The Nuggets' are Back and Jokic's Iconic Looks

The Denver Nuggets are experiencing a thrilling resurgence, moving towards championship contender status with standout individual performances and a revamped team chemistry. Highlighting Jamal Murray's improvement, Russell Westbrook's integration, and the emergence of young players, the episode encapsulates the excitement surrounding the team's trajectory as they prepare for playoffs.

• Nuggets show strong recent performance following a rocky December 
• Jamal Murray demonstrating reinvigorated play and endurance 
• Russell Westbrook's positive impact as a starting player 
• Aaron Gordon thriving in a new sixth-man role 
• Young players Brown, Watson, and Strother finding their place 
• DeAndre Jordan exceeding expectations as a bench contributor 
• Nikola Jokic maintaining stellar MVP-worthy performances 
• Fun segment discussing Jokic's evolving looks over the years

Chapters

• 0:04 Nuggets Season Turnaround and Player Improvements
• 14:43 The Many Looks of Jokic
• 19:14 Jokic's Historic Headband Game

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:04

all right, everyone, we are back. Welcome to fandom from afar. And are the nuggets back as well? Continuing the theme of this season, the roller coaster ride that is the denver nuggets, I would say that, uh, nuggets fans are riding high right now. The Nuggets have really turned things around since we last recorded and they are playing really, really well, excluding the whooping that the T-Wolves gave us yesterday, which is a little concerning. The T-Wolves seem to have our number and no matter how well we're playing, then they kind of rough us up a little bit and make us look ordinary. But overall, the last couple of weeks the Nuggets have been playing phenomenal basketball.

Speaker 1: 0:53

We'll go over some of the individuals that have maybe made an improvement in their game or changed some things, or just overall what has gone well for the Nuggets today. And then we're going to finish it off with some of my favorite Jokic looks, because he is sporting the arm sleeve lately because of a little injury and I think it looks cool. So we're going to go over his looks over the years. But let's start with some of the positive changes since we last recorded looks over the years. But let's start with some of the positive changes since we last recorded For those of you who've been listening. It was not looking good back in December and we were wondering oh, should the Nuggets make a trade? Are we wasting Jokic's prime? And over the last couple of weeks they've really found. I want to say something, but it's a few things that have changed for the better and I want to kind of go over some of those things that really have the Nuggets looking good and looking like contenders again. So let's start out with Jamal Murray.

Speaker 1: 1:56

We have to start out with Jamal. I've talked about him every episode this season, not in a positive way for the most part, but lately Jamal seems to be back in shape. I don't see him getting exhausted quickly. He's really. Jamal has an interesting style to his play. He's very methodical in some sense, but his herky-jerky dribbling and kind of you never know if he's going to drive to the basket or do a fade away, it's. It's really effective when it's working, and right now it is working and shots are going in and his effort is high. Um, everything we were asking for out of Jamal he is providing right now and while it is still frustrating that every season he kind of works himself into shape to get to this point. Right now we're seeing how good the nuggets can be with a healthy Jamal Murray and I really hope this is what we get for the rest of the season and into the playoffs and he can stay healthy and we can actually see what this team can do. But uh, for right now I am very happy with Jamal Murray and I hope he can keep it up.

Speaker 1: 3:10

One of the biggest changes that's happened in the last couple of weeks is Russell Westbrook is in the starting lineup now and originally this started because AG was hurt and we just wanted to get Russell in there for some energy, for some ball handling, and it worked really well and credit to Michael Malone. He has kept Russell Westbrook in the starting lineup and he's providing everything that the rest of the starters need, which is what we've been talking about all season. His energy kind of boosts guys up. He has incredible chemistry with Jokic. He's actually providing some really good on-ball defense and just the fit it just works with all the guys together with Westbrook. Now, obviously he has his nights where he's turning the ball over or he's not shooting well, but that's that's really any player, um. But overall it's been a huge positive.

