Fandom from Afar
Join me as I discuss my journey as a Colorado sports fan living in Florida and my interviews with sports fans that are forced to enjoy their favorite teams from a distance.
Fandom from Afar
Nuggets are Clutch! Up 2-1 on Thunder
The Nuggets showcase their championship pedigree against the Oklahoma City Thunder in an intense playoff series, demonstrating their clutch mentality and toughness despite challenges. Through three games, Denver displays remarkable resilience and veteran composure against the talented but inexperienced Thunder team.
• Coming off a seven-game series, Nuggets steal Game 1 on the road with Aaron Gordon's game-winning three
• Game 2 sees OKC respond with a dominant blowout performance reminiscent of their regular season form
• Physical Game 3 features inconsistent officiating that appears to frustrate Jokić, who struggles with his shot
• Despite Jokić's rare off night (0-11 from three), Denver's supporting cast steps up in crucial moments
• Aaron Gordon emerges as series MVP, hitting clutch shots and providing necessary defensive intensity
• Michael Porter Jr. plays through significant shoulder pain, hitting key shots and contributing defensively
• Russell Westbrook provides veteran leadership, defensive energy, and quality minutes on a minimum contract
• Denver's mental toughness and playoff experience give them an edge over the talented but young Thunder
• Game heading to Game 4 with Denver up 2-1, putting pressure on Oklahoma City to respond
Join us next time as we continue following this exciting series between the defending champions and the hungry upstart Thunder.
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all right, everyone, welcome back to fandom from afar. We are three games into the nuggets first thunder series and it has been incredible so far. Uh, it is never boring. I will say that. Uh, it's quite stressful, but so fun, uh, I I was kind of joking around that. I think doctors are going to have to start adding being a Nuggets fan onto your health forms they have to fill out. They'll say, okay, do you smoke? No, do you drink Occasionally? Are you a Nuggets fan? Yes, oh, okay, we'll have to deal with that, but I'm loving it, even though I'm getting a heart attack every single night. It's so fun. The Nuggets are clutch, the Nuggets are tough. We're going to go into it all today and let's just start with game.
Speaker 1:One reason why the Nuggets should have won that game we were coming off a seven-game series. Oklahoma City had been sitting around for eight days after an easy series against Memphis. They were rested, they were at home. They were the team that won 68 games in the regular season. There was no reason why they should have lost. Yet the find a way they always do. Uh, the nuggets just kept hanging around the. The lead was often 10 to 15 in the early part of the game and then the nuggets kept chipping away, chipping away and so then then the lead started hanging out around five to ten and then all of a sudden it was a 1-3 point lead. You could just see it happening. It was almost like a slow motion car crash for OKC. They're a young team. They have not been in a ton of high pressure situations this season Because they're so good they blow people out, as we'll see in Game 2. But in Game 1, everything went right for the Nuggets. At the end. They were making their free throws, they were making clutch shots. Okc was hitting shots as well, but some of their decisions as far as fouling the Nuggets when OKC was up three just some of their— they made an unusual challenge. It all went the Nuggets way, obviously leading to a victory, but it was just very interesting to see those decisions play out in real time and everything that the Nuggets needed to do they did.
Speaker 1:This will be the theme of the podcast. The Nuggets are clutch and they do not crack under the pressure, and obviously it all ended with that Aaron Gordon game-winning three. And just to be honest, this is why sports are so great. I was up late watching that game by myself and the family will often make fun of me because no matter how big the situation or how cool the play is, I'll give kind of like a silent little fist pump. I'm not a big jump out of your seat and celebrate type guy, but when AG hit that three, I did jump off the couch and it was late. Everybody was in bed so I did a silent scream. I was so pumped up and it's just so fun to get that rush of energy when something unexpected and wonderful happens, and that's part of the reason why sports are great. I've also noticed during the playoffs it brings people together. My buddies will text me at midnight or 1230 in the morning after something crazy happens for the Nuggets, because they know I'm awake and watching it and it's just fun to talk about it. Or they'll check the highlights early in the morning and get so excited for me and I'll have texts waiting for me when I wake up and so it's fun to be a part of the sports community. I've had so much fun during this playoff run but just little moments like that AG shot are just so fun and make all kind of like the sluggishness of the regular season worth it when you're that invested in a team and you get that jolt of energy to jump off the couch even though I'm an old man and I normally do my silent fist pumps. But AG has been so amazing this whole playoff run. We'll talk about him more for game three, but he has just been unbelievable and I just love him so, so much.
