Bowl deep

381
00:22:47,559 --> 00:22:51,400
behind black goat chant Chard, just
in that at the moment, I mean,

382
00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:52,799
everybody kind of knows Bowl Bowl.
He does some awesome things. The

383
00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:56,240
highlight reels are great, but he
makes a mistake every third possession. And

384
00:22:56,279 --> 00:23:00,039
so how mistake prone Zeke Naji and
Bubble have been. I've got to think

385
00:23:00,079 --> 00:23:04,759
Michael Malone has them sort of at
the back end of that rotation. I'm

386
00:23:04,799 --> 00:23:11,559
not one to bang that this superstar
is underrated or underappreciated drum but ever winning

387
00:23:11,640 --> 00:23:18,119
MVP is NICOLEA. Yok being like
underrated in this season's potential to repeat as

388
00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:22,519
MVP When the names are mentioned,
I don't feel like I'm reading or hearing

389
00:23:22,559 --> 00:23:27,160
a lot about his potential to win
a consecutive award. I think the only

390
00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:33,240
reason it's not underrated is because,
let's be honest, the MVP is a

391
00:23:33,359 --> 00:23:36,480
narrative award. We learned this.
There's never a year this was more true

392
00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:37,680
than last year. When you just
saw how people were talking about it.

393
00:23:37,559 --> 00:23:41,039
It was never about the merits.
It was always like, well this guy's

394
00:23:41,039 --> 00:23:44,079
heard that. Guys right, I
don't know what's what's the story we can

395
00:23:44,400 --> 00:23:48,279
conjure up and look, Yokich was
swept last year? Was it should have

396
00:23:48,359 --> 00:23:52,319
been expected that a very good and
healthy Phoenix Suns team beat a very banged

397
00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:57,240
up and an unhealthy Nuggets team.
It probably should have been expected. I

398
00:23:57,240 --> 00:24:00,079
think we should be more looking at
the fact that you could drag that team

399
00:24:00,119 --> 00:24:03,119
to whatever see I can't even remember
what were they a three seed and then

400
00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:07,599
they and then upset Damian very healthy
and prime Damian Lillard. That should be

401
00:24:07,640 --> 00:24:11,160
more the emphasis. But it's not
and to get it back to back MVP,

402
00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:15,359
it should the narrative is going to
have to be so overwhelming. Would

403
00:24:15,359 --> 00:24:17,920
they have to be a one seed
out West? Would he have to average

404
00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:19,640
a triple double? Would he have
to I think he's gonna put up numbers

405
00:24:19,720 --> 00:24:23,079
very similar to the ones that we
saw last year, which were historic numbers,

406
00:24:23,279 --> 00:24:26,720
and I think Denver has a chance
to be a three or four seed.

407
00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:30,559
I don't think either of those things
make the narrative in his favor unless

408
00:24:30,599 --> 00:24:33,119
they somehow get the one seed or
he somehow averages a triple double, or

409
00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:37,920
if the narrative just goes against so
many other guys who are also great players

410
00:24:38,200 --> 00:24:41,039
and might have a better story on
their side, like a Janis, like

411
00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:47,799
Kevin Durant and maybe even a Lucadanchig. See I'm just wondering where If Jamal

412
00:24:47,839 --> 00:24:51,279
Murray really doesn't return until March and
they're still the three seed, then that's

413
00:24:51,319 --> 00:24:55,680
probably a larger narrative bump that he
had last season to happen to lead this

414
00:24:55,720 --> 00:24:57,960
team to a three seed without your
second best player, But the narrative wasn't

415
00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:00,960
with him last year. It was
a begrudging MVP. It's it felt at

416
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:03,920
least this course online. I know
the voters came from pretty heavily, but

417
00:25:04,599 --> 00:25:10,279
I think the the the fallout from
last year is largely well, he won

418
00:25:10,319 --> 00:25:11,839
because everyone else got injured, and
I don't think that's fair. I don't

419
00:25:11,839 --> 00:25:15,359
even think it's true. I think
with everybody healthy, he had a very

420
00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:18,519
strong case against Lebron, against against
any of the other guys that were that

421
00:25:18,519 --> 00:25:21,039
were candidates. But I think that's
what they're going to look at them to

422
00:25:21,079 --> 00:25:22,920
say, oh, are we giving
it to him again. It's it's just

423
00:25:22,960 --> 00:25:26,160
gonna be tough again, unless they're
a one seed or one of those crazy

424
00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:30,119
number like a trip. It's funny
he averaged but almost nine assists, so

425
00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:33,000
we're so close to a triple w
average one more assist and then the narrative

426
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:36,480
comes to him. So I think
he's gonna be fantastic, might even be

427
00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:40,240
better than last year, honestly,
But I just I don't know if voters

428
00:25:40,279 --> 00:25:42,319
are going to go for it again. I did love his response to missing

429
00:25:42,319 --> 00:25:45,960
training camp about how he knows all
the place he's not worried about missing him.