Speaker 1: 4:08

And then the surprising part of it is AG is back from his injury. They're kind of slowly bringing him back and coach Malone has kept, uh uh, ag on the bench and kind of been that sixth man and that is working really well. So I kind of want to combine these next two points with AG and Westbrook. That switch has somehow provided just incredible balance to both the starters and the bench. And AG provides that toughness on the bench, some scoring um veteran presence, because a lot of our bench is younger guys. And it's gotten to the point where he even acknowledged that the team overall is playing so well that AG went up to Coach Malone and said hey, don't worry about me starting. If this is what you need me to do, I'm happy to do it. And that's why Nuggets fans have deemed him Mr Nugget. He does whatever is best for the team. He loves Denver, he loves the Nuggets, he works so well with Jokic and Murray and right now what he and Westbrook are providing is just working so well and it's what we needed. The Nuggets last time I checked I think they had won like 12 out of 15 or 12 out of 16. Their record is showing what we're seeing on the court with this kind of new look lineup. Another thing that's gone really well over the last couple of weeks is the young guys Christian Brown, peyton Watson and Julian Strother. They are all kind of finding their role and starring in their role.

Speaker 1: 5:48

Christian Brown had a phenomenal start to the season. He was hitting shots, he was playing great defense and then he kind of slumped down for a bit. But he is definitely back and playing so well. He has turned the fast break into kind of the ultimate weapon for him. He gets out on the break fast and when he gets the ball he goes straight to the hoop and he's become a great finisher. But also he draws a lot of fouls, which helps out the team overall as well, because then guys later on can get those free throws. But Christian Brown has become an absolute weapon on the fast break. I think teams are really starting to notice it and having to worry about it, because he is just so fast and so strong and gets so many layups on the fast break and obviously with Jokic he's looking for them often and it really kind of puts some pressure on the other team knowing that Christian Brown can do that at any time at any time.

Speaker 1: 6:48

Peyton Watson he is incredible at defense. He's surprisingly long, which he gets these blocks where you can almost see the look on the other guy's face Like how did he get that? But he'll block three pointers. He'll block mid range, he'll block layups. He had an incredible block on the Timberwolves yesterday. Julius Randle was going up for a big old dunk and Watson denied him just perfectly. So his defense, I think, is something that the Nuggets really needed and he is providing it. And then some. He's been such a great surprise Not necessarily a surprise we were expecting it out of Peyton he should flashes but just the fact of what he is providing is so important to the bench.

Speaker 1: 7:25

And then, as I mentioned, julian Strother, he last year he had the reputation of being a great shooter and he just never seemed to hit shots unless it was kind of garbage time and there was no pressure. But as the season has gone along this year he is really starting to hit shots. You can see he has the green light from the team. Jokic will find him when he's open and you know it's expected of him to shoot it. That's his role out there and he's been doing a great job. His shot looks so pure when he's on like he can really catch fire quickly and I love his little thumbs down celebration. Not sure he said it's not from Gladiator, but that's really the only thing I can think of that it would be from. He says it was just from his friends kind of messing around trying to think of something unique that no one else does, and whatever it is, I like it and it's working. So I think all three guys are kind of finding their roles. They're kind of showing their basketball IQ in different ways, which is really a huge reason why they were drafted. The Nuggets are looking for those guys at the end of the first round that can fit around all our superstars and the chemistry right now is just on point. So those three guys have really been a positive over the last three weeks.

Speaker 1: 8:42

One other positive that I would say is a big surprise is DeAndre Jordan's actually playing some really good basketball. Deandre was brought here as just kind of a veteran mentor and we've tried so many other backup centers that are supposed to be the answer to when Jokic has to take a rest and the bench is in and the other guys just don't work for some reason, and DeAndre has found himself back in the lineup even though he's a million years old. But he's playing great basketball. He gets rebounds, he's just huge. So he has a defensive presence, he's a lob threat and really the only thing we could ask for after 10 years of having terrible backups to Jokic is just don't be a huge negative. And DeAndre has been just that. He's been a great part of the bench and they do not get blown out like the Nuggets bench used to. And I think a part of that is DeAndre Jordan, which, hey, I am surprised and I am glad to be wrong. So congrats, deandre Jordan, you are, you're doing great.