Speaker 1:Game two we will not spend too much time on it was, truthfully it was a typical Thunder game. They were fighting for their life and for the Nuggets game one and once things got out of hand the Nuggets just totally let go of the rope and it got ugly quick. Okc is fantastic when they kind of get that momentum going, especially in front of their home crowd, and they will put it on you. They had a ton of blowout victories this year and game two was just kind of a showcase of what they could do. They were on fire, they were moving the ball so well. They obviously are an extremely talented team and they just dominated the Nuggets in every way. It was ugly, but Nuggets won Game 1 by 2 points. The Thunder won Game 2 by a million points, but they both count as one victory and so we were 1-1 going home to Denver Game three. You knew it was going to be a battle. Both teams, they want that advantage because if you're up 2-1, then it is a huge advantage over the other team because the other team now has to win three out of four moving forward. So the pressure's on for whoever loses this game.
Speaker 1:And it was a physical, physical game for both teams. The physicality I don't mind. I want playoff basketball to be physical. I've joked before it's almost like a different sport when you get into the playoffs. But the physicality is so lopsided to where they let the big guys just the perimeter and everything's a foul, and so it's very frustrating to watch some guys just get so beat up and then some guys get every call and so obviously if a game is called like that, it favors the Thunder because they have a lot of perimeter guys and our star is Jokic, and so it would just nice to be, it would be nice to be a little bit more consistent with the physicality. I don't want the physicality to go away, because that would be so boring to watch just a bunch of people get fouls and everybody shoot free throws.
Speaker 1:But I do think the physicality and the lack of calls is getting in Jokic's head, and I'm not blaming Jokic because it is kind of ridiculous, but at the same time it is what it is and it's been this way the entire playoff series, and so it must be a focus for the referees to let the big guys wrestle down there. But I think what's frustrating Jokic is the other NBA teams have found that you can put a small guy on Jokic and he's allowed to be even more physical because of the height and weight disadvantage, and so we've seen it in the past with other teams putting small guys on Jokic, but in this series it's Caruso, it's Dort, it's anybody. They're even letting Hartenstein and Chet be physical as much as Chet can be physical. He's pretty, pretty skinny. But I think it is getting Jokic's head and he's so focused on not getting these calls that he's missing shots that he just never misses. Before In game three he missed just a layup.
Speaker 1:It was a wide open layup and I think he was almost surprised about how wide open it was, but he's missing floaters. In game three he missed 11, three pointers. He went over 11, which is not like him. He's become one of the best three-point shooters in the game. So I think it is in his head and I do think Jokic needs to fight through that as much as you can. I can't imagine how annoying it would be to get beat up like that and try and play basketball, but he truthfully had a terrible game.
Speaker 1:Game three was a terrible Jokic game and we don't say that very often, but his stats end up looking okay, like 20.16 rebounds, six assists. Would be a career highlight for most guys if they did that in the playoff, but it was a truly terrible game for yokich. He just he wasn't making a positive impact like he normally does, even though the numbers look pretty good. But it's amazing that the nuggets got the w in the terrible yokich game and it's it just goes to show youuggets have that championship pedigree. They've been through battles before as a team. They are the veterans that are not going to get tight in those big moments. They have that mindset and so, as much as the inconsistencies during the regular season and in the playoffs, for guys like Michael Porter Jr or Jamal Murray especially, it's almost worth it when they come through in these big moments like this, because it means so much more in playoff games. And so the Nuggets just have it. Whatever you want to define it as is. Toughness is the right mentality.
Speaker 1:It is with the N in this, in this series, and so, um, I have to give mpj a shout out. His shoulder is obviously just hurting him so bad and I've heard it also creates pain in his neck and his back, and so he's had games where he looks like he can't even move. But then there's games like last night, when he hit just tough shot after tough shot and he even dove on the floor for a rebound at the end of the game, which was a huge play, and he talked after the game that he's trying not to get these pain shots in his shoulder for every single game, and so you can kind of see the games where he doesn't get them he can barely move. And then games like last night, to see the games where he doesn't get them, he can barely move. And then games like last night, he got the shot and and looked like mpj again, and so I'm sure that's not good for your shoulder to get those shots and he is fighting through it and giving it all for his team, and so I just I appreciate him so much for what he's doing. Um, those three pointers that he was hitting at the beginning of the game, kept us in it while OKC was kind of off to one of their hot starts. And he's been huge. I love the core. I love what they've brought to this franchise and MPJ is a big part of it.