430
00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:51,200
He is a he is a treasure. Yeah, whether it's if you're

431
00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:55,119
looking at a specific position or skill
set void. What is this team's biggest

432
00:25:55,160 --> 00:26:00,880
weakness setting into this season, And
that's a good question. I still love

433
00:26:00,920 --> 00:26:04,480
their starting lineup. I think it's
gonna be pretty dynamic. It's gonna They

434
00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:08,359
had the second best record in the
NBA after Jamal Murray went down, so

435
00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:12,200
to twenty games stretch, they were
fantastic. The second unit is a big

436
00:26:12,200 --> 00:26:15,759
mystery to me, and I think
that there's a lack of guard play scoring

437
00:26:15,839 --> 00:26:19,160
on that second unit. Again,
that's why Bones has an even better chance

438
00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:22,640
than you might think to get in
the rotation. But to me, that

439
00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:27,279
second unit is got absolutely murdered so
far in the preseason by everybody. They've

440
00:26:27,319 --> 00:26:32,200
looked even worse in the clutch time, and Michael Malone joked this week about

441
00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:33,880
I'm not closing with my second unit
to get into preseason because of it,

442
00:26:33,880 --> 00:26:37,359
which is kind of crazy to say
for a preseason game. That's kind of

443
00:26:37,359 --> 00:26:41,200
how disgusted he was with it.
So I would say maybe a little bit

444
00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:47,279
of that. I'm curious to see
how their defense shakes out without It's weird

445
00:26:47,279 --> 00:26:48,720
to say without Jamal Murray, but
if their offense takes a little bit of

446
00:26:48,759 --> 00:26:52,319
dip and they're playing in transition that
that could be an issue as well.

447
00:26:52,880 --> 00:26:56,319
So I don't know. I guess
those two things would be would be what

448
00:26:56,400 --> 00:26:59,559
I look at. Defense is a
big question mark for me. They didn't

449
00:26:59,559 --> 00:27:03,720
finish eleventh outside garbage time, points, loud per possession is that? Do

450
00:27:03,759 --> 00:27:06,839
you think they're built to match or
see that this year? Should we expect

451
00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:10,039
somewhat of a drop off there?
Well, One thing that happened last year

452
00:27:10,039 --> 00:27:11,920
is they ran out of steam.
I mean that Phoenix Sun. That Phoenix

453
00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:18,039
series was a lot about them just
being exhausted and they pressed down the Murray

454
00:27:18,079 --> 00:27:21,400
got hurt. They rallied around that
and played really hard. I think defense

455
00:27:21,519 --> 00:27:25,519
for some teams comes easy, and
you get to be a top five defense

456
00:27:25,559 --> 00:27:27,400
because you have the pieces in place. And for some teams you get to

457
00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:32,759
be the eleventh defense because you worked, you played playoff intensity all season long,

458
00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:34,839
and you wore down because of it. I think Denver's the ladder.

459
00:27:36,119 --> 00:27:38,559
The question for good defensive teams is
can you defend I don't want to say

460
00:27:38,559 --> 00:27:42,559
easy, but do you have to
play fourth quarter defense for forty eight minutes

461
00:27:42,559 --> 00:27:45,680
to be good? And I think
Denver does. Are they going to do

462
00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:48,319
that. This year they lost Wilbarton
has been unhealthy three seasons in a row.

463
00:27:48,400 --> 00:27:52,799
I think he knows that he needs
to pace himself. Yokich played all

464
00:27:52,839 --> 00:27:55,400
seventy two games. He was very
proud of that. I think he also

465
00:27:55,519 --> 00:27:59,759
knows how tired he was in the
Phoenix series and probably scales back a little

466
00:27:59,759 --> 00:28:03,480
bit. Michael Porter's going to play
the longest seasons he's ever played, so

467
00:28:03,839 --> 00:28:06,440
he'll probably scale down a little bit. PJ. Dozer has been hurt,

468
00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:11,279
Monte More's been hurt, so I
think those things might lower Denver because it's

469
00:28:11,319 --> 00:28:12,759
not easy for them to defend.
And I don't know that they're going to

470
00:28:12,799 --> 00:28:18,240
split through the marathon like they did
last year. You're you're thought about the

471
00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:21,200
second You made me think would there
be a chance that maybe they move will

472
00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:23,319
Barton out of the starting line up
to play for I know you can stagger

473
00:28:23,359 --> 00:28:26,759
and the starting lineup designation, but
it does get a little bit easier if

474
00:28:26,759 --> 00:28:29,920
he's with the bench. If he's
healthy, it feels like he could sort

475
00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:32,759
of be the engine of that offense. Is that something that they might consider

476
00:28:32,759 --> 00:28:36,319
it? You just think he's penciled
in as a starter I think it's absolutely

477
00:28:36,319 --> 00:28:40,160
something they could consider. I don't
know if they'll do it, the reason

478
00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:41,720
being, you know, it was
important to Will Barton for the last few

479
00:28:41,759 --> 00:28:47,519
years that he start, And is
it worth it if you if you ruffle

480
00:28:47,599 --> 00:28:48,279
some feathers. I mean, look, he's good enough to start. He's

481
00:28:48,279 --> 00:28:51,519
one of the five best players,
he's the best shooting guards who you slot

482
00:28:51,559 --> 00:28:52,920
him in there? But is it
worth it to try to move him over