Speaker 1: 9:46

And then last, the most non-surprising part of all this success is Jokic. He is still putting up historic numbers. He's making it look easy, he does what is right with any game and it just so happens that huge numbers come with it. But he's had a streak lately of getting huge numbers, the Nuggets getting big wins, and then he doesn't even have to play in the fourth quarter, which is just so perfect as we start thinking about. Okay, we don't want to be too exhausted for the playoffs. We want Jokic to have his legs so he can start playing 40, 42, 44 minutes in a tight playoff game, and part of that is getting some rest during the regular season. Now he obviously had some rest with the birth of his child. He missed a few games because of injury and sickness and so he's actually got these little rests in the season so far. And then these past couple of weeks, with the Nuggets winning in convincing fashion, so often, he's actually getting some rest where he's only playing about 30 minutes a game, which just saves that wear and tear on his legs. And so Jokic is having a phenomenal season and both he and Shea Gilgis-Alexander are the top two candidates for MVP.

Speaker 1: 11:09

That whole conversation is tough to listen to. Like people are just trying to get clicks and headlines and everything saying that there's no doubt that it's SGA. Some people are saying there's no doubt it's Jokic. But like both guys are worthy and having just incredible seasons and so it'll be fun to see over the next couple of months if anyone can pull away because both seasons have been MVP worthy. So right now, with all that said, the Nuggets have really kind of turned their season around. I think they're fourth in the West right now, but they are gaining ground quickly on the Rockets and the Grizzlies and I would not be surprised if they're going to be the second seed very soon. They are definitely looking like championship contenders again. I have no problem saying that the Oklahoma City Thunder are the best team in the West right now and the Nuggets, hopefully, can prove that they are in that class come the playoffs. But it's really exciting. That class come the playoffs, but it's really exciting. And just the fact that the Nuggets have found all these little changes that have added to big results really have me excited for the rest of the season to kind of see what we can do and have hope for the playoffs that they'll be able to do some damage there as well. So, with that being said, we will obviously cover individual games or the playoff picture as it gets farther into the season. By the next time we record there's going to be the trade deadline, so we'll see if the Nuggets make any moves then.

Speaker 1: 12:41

But I wanted to end this episode just with a little fun thought experiment because, as I mentioned, jokic had a, I guess a slight sprain to his right elbow and he missed one game because of it, but since then has been wearing a shooting sleeve on his arm, and a lot of guys wear these not because of injury but because they just look cool or kind of protect the elbow a little bit. And so I wanted to go over some of Jokic's unique looks throughout the year and kind of, we'll go in reverse order of, uh, my I won't even say least favorite, because everything Jokic does is fun or cool or awesome in some way. So we'll just start from the bottom and work our way up to our absolute favorite Jokic look and uh, yeah, that'd be a fun way to end this episode. So let's start at number seven and we'll call this heavy Jokic. There was a year or two at the beginning of his career where Jokic was not necessarily the workout fiend that he is now and staying in phenomenal shape, and he would come into camp a little heavy. So we're going to call this one heavy Jokic. And, uh, he was still an amazing basketball player and he did work himself into shape Like he was always in the shape that he needed to be uh, right around the all-star break and into the playoffs. And so it was. It was a younger Jokic and he just uh, that's what he thought was right at the time and and we'll just call that heavy Jokic. The next look is rookie Jokic. Now, rookie Jokic was actually quite skinny. And you look at videos of him playing in that first summer league or doing some of his first interviews and he just looks so young, like he he was a 18, 19 year old boy and uh, it's just kind of funny looking back at the uh, at him. Uh, compared to what he looks now, and uh, he, just he, he was a boy and we didn't know what to expect. And and uh, man, we are glad that, uh, that that young kid came over to the United States and was on our team.

