Category: 5280 Sports Network Columns

Then, there was the Jokic of the final minutes of the Minnesota game. Every time he appeared on camera, he looked focused and driven. Was this Michael Jordan or LeBron James? No, it was the guy who has his own segment on the scoreboard at the Pepsi Center reading bad jokes like Jerry Seinfeld. This was the guy that plays cool under pressure as if he doesn’t know what pressure is carrying the weight of the team on his shoulders.

And as the reality of the loss set in, Jokic was as dejected as any Nugget.

If that’s the guy that’s going to show up every night, Jokic has turned an important corner in his growth towards NBA stardom. He’s worth betting on—the next card that’s going to be overturned is the Joker.

A tweet by the Colorado Springs Gazette’s Paul Klee after the game summed up what Jokic can be: “…Nikola Jokic is even more than anyone has written or said. He’s going to be an all-timer.” Klee’s correct. Give Jokic the keys to the franchise now.

The Nuggets are actually in a position to do just that this summer. Mile High Sports’ TJ McBride broke down the Nuggets’ offseason last night and the big question mark is Jokic’s contract. Do they offer him a maximum contract this year? That should be the hope in Denver, because Jokic cannot leave the state.

The talent has always been there. It started with his passing. Then he became a better rebounder. Now, his shot selection is getting better. Even Jokic’s defense is marginally improved. The only missing ingredient was this idea of having the fire within him to want to win.

He’s caught it. Whether from a teammate or a coach, he seems fully engaged in leading this Nuggets team to new heights.

So this summer, the Nuggets need to start really building around Jokic. No more personnel decisions spun to help Jokic that end up hindering him. No more spending money on veterans who can’t get Jokic closer to the finals. No more pretending like this is anyone else’s team.

The Nuggets have three really good players. Gary Harris and Jamal Murray can get this team far. But at the end of the day, Jokic is ready to lead the charge.

Many of the changes around Downtown have not been for the better. The apartments that block the mountains behind Coors Field on the lower deck are a travesty. All of the hip places in Denver seem kind of interchangeable. None of them stick out the way a ballpark does in downtown.

Denver doesn’t have much of an identity right now. The transplants like to outdo the natives when it comes to outdoor activities and culture spots, so that the small-city feel that made Denver great has been washed away.

The Rockies feel like one of our cultural touch points that is almost unchanged. Along with Red Rocks, Coors Field has turned into one of the only “must-see” attractions in Denver.

It helps that the Rockies are good right now. The baseball park stands out by itself, but it feels like the players who played on the field will continue to shape the legacy of the park. Yes, we have Larry Walker and Todd Helton, but imagine the stories around Charlie Blackmon and Nolan Arenado if they can also secure a World Series ring.

On a summer evening, the weather cools in Denver so that the temperature is just right for a baseball game after a hot day. Opening Day, in snow or sunshine, is the start of those summers.

A Central Division playoff appearance materialized in the 2013-14 season around Calder winner (rookie of the year), Nathan MacKinnon. The Avs lost in seven to the Minnesota Wild.

That year, everyone bought into the idea that this was the start of something special. The brain trust of vice president Joe Sakic and coach Patrick Roy made some decisions that stacked the roster with veterans. The players who were left over seemed to think making the playoffs the second time would be easier. It wasn’t. Roy ended up quitting only two seasons later and the Avalanche bottomed out last year with the worst performance by a team in a decade.

So, with a team full of rookies, including pivotal players to the franchise like Alexander Kerfoot, J.T. Compher, Tyson Jost and Sam Girard, perhaps missing the playoffs can have a positive effect. Sometimes, early success can have negative consequences on their psyche.

Colorado Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez illustrated this point in a recent article by Patrick Saunders. “Man, my first year here, we made the playoffs and we should have beaten Philadelphia in the division series,” he said. “I thought that was going to be the case every year. I thought, ‘Man, this is fun, this is a great, great group.’ But that just shows you how hard it is to compete every year…”

I think this team is a great group. If they don’t fall into the trap of past rookies Duchene and MacKinnon, maybe it will make them work a little harder next season. Missing the playoffs in the short-term would be disappointing, but for an organization far ahead of pace, the future once again appears as bright as the fresh Colorado snow.

Let’s game plan as if that’s not going to happen. For Jokic’s potential to blossom, the Nuggets need for him to take steps to be consistently great—and do everything in their power to help get him there. This leaves the Nuggets with some decisions to make.

