The Next 7 Games will Define the Nuggets

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All right, it is that time.

Once again, welcome into pickaxe and rollbratch by good friends here at mile high sports.

I am your host, Ryan Blackburn, NBA Blackburn on Twitter.

Part of the mile high sports podcast network and I am here.

I am ready to discuss the Denver Nuggets and an upcoming schedule that I think is going to shift.

A lot of how people view who the Denver Nuggets are and maybe even how the nuggets might view themselves.

Certainly how fans are going to view this situation and look fans are going to try to hold out hope for as long as possible but it has felt like over the course of these three months that.

Faith in the nuggets has waned faith in the nuggets has been put to the test given the injury situations given the lack of defense given the.

Failures and clutch moments and things like that.

Nuggets fans feel very stressed about this season and for good reason.

And so I'm going to talk about this next seven games including a back to back that is tonight and tomorrow with the Lakers and the next that is going to shifts how people see.

This Denver Nuggets team and I'm looking forward to it for sure going to be a lot of fun if you make sure to hit that like button hit that subscribe button would really really appreciate it if you're listening along.

On the audio side of things apple iTunes Spotify wherever you get your podcast hit that with a five star review would really really appreciate it there as well.

We're going to in the in the first segment we'll talk about the seven game stretch here in the second segment I want to go over the top seven contenders in the NBA right now in my my general thoughts on where the NBA title landscape is at.

In the third segment we will do a couple of roster moves with Tyus Jones and David Roddy and some other things that the nuggets are kind of doing in the in the background and how I think that this is going to go so it will be good to see.

Hello to Oz Columbia hello f you 2006 how are the vibes today here she asks vibes are okay it was good to get a report from Sam Amick who I saw on Monday at the nuggets game I'm pretty sure.

Sam Amick of the athletic good friend we shook hands it was nice to see him.

And he put out a report on Wednesday that Aaron Gordon is targeting a return for Friday not for today not for Thursday he's out along with Peyton Watson and I believe Spencer Jones is also out I want to say.

So it's going to be Cam Johnson and if if he's back in questionable and Denver's going to have some stressors and how to guard Luca Dachic and Austin Reeves and LeBron James and it's going to be a very tough game for them so obviously when you're down as many guys and in certain defenders as you are Denver's going to have some struggles so we'll go over that in just a little bit here as well but going to be interesting to see.

So vibes aren't necessarily great vibes are not super awesome and the dog just keep you guys probably can't hear it but the same dog walks past my door every single day just just barks and just goes crazy it's a very very physical bark as well if that makes sense.

So we're going to we'll talk about the seven game stretch here let's start with that.

I think that these next seven games for a lot of people I put this on the thumbnail I put this in the title the next seven games will change Denver nuggets history and is that a little bit dramatic sure of course it's a title where we're trying to get people into the flow and get people to talk about the nuggets and get people to care about this stretch of regular season games.

This is games number 63 to 69 of the season nice and this to me is the stretch of games in March here be like first half of March not necessarily the second half of March where teams are starting to really rest and you've got the tankers that are everybody's already tanking really hard but Denver doesn't have to worry about those teams they're worried about the teams that are trying and all of these teams are trying let's go through it really quick.

You've got the Lakers tonight you've got the nicks on the second night of a back to back tomorrow you have two days off before you go at OKC again that's going to be a pretty tough one for obvious reasons they're hoping to get jail and Williams back we'll see whether they get back like I think Alex Cruz Oh got hurt in the game last night against the next for them but that's a tough one you've got the Houston rockets as your fourth game that is with a day off in between.

Back to back at San Antonio that's a really tough one and then you go at the Lakers that's another tough one and then you wrap up coming home versus the Philadelphia 76ers i'm not sure whether joelle and bead will be back by then pretty sure that a Paul George will be out still with his pd suspension but the sixers are obviously trying they're not in a great place right now from a health perspective but if joelle and bead plays i'm not expecting to play off.

Obviously but if he does then that's a tough matchup of course it is it's all these teams are trying all these teams are really going hard after that you get games like Memphis Toronto Portland Phoenix Dallas Utah Golden State Utah again and so you're it's a more even mix in terms of teams that are trying in teams that are not but this defined seven game stretch five teams in the western conference one team in the eastern conference in New York that has title aspirations this year.