483
00:28:52,960 --> 00:28:56,680
there, even if it's better for
the team slightly? Does it upset him

484
00:28:56,680 --> 00:28:59,920
in a way that that ruined some
of the juju? I don't know,

485
00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:03,640
so I wouldn't necessarily expect that to
happen, other than maybe it happens in

486
00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:07,720
a playoff series, like maybe there's
a playoff series where that's the counter movers

487
00:29:07,799 --> 00:29:11,000
or something over this or that.
But the first unit has been so good

488
00:29:11,039 --> 00:29:14,039
together for three seasons with Will Barton, and he's one of the control pieces

489
00:29:14,079 --> 00:29:15,920
that you take him out and the
numbers kind of change, but you put

490
00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:18,119
him in there. The first unit
has been great, and I think they're

491
00:29:18,119 --> 00:29:22,759
going to stay with that sledgehammer first
unit and the second unit might have to

492
00:29:22,759 --> 00:29:27,759
figure things out as they go.
And do you think's workload is like at

493
00:29:27,759 --> 00:29:30,799
the forefront of what this team is
thinking about giving. He plays almost thirty

494
00:29:30,799 --> 00:29:33,839
five minutes per game last year,
like you said, didn't miss a game.

495
00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:37,400
Hasn't really missed that many games throughout
his entire career. Is that something

496
00:29:37,440 --> 00:29:40,119
they're thinking about it or is it
just he's twenty six. He'll be fine.

497
00:29:40,160 --> 00:29:41,759
He dictates the pace at which you
play a lot of the times too,

498
00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:45,920
so it doesn't have to be that
large large of a concern. Well,

499
00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:49,480
one of the things that happened last
year down the stretch after Murray went

500
00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:53,799
down, but also especially in that
Phoenix series was they didn't have another entry

501
00:29:53,839 --> 00:29:57,240
point for the offense. Usually it's
Murray. So there's plays. And we

502
00:29:57,279 --> 00:30:00,799
know this from watching Lebron even in
his prime. One of the values of

503
00:30:00,799 --> 00:30:03,079
a Dwayne Wade or a Kyrie Irving
was Lebron got to play take off ten

504
00:30:03,119 --> 00:30:06,960
possessions a game where he just got
to say, hey, you do this,

505
00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:07,839
let me catch my bro I'm a
little tired. You do this.

506
00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:11,559
I'm gonna take this one off.
Yoke didn't get any of those because they

507
00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:12,880
you know, you don't give Michael
Porter the keys and say just could make

508
00:30:12,920 --> 00:30:15,880
something out of nothing. You did
do that with Jamal and with Will Barton,

509
00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:19,039
both of whom missed the playoffs for
the most part. So I think

510
00:30:19,079 --> 00:30:23,000
this year that's got to be one
of the things on Michael Malone's mind of

511
00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:26,880
where does offense come from? With
Yok on the court once or twice a

512
00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:30,440
stint where he gets to just kind
of be in the corner or be at

513
00:30:30,480 --> 00:30:33,400
the top of the key and take
a possession off, and that alone should

514
00:30:33,400 --> 00:30:37,240
hopefully allow him to play like he
normally does, which to your point,

515
00:30:37,440 --> 00:30:41,240
he plays at a very nice slow
pace and he paces himself throughout the game.

516
00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:42,640
But you still need that guy to
take the burden for him. And

517
00:30:42,640 --> 00:30:45,720
I'm not sure where that's coming from
this year. If you're looking at this

518
00:30:45,839 --> 00:30:49,400
roster, and this is something that
can clearly change the season goes on,

519
00:30:49,559 --> 00:30:52,319
But as of right now, who
would be the player most likely to get

520
00:30:52,319 --> 00:30:57,519
dealt before the deadline. I've been
thinking about this one a lot, and

521
00:30:57,559 --> 00:31:03,599
it's a little crazy. I think
there might be a world in which Monte

522
00:31:03,720 --> 00:31:06,359
Morris gets moved for them, and
you look at it and you say,

523
00:31:06,359 --> 00:31:08,279
when they're fully healthy, Jamal Maury's
the starter Okay, now you have a

524
00:31:08,279 --> 00:31:12,960
backup, and you have Monte Morris, You've got Bones Highland, and you've

525
00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:18,200
got PJ. Dojer, all of
guys who can sort of handle being lead

526
00:31:18,279 --> 00:31:22,599
or secondary playmakers. Monte Morris in
that equation does mean fac Wu's not playing,

527
00:31:22,960 --> 00:31:26,559
doesn't mean Dozer is not playing,
doesn't mean Bones isn't playing. I

528
00:31:26,680 --> 00:31:30,640
look at his contract and I look
at Denvers. I'm very high on PJ.

