The Denver Nuggets came into the week looking to bounce back after dropping two of four the previous week. They would do just that, securing a blowout win over the Miami Heat as well as beating the Philadelphia 76ers in dramatic fashion. The Nuggets will have to complete the weekly sweep this afternoon when they face the Minnesota Timberwolves in a rare Sunday afternoon affair.
Nuggets go 2-0
The Heat were one of the darlings of the early season. They came into Denver with wins in five of their previous six games and had impressive victories against the Milwaukee Bucks and Houston Rockets. The Nuggets rode a team effort headed up by Jamal Murray to take the Heat to task however and the game ended with the crowd chanting for Michael Porter Jr to get playing time (he got three minutes).
Denver followed up their game with the Heat with a matchup against Philly at home that featured the much ballyhooed individual matchup of Nikola Jokic vs Joel Embiid. It wasn’t looking great for Denver throughout most of the game as Philly was red hot from three point land and the Nuggets meanwhile were struggling mightily on offense. However, in the fourth quarter Jokic came alive. He outscored the Sixers single handedly and buried the game winner to send Philly fans home taking an L on the way out.
Gary Harris, Paul Millsap and Will Barton fight through injuries
The Heat game took it’s toll on the Nuggets. While they were able to get back Barton from an inflammed toe injury, Paul Millsap and Gary Harris both had injuries of their own. Neither seem to be too serious as evidenced by both guys playing against Philly but it’ll be something to watch. Harris turned an ankle that he likely will just have to gut out for a week or so meanwhile Millsap suffered a facial laceration that left him with stitches in his forehead and has brought back the return of “Headband Paul.” The location of his laceration, and it’s unique lighting bolt shape gave our buddy Alec Gwin over at Reddit some ideas for content.
Altitude TV appears to be at stalemate with Comcast and Dish
Last week news broke that Altitude TV and DirecTV had struck a deal. Most assumed that now that consumers had a viable alternative, as well as the added pressure from the Colorado Attorney General, that Comcast and Dish would come into the fold. However, it doesn’t appear to be the case. Despite airing on DirecTV, Altitude purchased time on KTVD My20 to air an Avalanche game this week. They did a similar move with the Nuggets home opener back when Altitude was completely frozen out in negotiations and the appearance had a similar feel. Yes, fans were able to watch the game but the product they were presented felt more like a paid programming infomercial (which, in reality, is exactly what it was) than a sports broadcast. Despite a blow to their negotiating power last week, it doesn’t appear any new ground was broken with either of the two providers this week. Meanwhile, Altitude, the Nuggets and the Avs are all in on the DirecTV hype train.
Proposition DD passes
The chances of us getting into politics here at Stiffs are incredibly slim. So slim in fact that there’s almost nothing that could persuade us to touch on it. Nothing, except of course sports betting. The right to wager on sporting events from the confines of Colorado was on the ballot this week and ended up winning out by a slim margin. As reported by Saja Hindi of the Denver Post, Colorado casinos will now be able to apply for licenses to take sports bets. Betting should go fully into place in about 6 months.
Player of the week: Jamal Murray
It was a strong week for the Nuggets starting point guard to continue upon what has been a strong start to the season. Murray topped 20 points in each game so far this week, including leading the team in scoring against Miami. He was also incredibly pivotal to the win against the Sixers. Murray put up a 22 and 11 line against Philly and perhaps played his most complete game as an NBA player. He looked completely in control of the offense and made the right decisions time and time again. When he got hot he shot the ball without hesitation, when he cooled off he looked for others and created for his teammates. Any notion that Murray is off to another slow start is misleading if not outright wrong. So far he’s been the best player on the court for Denver this season and I shudder to think where Denver would be without him.
Fun moment of the week: Mile High Dreams Gala
If you ever get the opportunity to attend the Kroenke Sports Mile High Dreams Gala, do it. The Dreams Gala is an opportunity for fans to get a chance to meet the athletes on their favorite teams up close and personal. The night includes food, music, the Denver Nuggets dancers as well as a casual atmosphere for meet and greets. On top of everything, the event goes to a good cause as proceeds are donated to programs supported by Kroenke Sports Charities. If you want a chance to meet all the Nuggets, Avs, Colorado Rapids and Colorado Mammoth, and can pony up the $150 of scratch for admission, definitely check it out next season.
Podcast Corner
Not gonna lie, it was a tough week for the Podcast channel. The Pickaxe Podcsat unfortunately was missed due to outside influences and The Denver Stiffs Show after the Sixers game was lost due to SD card failure. Still, the beauty of the Denver Stiffs Podcast Network is we have a plethora of shows so no week passes without at least some podcast content. I joined Ryan Blackburn on Nuggets Numbers this week to talk about the Nuggets excelling defense and the boys over at The Dig were up to their usually great content looking into whether or not the Nuggets start can be trusted. I’ll take the fall personally for the slow podcast content this week. It was my outside influences that prevented us from recording the Pickaxe Podcast and it was my SD card that failed on us. My sincerest apologies, we’ll be back to full speed this week!.