Speaker 1: 14:43

Now, number five, I will say, is called haircut Jokic. It used to be a thing where when Jokic likes his hair kind of high and tight, and it used to be a thing that the Nuggets fans would notice is whenever Jokic would get a haircut on game day, he would have an incredible game that night. And so haircut Jokic became a thing. Now it might've just been coincidence or maybe looking at the numbers, maybe he was just always great and we just kind of like, oh, haircut, big game. Here we go. But a haircut Jokic was a thing and not so much anymore because he's just so dominant all the time, but a haircut Jokic was a sign of things to come Now. Number four is pregame Jokic.

Speaker 1: 15:33

Jokic kind of has found style and I love it. He loves to kind of wear suits, really nice suits, to come to the stadium and just kind of show that he means business. I forget who convinced him to kind of change his mindset on this, but he really takes pride in this and kind of says, like I'm a professional, I want to show up to my job as a professional would, and so he has some really cool suits. It works out well that the basketball season is during the coldest part of the year for the majority of the season, and so he wears some really cool suits with overcoats and hats, and sometimes he looks like he's a character from Peaky Blinders. Sometimes he kind of looks like he's a movie villain, whether like he should be in John Wick, or one time he literally dressed up like a movie villain when he was promoting the Despicable Me movie, and he loves his turtlenecks. And so we love pregame Jokic. He has found his style and he's come a long way from just wearing those big baggy sweatpants and a T-shirt that says I paused my video game to be here.

Speaker 1: 16:46

Number three my third favorite Jokic look is MVP Jokic. There's nothing that really stands out in the look, I guess, of him, but this is the Jokic. He's won three MVPs and he was just in phenomenal shape at all times. He kind of found the balance of being the strongest guy in the NBA along with being in just better cardio shape than all the other big guys, so he found that balance. He was an amazing athlete that did not have the beach muscles, but MVP Jokic was in shape and dominant.

Speaker 1: 17:30

Now my second favorite Jokic is this year Bearded Jokic. He decided to grow the beard out and I love it, and a lot of people are saying he kind of looks like a evil villain again, and I kind of love that too. He's come to take over the league and the beard is giving him extra superpowers and he's putting up historic numbers. So I think that's very scientific and I don't see any argument against it. Now this year he has upgraded, not only from the beard but, as I mentioned, he has the arm sleeve and he came out with his signature shoe. So he's wearing the Joker ones with the arm sleeve and the beard.

Speaker 1: 18:15

Championship, I think. So, speaking of Championship, jokic is my favorite look. Now this has a couple different components to it. To start, I think Championship Jokic is Jokic. On opening night, when he had tears in his eyes and he was looking as the banner was raised and they got their championship rings that's a great look, jokic. Parade, jokic when he's hanging out on the big old fire trucks with people throwing drinks and him just having a good time and he says he wants to stay on parade that's a good look, jokic. And then, of course, parade that's a good look, jokic. And then, of course, right after the game, when they win their championship and he is holding his daughter and the confetti's coming down, that's a good look, jokic. So championship Jokic is my favorite look and I'm hoping we're going to get to see that again.

Speaker 1: 19:14

There was a one game look.

Speaker 1: 19:18

That is kind of a I should mention it.

Speaker 1: 19:22

It didn't crack the top seven but headband Jokic.

Speaker 1: 19:25

Now, if you'll remember headband Jokic, he had a game I think it was against the Grizzlies and someone accidentally headbutted him and he got this giant cut on his forehead and it was bleeding all over the place and so they put a big bandaid on it and then he had to wear a red headband to hold it in place, and while I would not say that he looked cool wearing it.

Speaker 1: 19:48

He did kind of clinch some historic numbers that night where he was the first player ever to get 2000 points, 1000 rebounds and 500 assists, and he happened to be doing it while wearing a goofy red headband, so I had to mention that it didn't make the top seven. But we love Jokic, so everybody is playing so well right now. As I mentioned, we'll cover the trade deadline in the next episode, but it's just so fun to do a positive episode after a couple of maybe negative episodes in a row there in November, december, and I love the way the Nuggets are looking right now and I'm just very excited about where we're heading and I will be looking so forward to talking to you guys again in two weeks. Thanks everyone.