529
00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:33,319
Dojer. I think he provides something
for Denver that nobody else on the

530
00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:37,400
roster does. Lank He's six seven, he's a great defender, he can

531
00:31:37,400 --> 00:31:40,559
play pick and roll. I look
at him and think he's up for an

532
00:31:40,559 --> 00:31:45,640
extension. Denver's already so high over
the luxury tax. Did you get an

533
00:31:45,640 --> 00:31:48,480
extension worked out for PJ Dojer here
in the next week that allowed you know,

534
00:31:48,480 --> 00:31:52,160
maybe it's not as high as Monte
Morris. But then you have the

535
00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:56,000
plan of trading on Monte Morris and
relieving some of that future salary. And

536
00:31:56,160 --> 00:32:00,119
is does he become redundant enough that, okay, you can move on from

537
00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:02,680
him? And what does that look
like? I mean, Monte Morris makes

538
00:32:02,680 --> 00:32:07,279
a lot of money. You're probably
trading him away, but not trying to

539
00:32:07,279 --> 00:32:08,960
get back like equal value. You're
trying to get back maybe an asset,

540
00:32:09,039 --> 00:32:13,920
regain a first round draft pick,
something like that. I just think it's

541
00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:16,279
a little more likely. I haven't
seen anybody discuss this. The team certainly

542
00:32:16,279 --> 00:32:20,440
hasn't discussed it, but I think
to me it makes a little bit of

543
00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:22,839
sense that, hey, he might
be a guy that's expendable. I guess

544
00:32:22,839 --> 00:32:27,279
a lot of that will like depends
on how well Bones looks as a rookie,

545
00:32:27,319 --> 00:32:29,799
and then what you're expecting, like
if and when you're expecting Jamal to

546
00:32:29,839 --> 00:32:32,200
come back this season. But that's
a I didn't even really think about that,

547
00:32:32,240 --> 00:32:36,680
So that's a that's a great way
to frame it. This could be

548
00:32:36,799 --> 00:32:38,960
for them to some extent matchup dependent, But what do you think should will

549
00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:42,799
be or should be there? There
go to crunch timeline up? Is it

550
00:32:42,839 --> 00:32:45,839
just going to be the starters?
I think? So you're talking about Monte

551
00:32:45,960 --> 00:32:51,480
and Will Barton alongside Michael Porter,
Aaron Gordon, and Jokich, that's probably

552
00:32:51,519 --> 00:32:53,720
it. More often than not,
that's probably the default one. When Murray

553
00:32:53,759 --> 00:32:57,880
comes back, of course, Marie
slides into that slot. The guy though,

554
00:32:57,920 --> 00:33:00,960
that to me make is most intriguing
to fill. One of the guard

555
00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:06,519
spots is PJ. Dojer. If
Denver's up, say ten points with seven

556
00:33:06,599 --> 00:33:08,319
minutes to go, I wouldn't be
surprised if Dozer was the guy you throw

557
00:33:08,359 --> 00:33:12,000
in there. You think our offense
might not be great, but the numbers

558
00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:15,680
with Dozier on the court defensively have
been fantastic. You put Dozier in Aaron

559
00:33:15,720 --> 00:33:19,000
Gordon on the court and you sort
of have a defender at the guard spot,

560
00:33:19,039 --> 00:33:22,319
at defender at the forward spot,
and it just elevates your defense so

561
00:33:22,400 --> 00:33:25,960
much. And even the numbers with
Dozier in Yokis defensively have been fantastic.

562
00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:30,519
I think best two men pairing alongside
Yokich on the team. So he's the

563
00:33:30,559 --> 00:33:35,759
guy that I think you would slot
in. And maybe it's alongside Monte or

564
00:33:35,839 --> 00:33:38,480
I mean, yeah, alongside Monte. Maybe it's alongside Will Barton. I'm

565
00:33:38,519 --> 00:33:42,440
not sure. Can Barton become a
little bit more of a point guard in

566
00:33:42,480 --> 00:33:46,400
the final five minutes. I think
he has it in him. But Dozier

567
00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:49,920
would be the guy I'm most interested
in. And think about this, Dan,

568
00:33:50,839 --> 00:33:52,799
those are six seven, Will Barton
six seven. If your backcourt is

569
00:33:52,799 --> 00:33:57,839
two six seven guys to go with
six to eleven, six nine and seven

570
00:33:57,880 --> 00:34:02,759
foot that's a really, really long
and athletic lineup. Might you might make

571
00:34:02,839 --> 00:34:07,960
up for whatever shooting and point guard
play you get from Monte Morris. Is

572
00:34:07,960 --> 00:34:12,400
there a quirky outside the box,
out of left field lineup you want to

573
00:34:12,400 --> 00:34:16,920
see Michael Malone try this season?
Anything with Bones is just pure adrenaline.

574
00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:20,599
If if you talked about the most
fun lineup you can throw out on the

575
00:34:20,599 --> 00:34:22,239
court with the Nuggets, you do
that exact lineup you just talked about,

576
00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:25,920
but swap Monte and Dozer. You
swept those guys out with Bones Highland,

577
00:34:25,920 --> 00:34:29,679
And now you're talking about I don't
know who that defends in a clutch time

578
00:34:29,679 --> 00:34:31,760
lineup, but boy do they score
every single time down court. You're talking

579
00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:36,039
about Bones Highland. I think is
a you know, a forty percent volume

580
00:34:36,079 --> 00:34:38,079
three point shooters that has that in
him. Will Barton's probably a thirty eight

581
00:34:38,079 --> 00:34:42,800
percent three point shooter. Michael Porter's
like a forty five percent three point shooter.