The biggest question mark is coach Michael Malone. At the beginning of the year, the Nuggets had a “playoffs or bust” mentality. Malone has walked back on those expectations, on behalf of the Nuggets’ front office, in recent weeks. This feels like a statement that Malone is staying.

If he does return next year, the expectations from Nuggets President Tim Connelly to Malone need to be about building around Jokic. Malone has made decisions that hurt Jokic, like calling plays that limit Jokic’s effectiveness. The defensive schemes also need to be built with Jokic in mind, because he isn’t quick enough to be a really good defensive player.

Malone and his coaching staff also need to help Jokic turn into a leader on the court. They can assist with this process by setting him up for success early in games and helping Jokic find his voice as a leader. It’s not part of Jokic’s basic personality to lead naturally. They need to assist him to gain an understanding of how people like Tim Duncan were able to mold influence in a leadership role by example instead of with words.

Connelly and Nuggets General Manager Artūras Karnišovas also need to come to terms with the limitations Jokic puts on their roster. Mason Plumlee and Paul Millsap have both hindered Jokic’s effectiveness rather than helped him as big bodies on the floor. With the cap space situation (it’s not good), the Nuggets are going to have to make some tough choices, sooner then they’d like.

Jokic is not a perfect player, but he’s a unique asset in an NBA, where stars get you over the top. Add in Harris and Murray, and the Nuggets have a bright future.

Just get out of the way of the Serbian in the middle. He’s your ticket to NBA relevance.

When the Avs game ended, it looked like the Nuggets might make it a sweep of success for the Mile High City. A day that started with Case Keenum’s overnight signing with the Denver Broncos could end with the two Pepsi Center teams in the playoffs.

The Nuggets led the Los Angeles Lakers by double-digits in the third quarter. Then, they fell apart. Those words have been used too many times to describe the Nuggets this season.

The Nuggets started inexplicably shooting threes and their coach, Michael Malone, couldn’t stop the slide to defeat. The Lakers are not a good team, which made another collapse even worse. Denver fell out of a playoff spot.

To add insult to injury, the Nuggets’ performance made point guard Jamal Murray look foolish. Over the last couple of Lakers games, he’s taunted the Lakers’ players. In the desperate final seconds, the Staples Center crowd started a “Murray Sucks” chant.

The chant was reminiscent of similar chants Denver fans hurled at Kobe Bryant back when both teams were good. Now, both teams are out of the playoffs. The two teams currently don’t have the credibility to start a playground scuffle, let alone a real feud. Everyone should be a little embarrassed.

If the Nuggets miss the playoffs, it would be the second year in a row that they fell out of the playoffs during the stretch run. This current predicament, where the Nuggets have less than a one-in-three chance to make the playoffs, is troubling considering they were battling for a top-four seed two weeks ago.

In a month, both the Avalanche and Nuggets will know their playoff fates. If they continue to trend in these directions, the Avalanche will face a tough first round opponent and the Nuggets will face tough offseason decisions.

If the Avalanche miss the playoffs, this particular Tuesday night might be the high point. The Avalanche destroying Minnesota is its own joy and this game could be a stepping-stone for things to come.

Thursday night was another big step. Colorado defeated the Blues 4-1 in St. Louis. They had won just two of their previous 15 trips to the Gateway City; it was their first victory over the Blues this season. The Avs’ top line tallied 10 points as a unit. Semyon Varlamov made 44 saves. Next Colorado will host the No. 1 team in the Western Conference, Nashville, on Friday with momentum and what is sure to be a raucous home crowd on their side.

The Nuggets bounced back somewhat with a home win Thursday night over the Pistons. The victory put them a half-game out of the eighth and final playoff spot. Nikola Jokic had a triple-double. Murray had a game-high 26 points, but Denver nearly gave away the game again. After leading by 26 in the third quarter, the Nuggets allowed Detroit to claw back to within six with under 2:00 to play before closing it out. Gary Harris went down with a leg injury late in the game. Now Denver embarks on a seven-game road trip, likely needing to win five of those games to still be in the fight when the calendar flips to April and they return home.

If the Nuggets make the playoffs, the Lakers game will be all but forgotten except for the “Murray Sucks” chants. This tiff will reverberate into the next Nuggets-Lakers squabble.

