Fandom from Afar

Happy New Year! Nuggets Need a Fresh Start

Fandom from Afar Episode 37

The podcast delves into the challenges currently facing the Denver Nuggets, emphasizing the impact of injuries, team dynamics, and the need for a shift in mindset as they approach the New Year. Listeners engage with discussions about player performances, the balance between patience and urgency, and exploring potential changes to support their star player, Jokic. 

• Injuries to key players affecting performance 
• Apathy impacting the team's energy and chemistry 
• Importance of patience despite performance struggles 
• Potential and challenges faced by young players 
• Dangers of being a non-shooting team in a three-point era 
• Energy levels of key players and their impact 
• Need for possible roster changes to support a championship window

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Speaker 1:

All right, everyone, welcome back to Fandom From Afar. We are back and we are at the end of 2024 already. It's been a great year. It's been a frustrating year as a Nuggets fan. We've gone over the ups and downs together, and so, while I would love to talk about our wonderful victory over the mighty Detroit Pistons, where we almost blew a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter, we're not going to talk specifics about any single game today. I'm going to try something a little different. I want to. I'm going to spell out Happy New Year with my talking points, so each talking points will begin with the letters from Happy New Year. I hope you enjoy H. H is for health.

Speaker 1:

Health has been a big part of the Nuggets struggles this year, beginning in the playoffs last year when Jamal could never quite get healthy and that obviously impacted the entire team, not being able to get past the Timberwolves. We've gone over that a million times, so we won't dive too deep into that. But it has continued this year not only with Jamal having his little nagging injuries year, not only with Jamal having his little nagging injuries. If I'm counting correctly, I think he has had a calf issue, a knee issue, an ankle issue, plantar fasciitis and just pretty much Jamal being Jamal and just no specific injury stated, just him looking like he's running with concrete shoes on. So that's fun. It actually started before the season for us. Daron Holmes, who we were so excited about getting in the first round. It was the worst kept secret in the NBA that we wanted him and just looking at what he did in college, he was going to be a key piece to our bench and obviously he got hurt right away in summer league and is out for the year. And with the other injuries to Dario Saric and Vlatko Chanchar, like all of our big guys off the bench, that we were really hoping to get some major contributions from our hurt and it it that we're feeling the impact and I think part of that is Aaron Gordon's had to play a lot more than we were hoping, uh, not only as a backup power forward but also backup center, and he has been hurt for quite a bit this year as well. Just the the wear and tear I think is is catching up with good old AG. So our big guys have been beat up, hurt or out for the year pretty much across the board and the Nuggets did not have a deep team. To begin with, we were hoping for all those guys to be big parts of the team and kind of take some of the load off of the starters, and that has just not happened yet.

Speaker 1:

A A is for apathy. The Nuggets have had way too many games this year where they just do not look interested in playing. I feel like I've gone over it almost every episode this season about they've had at least one or two games during each stretch between episodes where they just look like they don't want to play together or they don't like playing together and it's a vicious cycle because Jokic does not have that problem. He will come out and try hard and he's better than everyone so he can carry us to victory. But he has to carry everything and so he gets worn out and then that leads to frustration for him and just a not really a not great vibe around the whole team in general. So it is a vicious cycle and I hope that the apathy goes away.

Speaker 1:

P? P is for patience. Apathy goes away. P? P is for patience. We have veterans on this team who have won a championship. We still have coach Malone who has won a championship, and it's a long season. So I keep trying to remind myself that we do need to be patient. But after a certain amount of time, when is it the right thing to do to run out of patience with this team? Like I said, there's way too many games where they just don't care. There's way too many games where specific players just don't care and it brings down the entire team, jamal Murray. But when is it right to run out of patience and make a change? So it's a tough balance, obviously as a fan, because we live and die with every game and I think the team does a much better job of keeping the even flow and just being patient. But at what time is it right to run out of patience? You may be able to tell, but I think I'm getting close to that point.

Speaker 1:

The other P P is for Peyton and Christian. Peyton Watson and Christian Brown are two of our key young players. I think the hope was that they would continue to develop and really step into the loss of Bruce Brown and KCP over the last couple of years and they've each shown flashes. You can see what they could be. They just need to find that consistency of being that player all the time, and of course that comes with young guys, but although each has shown flashes during the times when they're not living up to that standard, uh, neither player brings a whole lot to the table. Both are known as defensive first wings and the defense has really struggled this year.

Speaker 1:

Shooting Christian Brown started off super hot. We were kind of excited just, and we, as in the Nuggets community and I guess I'm speaking for the Nuggets community here but it was looking like he had really found his spot and his role and he was nailing three pointers. He's getting out on the break. He's, he's really playing amazing. It's kind of fallen off the last couple of weeks, but I think that's to be expected, not only for young players but for any player. You can't can't be that amazing for the entire season.