582
00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:45,920
We all know what Yoki does to
me. That's the lineup that if

583
00:34:45,920 --> 00:34:47,960
fits on the court. You're talking. It's not quite a death lineup.

584
00:34:47,960 --> 00:34:51,880
Because it can't defend, but offensively. It's one of those ones where it's

585
00:34:51,880 --> 00:34:53,519
like we're getting in a track meet
and I think we're gonna win this track

586
00:34:53,559 --> 00:34:58,239
meet every time. The only other
guy I would look at is anything with

587
00:34:58,280 --> 00:35:01,480
bowl bowl is is I think other
people find it more fun than I do.

588
00:35:01,719 --> 00:35:05,480
Maybe I'm just becoming a little crotchety
because he makes so many mistakes.

589
00:35:05,480 --> 00:35:09,719
But nonetheless, if you can throw
a Michael Porter ball bowl out there with

590
00:35:09,840 --> 00:35:15,599
Yokich, that's three guys nobody knows
what to do with physically or skill set

591
00:35:15,639 --> 00:35:19,679
wise, and those lineups become really
fun. I would love to see,

592
00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:23,119
and I'll cap the cabot is this. Every lineup is less fun without Nicola

593
00:35:23,199 --> 00:35:27,639
Yokich. But if Nicol Yoki is
catching a breather, I want to see

594
00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:30,920
Gordon, Jamichael Green, Michael Porter
Jr. PJ. Dojer and then bones

595
00:35:31,280 --> 00:35:34,840
just at the one like put him
next to like all those kind of biggest

596
00:35:34,840 --> 00:35:37,639
wing type players and see what happens. But I'm with you. Watching him

597
00:35:37,719 --> 00:35:43,360
is just like an acid trip right
now. It's so fun. It really

598
00:35:43,440 --> 00:35:45,719
is. Man. I mean,
I think this might be who he is.

599
00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:47,519
He has a very I don't know
if this week makes sense. He

600
00:35:47,559 --> 00:35:52,519
has a charismatic style. It's just
he's just fun to watch do his thing.

601
00:35:52,760 --> 00:35:54,519
And it's just like the sidestep I
don't remember who they were playing,

602
00:35:54,719 --> 00:36:00,199
but the sidestep three he hit this
preseason just like so nonchalantly, just so

603
00:36:00,280 --> 00:36:02,360
like calm and collected on that.
I'm just I was sold already, but

604
00:36:02,400 --> 00:36:07,400
I'm just I'm sold. I hope
he's a part of their rotation to their

605
00:36:07,679 --> 00:36:12,199
their current win totals we record this
over under is set at forty seven point

606
00:36:12,239 --> 00:36:15,239
five. Would you take the over
or under on that? And where do

607
00:36:15,280 --> 00:36:19,960
you see them falling? In that
larger Western Conference discussion, I would take

608
00:36:20,000 --> 00:36:22,599
the over. I've taken the over
every year for seven years, and I

609
00:36:22,639 --> 00:36:25,320
think I'm seven to zero. For
the reason the Nuggets always get this like,

610
00:36:25,800 --> 00:36:30,000
uh, you know they're they're over
under gets a little depressed. I

611
00:36:30,039 --> 00:36:31,840
don't know that it's gonna be massively
over. I could see them having a

612
00:36:31,920 --> 00:36:35,840
forty nine fifty win season. I
could see them having a fifty three fifty

613
00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:37,280
four win season. I just don't
think it's that likely. But I think

614
00:36:37,320 --> 00:36:40,119
I think that they're going to surprise
people. I mean again, Murray went

615
00:36:40,519 --> 00:36:45,039
Murray raises their ceiling to title contender. Without him, they're not that this

616
00:36:45,119 --> 00:36:49,320
year, and I don't know if
they will be going forward. But he

617
00:36:49,360 --> 00:36:52,800
doesn't necessarily lower their floor so much, I don't think, And that's the

618
00:36:52,800 --> 00:36:55,519
thing that happened last year after he
went down. They still have the second

619
00:36:55,559 --> 00:36:59,880
best rank. I think only the
Brooklyn Nets had a better twenty game stretch

620
00:37:00,039 --> 00:37:01,559
in the season, and the Nuggets
did, and well, I don't think

621
00:37:01,559 --> 00:37:05,400
they're going to repeat that. Have
the second best record in the NBA.

622
00:37:05,480 --> 00:37:07,360
I do think they're going to surprise
people with just how much they don't skip

623
00:37:07,360 --> 00:37:12,599
a beat without him outside of the
final three or four minutes of a game.

624
00:37:13,079 --> 00:37:15,880
But how often does you know?
How much does that lower their projected

625
00:37:15,920 --> 00:37:19,519
win total if they had Murray,
maybe by three or four games, but

626
00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:22,119
by not by eight or nine.
I'm with you. I would take the

627
00:37:22,119 --> 00:37:24,639
over on this too, Although when
I go through all these team look heads

628
00:37:24,639 --> 00:37:28,079
that I'm doing, I've been quite
generous with my over predictions. I might

629
00:37:28,079 --> 00:37:30,760
need to correct some of them.
They're all going to come from the Pelicans.