And one team in Philly that holding on for dear life but when they are healthy they are very good so like this to me is the stretch of games it is the period of time throughout this season where if you are the nuggets it matters the most in terms of what you're like what you've gone through already what you have seen in yourself already.

The issues that you have already unearthed and sussed out and figured out okay these are the things that we have to work on these are the things that we have to get better at they've gone through multiple iterations and health periods in terms of like how hard can Denver go in some of these cases how not hard can they go in some of these cases what is it going to look like if they're really going all out in these situations.

There are two back to backs here so Denver's probably not going to win on the second head of back to backs in either of those games now it's certainly there if they do end up getting back Aaron Gordon and or Peyton Watson stretch I seriously hope those guys don't play on the front and the back end of a back to back so Denver's going to be sure handed in those situations again.

But yet it doesn't matter because other teams are going through back to backs to other teams are going through their own situations they are absolutely trying to take it out on Denver in a situation where Denver feels a little bit more vulnerable than they have in any of the past seasons well last year I think they were vulnerable but this year they're looking just as vulnerable from a statistical perspective like.

This year and last year they're about the same in terms of how good they actually have been now that may not that might be a little bit disingenuous given that last year's team just wasn't as complete but this year's team hasn't had that completeness because they've been hurt the entire time.

And so the hope is that during the stretch during these seven games you start to get back guys that are healthy Aaron Gordon of course targeting the return on Friday Peyton Watson seems like he's pretty close not as close as Aaron I thought that he would be Aaron back.

But he's clearly taking his time and I understand why he doesn't want to develop a significant long term injury in a contract year there's there's something to be said for that but also like he doesn't want to push it because he also had a hamstring injury and I think the team is learning their lesson in terms of how hard you should go after a hamstring injury do.

So I'm looking forward to seeing what Denver can do and I'm looking to see how they match up with some of the best teams in the NBA as I mentioned previously in last episode I finished up that episode with a stat that against the top 10 point differential teams in the entire NBA the nuggets ranked 14th in defense.

That is actually 13th now looking at it they have the eighth highest point differential in the NBA against the top 10 teams they have the third best offense in the 13th best defense that's ridiculous that's pretty impressive.

Their offense hasn't been perfect but like teams like the clippers are higher than they probably should be in offense so Denver's been well above average on the offense event and they've been average to above so on the defense event against some of these top teams when they've been able to get up for these games and they want to get up for these games undoubtedly.

And now they've got every opportunity to over the course of these next seven the top 10 teams in the NBA from a point differential standpoints are as follows you have the Oklahoma City Thunder Denver's going to play them you have Detroit and Boston Denver's already played them they lost the Detroit both times and then they beat Boston both times so pretty impressive Boston by the way getting back Jason Tatum.

That'll be it's at least an interesting wrinkle in the Eastern Conference playoff race that's for sure.

San Antonio Denver will play them not just once but three times the rest of the season once during this stretch but then they will play them on game 78 on April 4th as well as game number 82 the final game of the season I'm not expecting that one to matter so Denver actually caught a break with the scheduling there I think.

But they'll play San Antonio so they're playing OKC they're playing San Antonio they're playing Houston who was fifth in the NBA they're playing New York who sixth in the NBA they've already played Minnesota four times they went three and one against Minnesota that was pretty good like they did a pretty good job against Minnesota but the last one did not do them any favors in terms of how they looked and how it felt they played against Cleveland twice they lost I'm pretty sure they yeah they lost both the

game so one of them was a pretty horrid defense of performance the other one was without Yoke and so I'm not really counting that one in terms of how I think about each team Denver's ninth and then Charlotte is 10th which is insane Charlotte is is 10th which is crazy but Denver's got a lot of matchups here and they've got a lot of opportunities to prove just how good they can be.

I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like I'm looking forward to seeing how they how they fare here when they face the Lakers the Lakers tonight like a lot of the messaging around the Lakers specifically that they are really going for this game like obviously they care about every Nuggets game not just fans but like JJ Rettich really tries to pull out all the stops and trying to figure out how to match up with this Nuggets team.

Denver's not going to get back Aaron Gordon and guys of that nature for this matchup so Denver like in some of the same situations that they had against the Utah Jazz where you've got small guys that are scrambling and trying to deny Yoke you're going to have the same thing in this particular game whether it's Austin Reeves or Luca don't judge or LeBron or like maybe Jackson Hayes is going to play a little bit more defensively Deandre and we'll play less defensively in this case.