One game does not define a season. These high points and low points are just pieces of the puzzles. It’s just ironic that the Nuggets and Avalanche found the best and worst of themselves on the same night.

Those experiences have laid the foundation for Black’s success as a manger. The only true veteran head coach in Denver major sports, he has the respect of people around the game. He has the pedigree to elevate a team, as he did for the Rockies last year. He even won Manager of the Year with a San Diego Padres team that failed to make the playoffs in 2010.

He also knows something about failing to get beyond initial success.

While the Rockies were celebrating their playoff berth in 2007 after the legendary play-in game, Black was left dejected in the Padres’ dugout. He managed through one of the worst collapses in baseball history. For all of the surprise and joy ‘Rocktober’ brought to Denver, the sorrow was equal in San Diego.

Black then had to come back to Spring Training the next year and try to rally the troops. The Padres never competed for a World Series under Black — they didn’t even make the playoffs.

This is the fate Black hopes to avoid with this team.

The first time you succeed can seem deceptively simple. The idea that an athlete could look at a string of success and say, “that was easy,” is a sure sign of problems ahead.

Just ask Nathan MacKinnon, who was the NHL Rookie of the Year during a Colorado Avalanche playoff run. He’s never made the playoffs since and suffered on a historically bad team. Only by MacKinnon basically taking on the weight of the entire team has allowed the Avalanche to compete for a playoff spot again.

It’s harder the second time.

The Colorado Rockies had a fairly easy run to the playoffs last year. They started off strong and recovered from second-half struggles to mount a challenge for that Wild Card berth. They even rallied in that game, before finally succumbing in the 11-8 loss.

The Rockies will try to avoid that trap in 2018. However, you couldn’t blame the Rockies for thinking they should at least be able to match those results from last year. They’re a young team without a lot of experience in these sorts of things.

This is where they need Bud Black to navigate the more treacherous road ahead.

Pitchers can be inconsistent. Hitters can slump.

In each of these areas, the Rockies will need a manager who can tell them that “it’s hard now, but we can make this work together.” They need to be able to rise above adversity to reach a higher peak.

Last year should not be as good as it gets for the Rockies — and no one wants to rise above that first peak more than Black.

The best way to settle this argument is with short paragraphs on each team’s window of contention that will likely infuriate each fan base for different reasons.

Will they, or won’t they: Colorado Avalanche 

The Colorado Avalanche will contend for a championship over the next few years because they have an MVP-caliber player in Nathan MacKinnon, who is surrounded by talented linemates Gabe Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen. Their rookie forwards chose hockey instead of creating the law firm of Kerfoot, Compher and Jost. As a result, they give the Avs some interesting and promising depth. The defense has a lot of interesting developing prospects. It’s also worth noting that every team that makes that NHL playoffs has a chance to win the championship..

The Avalanche will not contend for a championship because their young talent will not develop. Their players get hurt too often (Erik Johnson and Semyon Varlamov, in particular, have battled with injuries throughout their careers). The goaltending will give out before they have a chance to compete. The Avalanche have been in this situation before and have followed it with personnel decisions that didn’t pan out.

Will they, or won’t they: Colorado Rockies

The Colorado Rockies will contend for a championship over the next few years because the team from last year shows a potentially sustainable path to the World Series. With a homegrown pitching staff that performed well at altitude, they will excel in their second year as a unit. Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon will lead the way on the field and at the plate, knocking in both young players and veterans who make the roster. The Rockies spent more money this offseason than anyone else has on a bullpen — ever.

The Colorado Rockies will not contend for a championship because the path to a championship is so narrow in baseball — there are fewer playoff spots than in any other major sport. To guarantee a playoff series, the Rockies have to win the division over the Los Angeles Dodgers (the defending National League champions) the Arizona Diamondbacks (who beat the Rockies in the 2017 Wild Card Game) and the San Francisco Giants (who may be delusional by spending millions on veteran hitters… or may have a real shot at the division title). The young pitching cold fall apart in their second year and the team’s hitting woes on the road could catch up to them. Then in two years, the Rockies may very well lose Arenado to free agency.

Will they, or won’t they: Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets will contend for a championship over the next few years because they have the core talent to compete. On any night, a combination of Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and Gary Harris can compete with any other team in the league. All three are young enough that they have not yet reached their potential. On top of that, the Nuggets already have promising other players that will be needed to help them make a run. If they stay healthy, their core three could all emerge as superstars.