630
00:37:30,760 --> 00:37:34,360
That's what it is. We would
just pick off twenty wins from the

631
00:37:34,400 --> 00:37:37,599
Pelicans fire that's going on right now
and disperse them. Do you see what

632
00:37:37,679 --> 00:37:39,679
do you see there? You've already
mentioned that you don't think they're a title

633
00:37:39,679 --> 00:37:43,280
contended without Murray, What do you
see their ceiling as in the West,

634
00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:46,039
Because I think I would put Utah, the Lakers, and Phoenix as the

635
00:37:46,079 --> 00:37:50,119
teams that are definitively ahead of them, but after that, And it wouldn't

636
00:37:50,119 --> 00:37:52,199
surprise me, by the way,
if Denver was like top three, if

637
00:37:52,199 --> 00:37:53,719
you told me Denver was two in
the West the season, I wouldn't be

638
00:37:53,800 --> 00:37:55,920
that shocked. Do you tell me
they're one, It wouldn't necessarily for me.

639
00:37:57,199 --> 00:38:00,679
It feels like they might still be
the best of the rest, even

640
00:38:00,760 --> 00:38:02,920
if you're you know, Portland Golden
State is there, the Clippers are missing

641
00:38:02,960 --> 00:38:07,159
Kauly. It seems like to me
they're like very clearly in like the four

642
00:38:07,320 --> 00:38:10,119
five range, and to me,
like I even see fifth is like might

643
00:38:10,159 --> 00:38:15,519
be their floor. Actually interesting,
there's a lot of teams that are jumbled

644
00:38:15,559 --> 00:38:17,679
up, and the over unders kind
of bear this out that Portland, Golden

645
00:38:17,719 --> 00:38:21,199
State, den they're all within Dallas, They're all within like two wins.

646
00:38:21,199 --> 00:38:23,519
So I think there's reason to think
that anything can happen with all of those

647
00:38:23,519 --> 00:38:29,400
teams. But if you ask me
regular season, I think Utah and Phoenix

648
00:38:29,400 --> 00:38:31,599
are clearly one two. I'm surprised
so many people are so high on the

649
00:38:31,639 --> 00:38:36,400
Lakers. I don't know, just
defaulting to Lebron. I don't like it.

650
00:38:36,519 --> 00:38:37,960
I don't love the fit, but
that's just my default at this point.

651
00:38:38,159 --> 00:38:40,719
But they're another team that I wonder
how hard they sprint. I think

652
00:38:40,800 --> 00:38:45,960
last year Lebron wanted an MVP and
it might have cost I'm not saying it

653
00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:47,199
costed the season. A lot of
things went wrong for from last year,

654
00:38:47,360 --> 00:38:50,880
but I do wonder if he looks
at that and goes, why was I

655
00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:53,639
playing so many minutes in January and
February trying to gun for this dumb MVP

656
00:38:53,760 --> 00:38:58,960
award when I had no chance in
the playoffs? So I wonder if it

657
00:38:59,079 --> 00:39:01,320
also think they're gonna have to work
harder than they have in the past to

658
00:39:01,360 --> 00:39:06,000
get wins and to figure this out
early. So I don't I just don't

659
00:39:06,039 --> 00:39:08,800
pencil them into that top group if
you asked me about the playoffs, though,

660
00:39:09,320 --> 00:39:13,159
the Lakers still with having Anthony Davis, the ability to play him at

661
00:39:13,199 --> 00:39:15,519
center and Dwight Howard, who's given
the Yokas problems like that's still a matchup

662
00:39:15,519 --> 00:39:21,440
I don't like for Denver, Phoenix
and Utah being healthy and presumably going If

663
00:39:21,440 --> 00:39:23,719
they're healthy going into the playoffs,
it's hard for me to picture of Jamal

664
00:39:23,800 --> 00:39:27,440
Murray being good enough to beat them. You know, if he's only back

665
00:39:27,480 --> 00:39:30,119
for five weeks or so, so
that makes all sense to me. I

666
00:39:30,159 --> 00:39:34,239
would jumble him in the sec same
spot, but it all The thing that

667
00:39:34,320 --> 00:39:37,440
makes this hard, this year hard
to predict for the Nuggets is who knows

668
00:39:37,440 --> 00:39:39,159
what Jamal Murray looks like when he
comes back? Who knows? I mean,

669
00:39:39,880 --> 00:39:44,360
anything I would predict going into a
playoffs is solely based on something I

670
00:39:44,400 --> 00:39:46,519
have absolutely history tells me he's probably
not going to be great, which tells

671
00:39:46,559 --> 00:39:50,239
me the Nuggets are probably going to
be good but not great. But if

672
00:39:50,239 --> 00:39:53,559
he is ninety percent of himself,
then they have a puncher's chance for sure,

673
00:39:53,559 --> 00:39:57,079
and maybe even better than that.
I am. I don't know if

674
00:39:57,119 --> 00:39:59,440
the words excited. I was worried
that maybe there was a chance we wouldn't