Although Deandre wouldn't surprise me if he went like for 16 to 20 points on 8 of 12 or 7 of 13 or something around there Denver's going to have to ensure that they're not giving up wide open stuff to anybody and then so like Denver's going to be pretty compromised from an offensive and defensive end in this game and so they're going to have to really figure out how to defeat the scrambling defense.

It's on Yoke it's on the Nuggets. I was at practice yesterday and you could tell that there's a couple of different wordings about it like Jonas Valentino said that there was nothing more annoying than being guarded by a smaller player in part because you cannot just push them out of the way you can't like use your body they can do everything to you but you just can't do everything to them.

And so all you like all you can do is try to battle and be like physically dominant on a consistent basis.

And so if you're Yoke it you got to get busy on the offensive glass your Jonas you got to get busy on the offensive glass take advantage of your size match up there and then the hope is that you get fouled in those situations where you get easy putbacks and things like that.

But the Nuggets are going to have to operate without Yoke it's touching the ball in some of these cases that was the thing that the Lakers did last year they're really flumics Denver everything often runs through Yoke it's you have to be in a situation where you can survive when he doesn't touch the basketball you can't force feed it all the time all you have to do is get comfortable playing in a situation where

Yoke it looks a lot more like a traditional big man as opposed to the best player in the world.

Serbians aren't going to like that they want to see him touch the ball they want to see Denver force feeding him the ball in these situations but if the past is not there.

Then you can't force it or turnovers will happen or Yoke it will just miss a shot that he normally makes because there's seven guys around him somehow so you have to be smart about it you have to take advantage of the spacing.

Tim Hardaway Jr's got to hit more threes than he did last game that's for sure cam Johnson got to get a little bit more aggressive if he does play hit the threes hit the spacing back up behind them Christian brown.

The best way that he was able to handle the Boston OKC defense when they were scrambling so he just took a whole bunch of threes.

Take the threes they are there there's no doubt that you can make it happen Julian Strother same thing like I have zero doubts that Julian Strother can hit a whole bunch of threes.

But Denver if they play their starting lineup which has been Murray Christian brown Julian Strother cam Johnson like if he does play and then Yoke it.

Who guards Luca probably Christian who guards LeBron cam Johnson on a bad ankle who guards Austin Reeves Julian Strother Jamal Murray like Denver's compromised from a defensive standpoint with the issues that they've had so this one's going to be tough Denver's got to win a offensive game but I think the Lakers are going to be in a situation where they are better at.

Taking Denver down a peg then what what Denver's going to be able to do to them so I'm I'm curious to see what happens with the curious to see how they handle it.

Why don't we take a break when we come back will go over the next game tomorrow and then I am going to talk about the top seven contenders in the NBA as I see them right now.

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Saw somebody say the titles a little bit misleading a little bit misleading I think the reason why I framed it this way is because if Denver can handle these seven games professionally and you get back guys like Aaron Gordon and Peyton Watson and you look like the team you assume to be when healthy that's how I was framing it that's how I was thinking about it.

There's a possibility that Denver gets back the guys that they like they get back those players they get to play the styles that they want to and they're just not good enough or it takes a little bit to really start to relearn things.

I don't think that Denver has the time for that now maybe maybe they do maybe i'm under selling it at least a little bit.

But I think the way that Denver handles this in terms of hey can you actually win a clutch game against a playoff team hey can you actually like lock in defensively on a consistent basis hey when teams are frustrating the ever loving hell out of yokich how do you respond when you've got the right personnel out there as opposed to compromise personnel that you've had for a long time.

The Lakers game is not going to be that they still have guys that are out but I do expect Aaron Gordon to come back Peyton Watson to come back at some point here soon.

And if that's the case then Denver will be in a better place and I think people will think about them a little bit differently if they're able to have some like high profile victories because when was the last time that Denver had a victory that you were proud of in terms of like the other team wasn't compromised from a back to back.

Or the other team didn't suck like there's a different like feeling there when you can have some games against teams that actually are good and Denver hasn't had that in a long time that you can actually feel comfortable comfortable about how they will play when the lights get bright again so I'm curious to see what they do.

Talking about the nicks here real quick they faced okc last night lost by three points in the garden I think that look they're traveling to Denver today I believe and will try to get adjusted to the altitude and whatnot.