The Denver Nuggets will not contend for a championship because it’s all but impossible for markets like Denver’s to win a championship in the NBA. You must have an unquestioned superstar who can take over and single-handedly win games for you; the Nuggets don’t have that kind of player on the roster, and they can’t add one in free agency, either. Coach Michael Malone’s decision-making will cost them games and he’s too often been slow to adapt. This Nuggets roster may follow in the footsteps of other talented, promising Nuggets teams that failed to win even a single playoff series.

Will they, or won’t they: Denver Broncos

Let’s keep this short. Novels could be written about this subject.

The Denver Broncos will contend for a championship over the next few years because they have every opportunity to add a great quarterback in the offseason. This will give the Broncos the confidence they need to run a more diverse and explosive offense. The defense can remain strong with youth, and Von Miller may eventually hold two jobs: linebacker and mayor of Denver.

The Denver Broncos will not contend for a championship because they pick the wrong man at quarterback — again. Their defense will get worse by cutting Aqib Talib; the Broncos’ defensive backfield has worked because they’ve had three starting-caliber corners, not just two. The city may eventually start a new newspaper to compete with the Denver Post called the Denver Quarterback Debate — because that seems to be the only news that matters.

The Buffs’ record is 1-3 against those two schools this year.

The “right way” Buffaloes are not on a path to basketball wins.

According to recent reports that confirm everyone’s suspicions about college recruiting, the rule-followers make up only one method for recruiting — and it’s probably the method used by most major programs. Cheating is rotting college basketball.

If given the option, I would much rather have my alma mater do things the right way and lose, instead of operating the wrong way with bribes, cover-ups and potential scandals. It brings shame to everyone involved in the school down the road. For as little as school itself seems to matter to college sports, it still matters to me that Colorado has sports programs that are in line with the honor that is expected of students in the classroom.

So I applaud Tad Boyle for doing things the right way, even as I’m disappointed with the results of the last couple of years.

You have to think his principles have major effects when recruiting against people who offer illegal incentives. CU’s best player, McKinley Wright IV, only came to CU because his previous commitment fell through. Wright, a freshman who passed Chauncey Billups’ school record for the most assists in his first year, is the team’s new star. Building around him will be the problem.

When you can’t offer extra benefits, you have to make more commitments to promising players over players who already have developed skills. Attitude issues or inconsistencies in games can derail that promise. That is the plague of this season. The two seniors, George King and Dominique Collier, can’t give their best every night. Everyone else is still developing.

In Boyle’s favor, the attitude issues of years past, with players like Askia Booker, Xavier Johnson and Wesley Gordon, are not present at this time. I think Boyle has learned a lot about team fit in the past couple of years.

The Buffs also lack the leadership of guys like Josh Scott and Derrick White. That’s something that Boyle and his staff need to figure out how to find and develop.

Boyle is the coach CU needs. He’s made the basketball program relevant for an era, not just for a season. If he refuses to compromise on his principles, then he’s at the mercy of governing bodies (the FBI and NCAA) to make changes.

If they don’t make changes, which seems likely, this will always be Boyle’s conundrum. He’s committed to doing things the right way — and universitythat makes winning a bigger challenge.

* * * * *

The Colorado Rockies come into Spring Training with a lot of promise. After defying the odds with a new manager, they look to take the next step to National League contender. Getting a taste of the playoffs was nice, but they want to compete for a division title and do some damage in the playoffs. They believe they have one or two MVP candidates on their roster. Also, a no-hitter from a pitcher isn’t out of the question.

Of course, the year was 2010.

After losing to the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Wild Card round in 2009, the Rockies’ future looked good. With the emergence of some key players like Carlos Gonzalez, there was no reason to think that the Rockies couldn’t compete for more. In 2010, Ubaldo Jimenez would throw the team’s first and only no-hitter (to date). They stayed in the National League Western Division race until September, when they fell apart. The Rockies lost 13 of their last 14 games that year and the San Francisco Giants surpassed Colorado on the way to the World Series.

* * * * *

The Colorado Rockies come into Spring Training with a lot of promise. It feels great to be down at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Arizona. People believe that the best starting pitcher in team history might be on the roster. They are confident that recent success can be sustainable. They’re ready to prove that they can compete for the playoffs every year.

Of course, the year was 2011.