675
00:39:59,480 --> 00:40:01,599
get to see the five man core
of this team that made so much sense,

676
00:40:01,960 --> 00:40:05,679
and signing the Gordon extension and Michael
Porter Jr. Was never leaving,

677
00:40:05,719 --> 00:40:07,480
like the restricted free agency and all
that. It does seem like unless something

678
00:40:07,519 --> 00:40:12,440
size make happens, like we will
at least get to see this baseline of

679
00:40:12,480 --> 00:40:17,119
them moving forward beyond this season.
Yeah yeah, I mean one of the

680
00:40:17,400 --> 00:40:20,920
Denver could do a couple of things
that would really set them up for future

681
00:40:20,960 --> 00:40:23,480
success even this year. And the
number one thing they can do is figure

682
00:40:23,519 --> 00:40:30,199
out a better synergy between Yokich and
Michael Porter. To this date, Yokich

683
00:40:30,239 --> 00:40:31,960
and Jamal Murray some of the best
chemistry, probably the best chemistry in the

684
00:40:32,039 --> 00:40:37,199
NBA one two. Not the most
talented or whatever, but probably just say

685
00:40:37,239 --> 00:40:39,840
those two guys have shaped operated on
one wavelength, one wavelength, and it's

686
00:40:39,840 --> 00:40:43,960
incredible to watch at its best.
Michael Porter just kind of fits. He's

687
00:40:43,960 --> 00:40:45,679
so talented, he just kind of
fits in around it. Is there something

688
00:40:45,760 --> 00:40:49,679
you can go to? Yokich was
actually asked about this yesterday. I was

689
00:40:49,719 --> 00:40:52,280
there at the practice for this and
he said, I have no idea what

690
00:40:52,320 --> 00:40:54,880
Michael Porter and I are going to
do in the closing minutes of a game,

691
00:40:54,920 --> 00:40:59,119
Like we'll have to all find out
together, Like what that looks like

692
00:40:59,199 --> 00:41:01,000
and it's just a Yoka answer With
some of that asks like are you gonna

693
00:41:01,079 --> 00:41:04,280
you guys gonna become a chemistry,
He's like, I don't know, maybe

694
00:41:04,360 --> 00:41:07,920
we're gonna try. And that's one
of the big questions around him. If

695
00:41:07,960 --> 00:41:12,440
they do develop some type of like
action or chemistry with each other, then

696
00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:14,920
Denver ceiling goes up, not just
this year, but it goes up going

697
00:41:14,960 --> 00:41:17,360
forward. If you have chemistry between
Yokich and Murray, and Yokich and Michael

698
00:41:17,360 --> 00:41:21,280
Porter, good luck trying to guard
that even in the clutch time. But

699
00:41:21,320 --> 00:41:23,920
if they don't, then you know, maybe things get a little bit clunky.

700
00:41:23,920 --> 00:41:28,800
Without Jamal Untild, Jamal was back
to full health. Is there anyone

701
00:41:28,920 --> 00:41:30,719
on this team or anything about this
team that I didn't ask you about you

702
00:41:30,760 --> 00:41:35,599
think needs to be discussed? The
only thing I mentioned it I'm really high

703
00:41:35,599 --> 00:41:38,199
on PJ Dojer. I'm driving the
PJ Dojer bandwagon this year. I just

704
00:41:38,679 --> 00:41:42,400
injuries are a big question with him. He had some. I think he's

705
00:41:42,400 --> 00:41:45,119
one of those guys that's missing a
bunch of cartilage and the knees and those

706
00:41:45,119 --> 00:41:47,719
types of things, so you always
kind of I think that's one of the

707
00:41:47,800 --> 00:41:52,519
reasons team he hasn't quite latched on
is I think teams are maybe afraid to

708
00:41:52,559 --> 00:41:54,480
like commit to him long term because
you never know if a guy's going to

709
00:41:54,519 --> 00:42:00,320
be there or not. But he's
just such a good player and a player

710
00:42:00,360 --> 00:42:02,880
in the way Aaron Gordon is that
his skill set fits very nicely into what

711
00:42:02,920 --> 00:42:07,559
Denver does. If you look at
a lineup that has Murray, a healthy

712
00:42:07,639 --> 00:42:10,559
Murray, Michael Porter and Jokich,
he almost doesn't matter who you put around

713
00:42:10,599 --> 00:42:13,719
him. Offensively, that's gonna be
a good offense. So you need some

714
00:42:13,840 --> 00:42:15,360
great defense, and you need guys
on offense that aren't going to be total

715
00:42:15,400 --> 00:42:19,159
ankers. And he's that. He
can run, pick and roll, he

716
00:42:19,199 --> 00:42:22,000
could pass really well, he can
get to the rim, and then defensively,

717
00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:24,079
he's so long, he's so dialed
in. He's a very good off

718
00:42:24,119 --> 00:42:28,480
ball guy's a very good on ball
guy. So to me, I just

719
00:42:28,519 --> 00:42:30,159
see a world in which he has
a bit of a breakout year. In

720
00:42:30,199 --> 00:42:34,000
fact, it's not a world.
This is my prediction is he has something

721
00:42:34,039 --> 00:42:37,639
of a The numbers aren't gonna pop, so it's hard to say breakout year,

722
00:42:37,679 --> 00:42:39,960
but I think he might be a
guy that just fits so perfectly into

723
00:42:39,960 --> 00:42:45,320
what Denver needs, and that might
really shine through as this season goes on.