But that's going to be a tough match up for them and yet the nicks are always a tough match up for Denver specifically jail and Brunson's a guy that they really struggle guarding and in this game against okc.

He had 15 assists and probably could have had 25 with the amount of shots that were bricked or turnovers that were had from New York and after jail and Brunson passes like those guys could have probably given him 20 to 25 assists he only had 15 and that was the reason that they lost but Brunson's a tough cover he's a tough cover for anybody for Christian Brown specifically like that's a tougher match up for Christian.

He did a pretty good job the first time these two teams played it was the second night of a back to back after playing in Detroit the night before and it was Christian's second night back as a player and I thought he handled himself pretty well despite the fact that Brunson had a really great game like that he did bother jailing in some ways now the way that case and Wallace Lou dorks and Alex Caruso and guys like that can bother jailing Brunson's a little bit different from that.

Brunson's a little bit different from Christian who is six six six seven less about the quick guards and more about the stockier wings and and guys who usually push them push some other people around that they can't really push around Christian as much.

So there are certain matchups for Christian will excel that one I don't think is one and the carl and then the town's matchup is one that I don't think that Yoke will excel it now towns wasn't amazing in that first matchup and he fouled out so like there's an opportunity for Yoke and actually towns fouled out again in in this OKC game so there is an opportunity for Denver to put pressure on the nicks but then you've got Mitchell Robinson coming in you've got OJ and an OB

McHale bridges and Josh Hart already there they've got Jose Alvarado and now Jeremy Sohan off the bench and some other guys like Duce McBride i'm not sure what their injury reports going to look like but that is going to be a tough matchup as well and it's the second night of the back to back now.

If Aaron Gordon is targeting a return for that night there's just such an emotional lift that happens there that I wonder if that could give Denver a little bit of a boost.

The like that's a tough matchup to come back to because there's nobody for Aaron specifically to guard OJ and an OB is going to spot up and he he shot 413 from 3 4 OKC is Aaron just going to guard OJ and an OB on the perimeter maybe that's an easier matchup for him as a result but it means that he's going to have to stay connected and the nuggets are going to have to figure some stuff out so i'm curious what it looks like i'm curious how Denver handles it but if they get him back.

Obviously that's a big deal obviously like he goes immediately back into the starting lineup I bet at that point and while he will play 20 to 25 minutes is opposed to 30 to 35 on a minutes restriction it will still give Denver so much of a boost just mentally in terms of being able to handle that so i'm looking forward to seeing what he has I mean the most important thing the most valuable thing it's going to be.

To be is going to be a lot of fun so we will see what happens.

And then obviously if we we've got the the next five games after that you've got lakers mix thunder rockets spurs lakers again and then sixers.

Like as I mentioned I think that Denver goes I think they go four and three in this stretch I think that they are going to surprise some people in terms of.

Being able to get healthy being able to show what it looks like but like they're not going to go seven and now they're not going to go six and one they're probably not going to go five into.

Like there is more downside risk here than upside risk because Denver's got some some pretty tough matchups are the second out of the back to back on on two separate occasions they're going to be short handed they still are not fully healthy and until they get everybody back.

Like David adamant still has to make some pretty tough decisions and Denver still has to figure some things out that they otherwise wouldn't have to so i'm curious to see how they handle it but.

Four and three is is where I will predict.

But now let's quickly go over top seven contenders in the NBA right now to me are as follows the first one is the Oklahoma city thunder.

No team has gone back to back in the last seven years like that's true at every team has gone through their different iterations you had the warriors in 2018 you had the raptors in 2019 you had the lakers in 2020 the bucks in 21 the.

Warriors again in 22 different iteration of them you had the nuggets in 23 you had the Celtics in 24 and then you had the thunder in 2025.

All of those teams the year after really struck at the various points but they did look great at some points like there were there are the highs that you would normally expect like Boston last year like they won in 24 and then in 25 they looked great they look great for like.

Much of that season they won 60 games it was pretty easy for them but then things just kind of fell apart they had injuries at the wrong time sound familiar nuggets have the same thing happened to them the warriors that was a different sort of situation for sure.

Because they are they were that they're last to raw Denver's not at that situation although getting a little bit closer.