Speaker 1:

Um, peyton looked great when Aaron Gordon was hurt and Peyton was playing with the starters, because obviously anyone looks great next to Jokic, but when he's coming off the bench it's been hit or miss and I do love his passion. I think adding Westbrook to the team has really helped Peyton. I think he's loving playing to the crowd with his big blocks and just his kind of explosive dunks that get the crowd going crazy, and I want to see consistency from those two players. I think that would be a huge help for not only the Nuggets starters but the bench as well. Why? Why is for youth so kind of a level below Peyton and Christian?

Speaker 1:

We have the group of Julian Strother, jalen Pickett, hunter Tyson and Deron Holmes. Now we already spoke about Holmes being hurt. That definitely was a huge blow to the young core and kind of what we were hoping that the young guys would bring. But truthfully, the plan has not worked to have these cheap young guys being big contributors to what was hopefully a championship team. Julian Strother I think on offense he's pretty decent, he has a nice floater, he can hit a three, he can actually drive into the paint a little bit, which is a rarity on the nuggets. But on defense he's just so bad and I know kind of the learning where you need to be and anticipating where you need to be will come with experience. But right now it's really hurting the nuggets because while he can score on offense, he gives up just as much, if not more, on defense, and teams have learned this and they really target him whenever he's in the game.

Speaker 1:

Jalen Pickett I thought he was a lost cause. He does well in the G League but he just kind of sits at the end of the Nuggets bench and I really thought there was no hope for Pickett. But then he had a few games last week where he actually looked decent and brought some positive play to the Nuggets bench and even Coach Malone called him out and said that Pickett didn't get a fair shot last year and that he's looking forward to seeing what he can bring this year. And so of course Pickett has not played since Coach Malone said that. So I don't know it's. I think coach Malone really tries to teach these guys lessons and maybe picket has pushed through and is no longer in the coach's doghouse. But it's just strange that ever since he had those two good games and coach Malone praised him, that picket hasn't played. And so I don't know it's. It's strange. I almost wonder if the Nuggets are trying to sell high and say, hey, look other teams, he really can play, look how good he is. And now they don't want to put other film out there of him coming back down to earth or something. But just a strange situation there.

Speaker 1:

Hunter Tyson, he's pure energy. I kind of love him because he tries so hard and he's just kind of running around out there like a golden lab or something like that, but he was supposed to be a shooter. In summer league last year he really showed kind of like what he could do. He was scoring all over the place, he looked like one of the best players in summer league and it just hasn't translated to the actual NBA. I love his effort, I love it. He's diving all over the place, he's fighting for rebounds and again, that's a rarity on the Nuggets and if he can just find his shot I think he could be a valuable member of the bench and so hopefully with more playing time he can take that.

Speaker 1:

Next step In is for non-shooters. The Nuggets do not have what you would call a modern roster. Most teams in the NBA are just launching threes at a historic pace and the Nuggets do not do that. They rank dead last in three-point attempts out of the whole league and truthfully I don't blame them with the way the roster is constructed.

Speaker 1:

Now I will say our offense is actually amazing. The numbers that we put up are fantastic. Our defense struggles, which is why our record is not fantastic, but our offense is actually quite amazing and obviously that has a lot to do with Jokic and how we've built around Jokic, but there are some nights where we just lose the math game. We will be super efficient and hit all of our mid range and layups that we get in our offense, because that's what we do, but the other team is just hitting so many threes we can't keep up. We lose by 10, we lose by 20. And it's not that our offense did poorly, it's just that breaking news three points is more than two, and it adds up when another team is on fire. And the fact that our defense is really struggling, giving up just open three after open three makes it even easier for these teams to pull away from us, and so it's going to be really interesting to see if we try to make any adjustments at the trade deadline or even during the off season. Just because of how other teams are built, they don't need to be nearly as efficient as the Nuggets are and they're winning the math game, and so it's really going to be an interesting like zig or zag moment to see if the Nuggets try to do what the others are doing or if we just try and improve our defense to stop what they're doing. And we keep doing what we're doing so.

Speaker 1:

Non-shooters, we got them. E is for energy. E is for energy. Now, this kind of goes back to one of the first points of apathy, but it really is a key, really a key factor to this whole season and not to pile on, but Jamal is the main culprit. He is so hit or miss. It's so frustrating. Russell Westbrook is the exact opposite. He gives 100% energy every single night and just the more games we play, the more evident it is how important Jamal's energy is. I mentioned that we beat the Pistons last night and I thought Jamal had great energy. He's had games where he puts in that energy and he scored 30 something points last night. And the Nuggets are great and if only we could get that I'm not even asking for it every night. If I could just have it most nights, that would be just amazing, because that's what the team needs. But even after the game last night, jamal was very frustrated with the reporters saying that, uh, there's been talk about how he hasn't been, uh, the Jamal that we need and the energy that we need, and he just pushes back on that and it just makes me think that he doesn't think that what he does is wrong. And he even compared it. He's like this is what we do every year, this is what I do every year, and he just doesn't see that there's anything wrong with that and it just it compounds on everybody else to have to pick up the slack every year for the first couple months of the season while he works himself into shape, and it's just so frustrating. Oh, I wish I wish Jamal would bring the energy like that every night.

