Opening the 2023-24 NBA season against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers would have been big enough news by itself, but tonight there is more. The team will probably come running out onto the court as the DJ blasts Tobe Nwigwe’s song “Fye Fye.” Flashing lights will shoot across the darkened arena like a European dance club. The Finals MVP, Nikola Jokic, will probably say a few words. And the Championship banner will slowly be hoisted to the rafters to deafening applause. But we are no longer just the Denver Nuggets. We are the reigning World Champion Denver Nuggets – and we’re... Read More

The last thing I want to do is wake a sleeping giant – especially an eighth seed sleeping giant. The Miami Heat have won three championships, their President, Pat Riley, has nine of his own, along with 19 Finals appearances. Eric Spoelstra has two rings, Udonis Haslem has three, and Kevin Love and Kyle Lowry own one each. Miami’s retired numbers include Dwayne Wade, Alonzo Mourning, Chris Bosh, and Shaquille O’Neil. While Lebron’s will be there soon. The Heat showed up to Ball Arena with a roster full of undrafted players, a 6’9 center, and a so-so Playoff Jimmy Butler, and pretty much... Read More

It is often hard to compete with the bright lights of Los Angeles. Los Angeles has Adele, Denzel, and DiCaprio. We have the guys from South Park. Los Angeles has Snoop Dog, Dr. Dre, and Ice Cube. We have The String Cheese Incident and icy roads. Los Angeles has Beyonce and her $200 million Malibu estate. We have Ciara and her four-bedroom twelve-bathroom home in Cherry Hills. Los Angeles also has 31 trips to the NBA Finals including 17 NBA Championships. We have none. Correction. We had none. The turning point in Game Four occurred around the two-minute mark when Nikola Jokic drained a one-footed,... Read More

The NBA season tips off this week and the Western Conference is up for grabs.  The Suns look to shine.  The Lakers added Westbrook and Carmelo.  Golden State is getting the band back together. Doncic is the Mavericks Top Gun.  While the Jazz are sounding smooth. And don’t forget about the Denver Nuggets and their league MVP. The Wild West with its new faces, players returning from injuries, and young talent developing is about as predictable as Kawhi Leonard’s next Clipper game. But here are how the teams will finish when the regular season ends. 1. Utah Jazz – The Jazz bring back almost... Read More

The last time a Denver Nugget won an MVP award was back in 1969-70.  The player was Spencer Haywood, the league was the ABA, and technically, he wasn’t a Nugget, as the team was then called the Denver Rockets. Since the merger from the ABA to the NBA, there have been many great Nuggets such as Alex English, David Thompson, and Carmelo Anthony.  But none have won an MVP. Nikola Jokic is looking to change that. The oddsmakers will point to a Lebron James (LAL), Joel Embiid (PHI), or a James Harden (BRK) as betting favorites to take home the trophy, but the sixth-year center from Serbia shouldn’t... Read More

The 2019-20 NBA Schedule was just released, and the calendar is full of exciting games and stars visiting the Pepsi Center this season. The Lakers with Lebron and AD, the Clippers with Kawhi and Paul George, Zion is coming, as are Harden and Westbrook. But I want you to circle November 19th as a game you may want to attend. The Atlanta Hawks are coming to town. Now, before you stop laughing, it’s true that Atlanta was only 29-53 last season, they’re not a playoff team, and while Trae Young is fun to watch, it’s hardly worth dealing with rush hour traffic for. But a few weeks ago, Vince Carter... Read More

For some reason, my editor frowned upon my original idea entitled, “Who Doesn’t Want a Threesome?” so, I dropped it to a duo. With Paul George teaming up with Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers, and Lebron having tacos with Anthony Davis and the Lakers, the question begs the answer: where does the duo of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray rank among the NBA elite? The rules are simple.  Some guys are old, some guys are injured, but if you were starting a team tomorrow and had the choice of the following dynamic duos, how would they rank? Here’s how I see it. Lebron James and Anthony Davis—Los... Read More

The Denver Nuggets’ outstanding season ended prematurely last weekend as CJ McCollum poured in 37 points for the Portland Trailblazers, the Nuggets went cold and missed their last 15 three-point shots, and the Pepsi Center fans left the arena with a rare homecourt loss in a pivotal game seven finale. The defeat was disappointing, but the future looks bright as Denver’s young core of Nikola Jokic (24), Jamal Murray (22), and Gary Harris Jr. (24) showed that the team is formidable and on the rise. But if you’re thinking that the Nuggets should simply work on their shooting this summer, practice... Read More

Nikola Jokic is finally getting noticed.  A max contract, the first Nugget named to the all-star team since Carmelo Anthony, his team is in first place in the Northwest Division, fighting with Golden State for the top seed in the West, and he even has a cool nickname.  The Joker. A perfect take-off on his name: silly, clever, and like Batman’s nemesis, capable of taking over. But what about the other players?  With a record of 42-20, these guys should be household names, but they’re not.  While the lack of recognition could be due to time zones, market size, or Denver’s depth and rotations,... Read More

The Denver Nuggets are off to a blazing start, but in a loaded Western Conference the Nuggets will have to fight off a cast of characters that include a 6’10 superstar with a unibrow, a disgruntled stud from Minnesota, Ricky Rubio’s man-bun, and some guy named Lebron in order to make our first playoff appearance since 2012-13.  A prediction of the 2018-2019 playoff seedings. Golden State Warriors – Analytics has the league playing at a faster pace, shooting more threes, and playing small under center. Umm, didn’t the Warriors invent that style of play?  Golden State has won 3 out of... Read More