And so Denver like not Denver okay see they have the energy and the youth to kind of get over that but I do think that like they're still by far the best team in the NBA to me in terms of what they provide on a regular game by game basis now they are not perfect when it comes to facing top 10 teams there are teams that give them some issues the nuggets can give them some issues the spurs have given them some issues.

Detroit when they when they battle against Detroit Detroit's done pretty well Boston looks pretty good in some of those situations not perfect but pretty good so like there are teams that can beat them but I don't think that they're like they should be favored like okay so you should be favored in these situations number two to me is.

I think it's Detroit I think Detroit has like well no like I actually actually don't know how I feel about that now we'll go with Detroit Detroit to me has the formula of getting through the playoffs with a whole bunch of defensive guys and then Kate cutting him is just a better player than he was last year.

In which he got his first playoff experience it kind of reminds me of okay see in 24 when they ran into the Dallas Mavericks on their way to the finals.

I think that there's still many things that they can do there's still many things that they can figure out Detroit's offense I know scam Johnson's back here he says is a bad outside of Cade I understand that take there's it's not like a traditional.

Generation of offense but like they can play a whole bunch of defensive lineups and be pretty successful that way to like going with five defenders at the same time and guys like us are Thompson Isaiah Stewart Ron Holland Jalen to Ren if he was to stagger and like Dennis Jenkins or you get Duncan Robinson out there like if Duncan Robinson's your only week link you're doing pretty well defensively and that's why they have the second best defense in the entire NBA this year so.

You're right that their offenses and perfect it will probably be their downfall at some point but i'm not sure if it's going to be their downfall until at least the eastern conference finals but we'll see like they are a classic young team that could falter early despite the fact that they have a really successful year because a team that is a more veteran team rises above them.

I will go with New York at three I think New York actually has a lot of exciting things about them the players that they've added this year.

They have a really good mix it's going to be relatively inefficient at times but to me as long as towns like has a good playoffs and not a bad playoffs and they have a lot of really great qualities like them and the and the pistons I think.

That's a tough match up that's a tough match up for both of those teams for completely different reasons but I think the nicks are pretty good.

I'll go with San Antonio at four San Antonio has proven that they deserve a whole bunch of respect they have proven that's.

I certainly during the regular season they have a whole bunch of different ways that they could beat you they could beat you with offense they can beat you with defense they have mismatches all over the court they've got guys in the clutch that they can go to you guys like deer and fox.

Victor when we'll get to the free throw line he will take some bad shots he will struggle at times but I do think that he's.

Assending at a rate that is faster than anybody in the NBA and we just don't know where that stops I think it will stop before the NBA finals because like I actually think it will stop before the conference finals I think that they're a candidate to get upset obviously but like hard to really argue with how they've played they've been amazing over the course of these last few weeks.

We will go with Boston at five Boston at five I think like getting Jason Tatum back is a big deal the formula that they have had around him has been really great I don't expect them to play a massive role for them in the playoffs but they don't need him to.

Like Jalen Brown's been really good for them I think that Derek White is obviously fantastic they do have some weakness a big Nemi as katas had some really good moments Nicole of Usavitch is still a good big man but they are not guys that I think you trust like defensively you trust Keta offensively you trust Vusavitch but he has gone dry at various points in his career from a shooting perspective and I don't think that they have a whole bunch of versatility.

At certainly a power forward to be able to play small at center like they're going with guys like Jordan Walsh in that situation like that is that's not good enough Josh my not in that situation that's not good enough they needed like somebody like an Aaron Gordon type who could actually slide to the five in those situations and give you an advantage.

But they might just out shoot you in a playoffs like Peyton Pritchard is capable of doing that Derek White's capable of doing that and having Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum is pretty good so i'm going to put them at five at six hmm.

I will go with i'll go with Denver here I think Denver deserves a here Denver's ninth and point differential and clean in the glass but they are.

Definitely a struggle at times there there's definitely places where they really struggle.

The defense is one of them the clutch situations are another but more than anything it has been health I think that they have the ceiling to get to two on this list they can't go over okay see at this point.

But like if you get back Aaron Gordon you get back Peyton Watson would anybody be surprised if Denver went on a run no of course not I think a lot of people are kind of building that into their logic building that into how they think about these teams.

I think that Denver is clearly clearly good enough in in terms of like having the talent but it has not coalesced in the way that you would expect.