Speaker 1:

W? W is for Westbrook. Like I mentioned in the last section, westbrook brings the energy, so he gets his own section. Russ, he's older than, I think, 98% of the players in the league, yet he is faster and flying around almost than anybody. Last night was such a good example. His energy brought the crowd to life. He had a little stretch in there where he was stealing the ball. He was getting in Isaiah Stewart's face like he was pumping up the crowd. It was exactly what we hoped for. He's gone above and beyond what we hoped for when we signed him to a minimum contract and, truthfully, the Nuggets look better when he's in there.

Speaker 1:

The stats Jamal's obviously missed some games and the Nuggets, I think, are six and one when Russell Westbrook starts. Obviously he's had bad games. That's anybody, but really Westbrook has had that throughout his career. But six and one, the energy looks better. The team looks motivated. It's really frustrating because you would hope that he would just bring that to the bench and Jamal would bring that to the starters. But Westbrook has been incredible. I love him. I hope he stays on our team until he retires, which, with the shape he's in, that could be when he's like 50 years old, and I just I love him so much. So Westbrook is our W. Why, why is for YOLO? Yes, I'm an old man that just said YOLO because I really wanted to say Yogoj, but that just doesn't roll off the tongue as well. And Yogoj stands for you. Only get one, jokic.

Speaker 1:

In regards to the other talking points, how do we balance patience with urgency when we have one of the greatest players of all time on our team and what we're doing is just not working? Is it just a matter of the young guys need more playing time to work out some of their weaknesses? Is it that the veteran team is just kind of taking it easy during the regular season and they're going to turn it on in the playoffs, or is it that we need to make a change and these players are not the right fit, and we cannot waste any more years of Jokic's prime. Obviously it was not his fault, but with Jamal's injury a couple years ago, we lost two years of Jokic's prime. I will argue that last year Jamal handled his health and his conditioning so poorly that that was another wasted year, and I'm afraid we're heading down that path again this year. And so at what point do we flip the switch and say, hey, let's try some new players around Jokic so we do not waste another year of Jokic's prime?

Speaker 1:

Jogoj E E is for era. Obviously we are in the Jokic era for the Nuggets, but it's possible that we could be in the Jokic era for the NBA. Now I would say that we need at least one more, if not two, plus more championships to be considered the Jokic era. He's been considered the best player for many years now, but looking back on it, it's not. You can't call it the Yoko Chara when he only wins one championship. And so I want the Nuggets to do anything they can, not only to extend the Yoko Chara, but to really kind of solidify what casual fans or just team other other fans of other NBA teams, uh, consider what this past couple years has been like for the NBA. A A is for all players should be on the table Now.

Speaker 1:

I know I've mentioned that changes probably need to be made. I've mentioned his name about a million times this episode, but Jamal is not eligible to be traded. About a million times this episode, but Jamal is not eligible to be traded. And in past episodes I've stated many times that I want the Nuggets core, core four to stay together so that they can be remembered as a team, kind of like the Spurs when they had Duncan Parker and Ginobili. I really wanted Jokic, duncan Parker and Ginobili. I really wanted Jokic, Jamal, ag and MPJ to be considered kind of a great group of players.

Speaker 1:

But, as I mentioned in the earlier section, it might be time to change it up so that we're not just hoping and wishing that Jamal will put in the energy or that Michael Porter Jr will step up or that Aaron Gordon can stay healthy Like we. We might need to do things, to go down another path, just try something new, just to see, because I guarantee you anybody you put next to Jokic is going to level up from what they've been on their other teams. And so I don't want MPJ to take the fall for the team this year. There's been a lot of rumors around MPJ and maybe we'll trade them to Chicago for Zach Levine, maybe we'll trade them to Atlanta for kind of a couple of different bench players, and while I actually like those trades individually, I almost want to give this team the rest of the season to either prove or disprove the theory that they can win another championship and then make major changes in the offseason, beginning with Jamal. I would love to keep MPJ and see what he looks like with whoever we can get for Jamal and see how we can go from there. But I think all players should be on the table so that we can give Jokic his best shot at winning one, two, three more championships.

Speaker 1:

And R? R is for restart. It's almost the new year. It's time for a new mindset. The Nuggets need a restart this year with the playoffs uh from the previous season and this uh new season that we've gone through about uh 20 or 30 games. They just need a restart. It's it's been exhausting. It's been ups and downs, ups and downs and they just need a fresh start. And so hopefully, 2025 will lead to a new mindset, more energy and the team will come back together and be that championship team that we loved so much a couple years ago. But for us, fandom from afar, it's been a great 2024, and I am absolutely looking forward to 2025. Happy New Year everyone.

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