724
00:42:45,239 --> 00:42:51,400
Denver's ability to just find talent on
the margins might be unparalleled throughout every

725
00:42:51,480 --> 00:42:53,599
under team in the league right now. And part of that is the bones

726
00:42:53,679 --> 00:42:57,559
Highland stuff right now. I know
it's not really good preseason, but like,

727
00:42:57,840 --> 00:43:00,880
to get him in the late twenties
is just they found so many guys.

728
00:43:00,880 --> 00:43:06,559
I mean even like ken Rich Williams
and Terrence Davis and Tory Craig,

729
00:43:06,719 --> 00:43:08,960
like not star players, but these
guys who are really good are guys.

730
00:43:09,000 --> 00:43:13,360
Denver added that we're undrafted and they
just didn't have a spot from like,

731
00:43:13,400 --> 00:43:15,760
yeah, we'd love to have Terence
Dames, we don't have any roster spots

732
00:43:15,760 --> 00:43:17,480
to give him. So the Denver's
done such a good job of this and

733
00:43:17,519 --> 00:43:21,559
PJ dojor fits, but I have
a theory for it. Dan, this

734
00:43:21,639 --> 00:43:23,960
is the thing I've learned from seven
years of doing this. No GM and

735
00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:29,559
no organization is willing to take risks
that might not pay off until guys are

736
00:43:29,599 --> 00:43:32,599
fired. And this has been Denver's
m O. Yes we'll draft Michael Porter

737
00:43:32,679 --> 00:43:36,239
Jr. Even though we know he
needs a second back surgery, and even

738
00:43:36,280 --> 00:43:37,280
though we know he's not going to
be on the court for a year and

739
00:43:37,360 --> 00:43:40,719
probably takes two more years of development, we'll do it. And Tim Conley

740
00:43:40,719 --> 00:43:43,679
has just been for whatever reason,
he has it in him that he's like,

741
00:43:43,760 --> 00:43:45,880
yeah, I might be fired by
the time this thing is ready,

742
00:43:45,960 --> 00:43:49,360
but it's gonna be cool if it
works out. And they've just done that

743
00:43:49,440 --> 00:43:51,760
over and over. I mean the
League Beasley they drafted, he had a

744
00:43:51,760 --> 00:43:54,280
broken leg, couldn't play. They've
done this so many times where they've drafted

745
00:43:54,280 --> 00:43:57,800
guys where the payoff, if it
hit, the payoff was going to be

746
00:43:57,880 --> 00:44:01,360
so delayed. And just watching how
teams team build right now, Guys don't

747
00:44:01,360 --> 00:44:06,199
like one year projects, let alone
two or three year projects. Devers taking

748
00:44:06,239 --> 00:44:09,719
advantage of that. I think at
this point Devers starting office has probably built

749
00:44:09,760 --> 00:44:13,800
up enough goodwill to where it could
be trusted when they when they make those

750
00:44:13,800 --> 00:44:16,039
decisions. Adam, this was great, as always. Thank you so much

751
00:44:16,039 --> 00:44:19,239
for taking the time to speak with
me. Are you able to just tell

752
00:44:19,280 --> 00:44:22,039
our listeners where they can follow you
and all the work that you do?

753
00:44:22,400 --> 00:44:23,960
Yeah, I mean obviously, i
I'm on Twitter. I'm sure the description

754
00:44:23,960 --> 00:44:28,079
will be there, Adam Madas.
But you the number one thing we do

755
00:44:28,119 --> 00:44:30,000
at DNBR that I think people find
cool. They haven't seen it. We

756
00:44:30,079 --> 00:44:34,559
do postgame shows for every show,
so on YouTube, right after the game,

757
00:44:34,840 --> 00:44:37,559
we do a really cool live post
game right from our bar. We

758
00:44:37,599 --> 00:44:39,599
own a DNBR also owns a bar, and those studios are right there in

759
00:44:39,679 --> 00:44:45,639
it. And it's just a very
unique way of covering a team. So

760
00:44:45,760 --> 00:44:49,360
if you're ever watching the Nuggets and
enjoyed the game, flip on over to

761
00:44:49,400 --> 00:44:53,039
YouTube and search for DNBR Nuggets and
I think you'll enjoy what you see.

762
00:44:53,920 --> 00:44:58,559
And I'll just echo follow him on
Twitter at Adam Underscore Madez. That's at

763
00:44:58,599 --> 00:45:02,039
A D A M Underscore m A
r E s once more. This was

764
00:45:02,079 --> 00:45:05,639
great, Adam. Thank you so
much for coming on to speak with me.

765
00:45:05,679 --> 00:45:07,320
And I think you know by now
that I will be pastoring you again

766
00:45:07,360 --> 00:45:09,480
in the future. Can't wait for
it. Damn't think so much.