And there are definitely some weaknesses that with each of these individual lineups and combinations that teams can pick and product more so defensively than offensively but like we've seen Denver really struggled defensively in these situations so they're at six they're not at seven they're not below that's like I still i'm not going to over correct that much but then after that.

Do I go with Cleveland like can I even trust James Hardin in that situation even if he's like next to Donovan Mitchell and they've got Evan Mobley and guys of that nature Jared Allen's obviously really good I know i'll keep them lower and I will put i'll put Houston above them actually now i'm going to put Minnesota above them Minnesota is at seven Denver's at six and I think that's fair based off of the way that like I think those two teams.

Will match up in the playoffs but Minnesota has the talent and the versatility to be able to go at basically anybody.

Do I think that they can be okay seeing a series no I think they could be Denver in a series I think they could be San Antonio in a series certainly I think that San Antonio is probably like they're certainly a little shaky here.

When it comes to like that's that's the perfect like Minnesota is the perfect team to take out San Antonio because they've got matchups for Wembee on both ends of the floor and they've got Anthony Edwards who's just not going to care like in any of those situations who he's going up against like Steph Castle's not going to really bother Anthony Edwards that much so.

It'll be interesting to see but I do think that that's going to be that's that's the seven to me so you've got okay see Detroit New York San Antonio.

Boston Denver and Minnesota I think that those seven teams like I don't think Minnesota can win the title I don't really think that's.

I think the Denver can win a title but like so the top six teams I think could all win do I expect it no I only expect like okay see Detroit New York and Denver I think those are the only four teams that can win the title but like Denver ceiling is like pretty high but I their floor is just so low right now that's why you have to put them below some of these other teams and think it's rightfully so so we will see what happens from here but let's take a final break.

Actually now we'll go go from man down fans down which I feel Ryan do you think experience is kind of overrated after watching okay see win no I don't and the reason why is because they did go through the process the year before they were the one of the youngest teams an NBA playoff history the year before and then went through that process and they probably should have beaten Dallas like there's no question in my mind that they should have beaten Dallas.

They did have a lack of experience and one of the reasons why they were in seven game series against Denver and Indiana was because of their lack of experience was because jail and Williams was inexplicably bad in that second in that second round series and like they should have been able to take care of Indiana but then Indiana got them in game one and made that a very complicated series so I do think that experience matters I do I 100% do now doesn't matter.

Maybe less than it did before I don't know you've got a you've got a changing of the guard that is going on like I didn't put Houston on there because I don't think the Kevin Durant's like going to push Houston over the top I don't have the Lakers on there and certainly not the Warriors because I don't think those teams despite the playoff experience that guys like Lucodonchich and LeBron James and Austenries have like I don't think that they're going to that's going to matter that much you have to have a baseline talent in a baseline capability.

If you don't have that then you're an initiative you have you have definite issues so we'll see what happens with the but I do think that San Antonio is the team most liable in that situation Detroit is another one certainly but like there'll be some other young teams that when they jump in there like Charlotte is a great example I do not think that Charlotte's going to match up really well in the playoffs despite the fact that they have been amazing over the course of these past few weeks and basically

couple months they've been amazing. Okay let's take a break when we come back we are going to discuss the roster moves the Denver has made and what that could be leading to but first folks we have had watch parties at mile high sports I don't know I've definitely put it out there you should definitely know by now our next watch party is going to be March 14th versus the Los Angeles Lakers Denver's on the road for that one but one of the main sponsors we've got Swabbisito that's

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Stay tuned for upcoming nuggets watch parties as well. You could win some fun giveaways from both the mile high sports and the Fixit crew Fixed 24 7 reminding you that your house that when your houses in trouble call the green bubble will be right back on pickaxe or no check engine ABS or maintenance light on take the guesswork out of your warning lights with O'Reilly Vera scan the services free and provides

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Thank you so much for joining us on the podcast as always folks. Okay, the final couple of things here just a couple roster moves to finish things up. I've put a lot of thoughts and discussion into the nuggets need to fill out their roster nuggets need to be taking advantage of the moments here.

The reason why I think it's important is because you just never know what's going to happen in the playoffs you never know who's going to be in a tough situation.

You always want to be in a place where you can have the right answer for the right problem a problem will arise in which Denver is going to have to make something work they're going to have to pivot from what they were expecting to do.

Well, Murray gets into foul trouble maybe Bruce Brown turns an ankle or something like that.