Ubaldo Jimenez was traded that summer. The Rockies finished with a 73-89 record. It was the last time Todd Helton and Troy Tulowitzki played meaningful baseball for the Rockies. In years to come, the embarrassment would include opening the party deck, implementing the piggyback pitching system and running Jim Tracy out of the manager’s job.

* * * * *

 The Colorado Rockies come into Spring Training with a lot of promise. For the first time in their history, they have a homegrown starting pitching unit. They spent more money than any other team to secure their bullpen and have three of the best players in the game mining at-bats in the field.

While Rockies fans are trying to be cautiously optimistic, it’s really hard given the consistency they showed last year. The mood instead is real excitement around the Purple Pinstripes. The big question is whether all of their young players are ready to take the next step. They have passed on a couple of reliable veterans, including Carlos Gonzalez and Mark Reynolds, in constructing their current roster. Also, there’s a new giant video scoreboard!

Of course, the year is 2018…

This is the kind of veteran point guard that the Nuggets needed. The second unit has struggled all year. Emmanuel Mudiay was ineffective, which is why he was traded. Having Barton run the second unit hurt their offensive scheme because he’s not a great passer. This was a hole that had to be filled.

You could also see Devin Harris playing with Murray sometimes. Murray is not a great facilitator and his assist numbers are often underwhelming. This is the kind of mentorship Murray needs on and off the court.

I really like Dallas Mavericks’ coach Rick Carlisle, and inserting someone from his team into a leadership role is a huge plus. Of course, the Nuggets had a similar player on their roster to start the season. Jameer Nelson is only a year older than Harris and was free. The Nuggets let him go. Given a choice, I do think Harris is better, but it cost them a player they drafted 7th and a draft pick.

A side note: I’m not looking forward to having to distinguish Gary Harris from Devin Harris all of the time. Two Harris’s on the floor at the same time will mean a lot of vocal acrobatics for radio guy Jason Kosmicki.

I’d highly recommend T.J. McBride’s piece breaking down Emmanuel Mudiay for Devin Harris.

Emmanuel Mudiay

Finally trading Emmanuel Mudiay was an end the Nuggets tried to avoid for the last two years. Everyone saw the talent that Mudiay possessed early on. His rookie year featured several moments where he looked like the next star in Denver. However, he never evolved past that talent.

Mile High Sports colleague Jeff Morton, would tell you. “Mudiay was my guy. I saw all of that potential, but it did not develop fast enough in Denver.”

There are several reasons that could factor into this. He never played in the NCAA and had trouble adapting to the NBA game.

Also, he’s really young. He turns 22 in a month.

Additionally, in the eyes of the coaching staff, he had maturity issues that kept him out for periods last season.

There’s also a troubling theory that the Nuggets’ current coaching staff has trouble developing talent. This judgment will play out over the rest of Mudiay’s career. It’s something Nuggets fans have worried about seeing Jusuf Nurkic rise (and waver) with the Portland Trailblazers. With a young core still developing, let’s hope it’s not coaching that’s holding back the players.

Faried and Chandler

The Nuggets did not trade Kenneth Faried or Wilson Chandler in another deadline. Both players have fallen out of favor at times this season with Michael Malone. Faried is hardly playing at all and Chandler is not a starting option and could fall behind a lot of players in the rotation when Paul Millsap returns.

It feels like the Nuggets are holding on to the forgettable post-Melo/pre-Jokic era in a way they don’t need to anymore. Both players could have previously been traded, but the Nuggets stood firm and they’re stuck with them. Not only is it costing them money, but also a roster spot for Torrey Craig.

Torrey Craig

Torrey Craig came up from the D-League (I mean… G-League, sponsored by Gatorade) on November 28th. He’s the closest thing they have to a shutdown defender, which seems like a key role if the Nuggets find themselves in important games down the stretch or in a playoff series.

However, the Nuggets’ roster is full. That did not change that with the trade deadline. There’s a rule about a G-League player only being able to remain on an NBA roster for around 45 days without a full contract. This was a big failing of deadline day to fail to add Craig to the roster.

They have a lot of pieces sitting out of the rotation right now. Malik Beasley, Richard Jefferson, Juancho Hernangomez, Darrell Arthur, Chandler and Faried—but with the deadline past, things get complicated. Far too complicated for me.

*****

The Nuggets’ issues continue to be a lot of questions that are still unanswered. If it all works out, who cares? If they don’t, these questions will gain traction and make some noise.