If those situations happen Jalen picket has been the guy that the nuggets have gone to over the course of these last few months.

But the nuggets decided hey, why don't we go get another veteran why don't we go get another guy that we trust in the pick and roll that has previous chemistry with Jonas Valentinus and that takes care of the basketball isn't going to make a whole bunch of mistakes.

We hit a couple shots when we need him to there's there's at least a thing there that I think will definitely be a justification for Tyus Jones specifically who let's face it has had a bad couple of years.

He has not been great certainly this year he was not good for Orlando they brought him in as a backup point guard candidate in the midst of hey we've got Jalen Suggs we've got Anthony Black.

He was treated for Desmond Bain we're not expecting Tyus Jones to have to play a significant role.

But it would be nice to be able to set the table for guys like Franz Wagner for Palabank arrow well Palabank arrow has been pretty bad this year and Franz Wagner has been injured for much of the season.

They have not gotten like they certainly didn't get from Tyus what they needed when they when they traded for him the year before.

Tyus Jones was acquired by the Phoenix sons to be their starting point guard that didn't work either now in both situations.

I give that I give Tyus a little bit of the benefit of that in Phoenix what as a point guard when you're sharing the ball with Devon Booker Bradley Beale and Kevin Durant it can get a little bit difficult it can get a little bit difficult to get into a rhythm.

It's at the table for other guys to play your own game when you have to worry so much about all the other guys and them playing their games and being like that's a that's a pretty tough job for just about anybody on that team.

They needed to for go the point guard position and play with like De Laund right or the equivalent three in D point guard who's big and switchable defensively and could do those things.

That's not Tyus Jones Tyus Jones is going to have the ball in his hands is going to run pick and rolls he's going to run DHO's is going to set the table for other people he's going to set the table for himself.

And so with with Orlando you've got a whole bunch of cooks in the kitchen there as well not surprised that it didn't work now did Tyus Jones fail yeah he did like it was not a good situation for him to be in and clearly that didn't work doesn't mean it isn't going to work in Denver no like will have to be open to that.

I am not expecting Tyus Jones to be a massive factor for the nuggets this season for obvious reasons like Denver's got their plan for rotation but they did make it official that they that they signed them that they're bringing him in he's going to be on the bench tonight he'll be active I assume.

And so is it going to help their defense when they deploy an undersized point guard no is it going to put them in a situation like is this a skill set that they are going to need.

When everything goes well no no but there is a possibility that in a pickle if you have the right matchup if you have guys that are not going to pick on him on a consistent basis like hypothetically let's say Denver is facing let's think about it who could they be facing the Houston Rockets let's say they're facing the Houston Rockets.

Do you care if almond Thompson goes at Tyus Jones I don't do care if like like he's chasing around read shepherd a little bit you don't want to let read shepherd go off but like with Houston the worries are Alperin Shengoon and Kevin Durant like those are the guys that you really have to worry about from that case I just do not like I don't like there are going to be matchups for Tyus Jones can play.

And you can just play him when certain guys are off the floor as well I am not going to sit here and expect him to be amazing but I do think that's like here's the thing scam like get your head out of the gutter man like read averages 25 versus us yeah and that's with like decent defense that's like with good guys like what are you expecting if somebody like a Tyus Jones can really help elevate your offense in these cases make sure that it doesn't go kaput.

Then that actually does help you actually does put you in a better place in a better situation so I don't I don't know whether this is going to be a this your thing but there's a possibility that it's a next your thing to keep in mind that jail and pick it's a free agent Bruce Brown's a free agent Tim Hardaway Jr's a free agent you get Tyus Jones in the building as somebody who has long been a capable backup point guard if you redefine his role if you redefine.

Good lord.

If you redefine what is expected from a guy and he's not supposed to be a starter and he's just a backup and you say okay you're going to go back to playing 15 to 20 minutes a game and maybe that fits a little bit better maybe it's a little bit of a better situation so we will see what happens with them but I do think that it matters and I do think that he could be very valuable for a team like the nuggets.

We will see what ultimately it looks like but I do think that this is a good addition it's not a great addition but like you look around at the rest of the buyout market there were no guys that were going to help them zero once Chris Middleton was not let go was not agreeing to a buyout with the Dallas Mavericks Tyus Jones was probably the next best player and maybe there's an argument for some other guys but I trust Tyus Jones to at least figure it out.

Boucher is not going to help them he's just not like he's he's also like like there's some there's some stuff behind the scenes with Boucher that there isn't with Tyus Jones and so if Denver is trying to if Denver is trying to add to their roster without taking away from it big Tyus Jones isn't the worst idea in the world.

Now Denver made another move as well they added David Roddy on a two way contract and they got rid of Tomar Bates they waived Tomar Bates who had been out he basically played zero role for the team up until that point and then sustaining major foot injury that he had surgery on that's a really tough situation for anybody to be it's really really tough and I sympathize with with Tomar Bates in the situation.

It feels a little bit icky to lose your spots on any team on any roster due to injury but the fact is that if the nuggets are adding Tyus Jones if they added KJ Simpson if they already have Curtis Jones on their the back end of their roster.

They already have jail and pick it already got a lot of other guys that can be in the back core handle the basketball and are a little undersized.

It's not the worst idea in the world to exchange somebody that's not going to play for somebody that could and David Roddy former CSU Ram has been around the league for a little bit he has not stuck anywhere he was with Memphis Grizzlies for a while my colleague over locked on Matt Moore who's a Grizzlies fan.

He hated David Roddy's game did not like it did not think he was super valuable he was playing a significant role in part because Memphis had a dearth of talent at the forward spots and we're just trying to find anybody.

Roddy wasn't it for them then now does that mean that he's not it for everybody going forward I don't know like Denver's going to give him 20 games to figure it out and the last quarter of the season to see what he can do.

Keep in mind that I didn't really expect Spencer Jones to be much of anything he didn't really play a significant role and then he turned into somebody that could.

Is that going to happen with Roddy probably not I'm not going to sit here and beat around the bush about it.

But like Roddy is somebody that is a relatively smart player somebody who is physical he's undersized at the power forward position a little bit shorter for sure.

But he has some skills he has like a game in which is it's a little bit unique it's a little bit versatile it's not necessarily like defined for a positional skill set or anything like that.

But for Denver they don't necessarily need anything crazy now would be cool to have a six foot 10 guy who can block shots and play the dunker spot position next to you catch sure.

But that guy probably wasn't available on a two way contract and so they're adding a local guy in David Roddy who could potentially do some stuff i'm not going to say here and predict that he will this is probably going to be a 20 game situation and then into the playoffs and then he's probably gone after that.

But who knows David Roddy was a former first ground pick I believe somebody fact check me on that i'm pretty sure that that Memphis drafted him in the first round and there was a reason for it right like.

He was actually somebody that like look look at the versatility look at the defensive capabilities look at the passing and the vision and the smarts he's a good rebounder for somebody who's a little bit undersized at his position and he has some skills like you can actually score so.

I don't know what's going to happen with them what I do know is i'm glad that Denver made a move to help bolster their forward spots they needed somebody who could like one of the things that's been happening at the end of these games.

If there's garbage time is that Julian Strouders been playing in them that Spencer Jones has been playing in them that these guys that have been playing a lot like have had to play.

Like even if they play even if they start in some of these games because you're not going to play your veterans like Jonas Valchunis Bruce Brown Tim Hardaway those guys aren't going to close.

So you have to play somebody else and it's often been some of these younger guys in Julian Strouders and Spencer Jones who could contribute to Denver's playoff rotation so if Denver gets into a garbage time situation.

At least having body out there instead of Spencer Jones I think is a great it's a very valuable thing especially Spencer is dealing with a shoulder injury so like don't make it worse go get somebody that can actually play.

So apologies for tomorrow baits it's really tough like this is a tough situation I hope that he latches on with somebody else and hope that he can like has had the opportunity to rebound or to rehab with Denver and figure stuff out but ultimately this is a situation where as the nuggets you have to be comfortable making tough choices and Denver made a tough choice and the hope is that it pays off.

Okay folks I think that's going to do it I probably spent a little bit longer than I wanted to but that is going to do it for this episode of pickaxe and roll.

Brought to my good friends here at mile high sports thank you for tuning into the show game tonight versus the Lakers game tomorrow versus the next I'm not going to have a podcast tomorrow here I will do a podcast on Saturday at number 38 and we'll have a good time with that.

Everybody have a good day hit that like button if that subscribe button on the way out I'll talk to you guys version.

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