Speaker 1:Russ was awesome again last night. Russ brings energy every single night, hits big shots. He's one of our best defenders, which he's not been known for throughout his career, but he's kind of he's seen the need and he kind of settles in and he puts up a good fight against all the OKC guards. And so Russ was awesome last night. He has been a mentor to Peyton Watson and Peyton's come in and given us good minutes throughout the series, hitting big shots. And I hope Peyton continues to grow as the playoffs go on and that'll build momentum for next year so he can be an even bigger part of the team next year. But Russ, so great.
Speaker 1:Like I said, minimum contract veteran guy could not be more happy with what Russ has provided Christian Brown. It was an up and down game for Christian. He was missing shots early. He was getting blown by when he was trying to guard the OKC guards, whether it was Jalen Williams or SGA, but once it came to clutch time. Christian really shut them down and whether it was that they were tired or the moment was too big for them, christian was a part of that because his defense was solid at the end and Christian's just a. He's a winning player. You can't say more like that's what you want in a team for your fourth or fifth option and you're starting lineup as winning players that make the right plays, that never give up. And Christian is the definition of a winning player.
Speaker 1:Uh, like I said, jamal murray frustratingly inconsistent, but comes up big when you need him to. He was obviously exhausted, like I think everyone on the court was exhausted by the end of the game. It was one of those just where everyone could not stand. When there was a dead ball, everyone had their hands on their knees and was just gasping for air. But Jamal Murray finds a way to make an impact when it's times like that. He hit a couple big shots. He was actually playing really good defense as well, and, again, it's frustrating to watch Murray during the regular season, but when stuff like this happens and he comes up huge, you just got to love Jamal. He's a big time player, but the player that has been the MVP for us this series and just incredible in every way is Aaron Gordon so amazing. His three-pointer is just so pure. Right now I feel so confident when he shoots a three-pointer that I just know what's going in. And the fact that you can do it at the beginning game or at the end of the game when the game is on the line, it's really pretty amazing.
Speaker 1:I have a bunch of Magic fans in my life and a couple of them don't like it, because aaron gordon has grown into the player that they were hoping he would be for the magic and I try and just show them what an incredible presence he is on the team we call mr nugget because he does everything that's needed. If, if it's a game where he needs to just be the muscle that gets all the rebounds, he'll do that. If it's a game where he needs to hit these game-winning three-pointers, he'll do that. He has great passing. He plays great defense, he does everything we need and it's been incredible to watch his growth. He used to really struggle with his outside shot, but also with free throws, but now I don't even question it. It's almost guaranteed that he's going to make free throws. He's put so much work into his game to make his weaknesses strengths and it's just, it's just so fun to watch him have the series, the playoff run and the career that he's having, because this is what you hope for guys.
Speaker 1:Guys come in as high lottery picks. Maybe they think they're going to be like the next LeBron James and he finds a role and settles into a team that is the perfect fit for him and people have been comparing him perfect fit for him. And people have been comparing him. He's maybe like the next Robert Ori, who just does everything that a team needs to win a championship, and who knows how many championships he's going to end when his career is all said and done. But I hope it's multiple and I hope they all come with the nuggets because he is just so perfect. He's what you want a member of your favorite team to be and, as you can tell, I just love him so, so perfect. He's what you want a member of your favorite team to be and, as you can tell, I just love him so, so much.
Speaker 1:So, of course, I haven't really talked about the outcome. The Nuggets did win in overtime, because of course, they go to overtime, because they cannot help but find the hardest path possible, but they come out on top. They're tough, they're clutch, they are a playoff basketball team and I think game four is on Sunday. So it's a quick turnaround and the pressure is on OKC right now and, with the mental toughness that the Nuggets have shown, if OKC gets off to a slow start or the Nuggets are on fire, I think that pressure is just going to build and build on OKC, because they were the ones that had the historic season.
Speaker 1:They've been being told all season how they are the team to beat. They are a dynasty in waiting and I think they are incredibly talented. But you have to get this experience talented, but you have to get this experience. It's very rare for a young team just to all of a sudden move to the top of the hill and be the best team in the NBA, and so, no matter how this series turns out, I think the Nuggets have shown that the firing of Coach Malone and Calvin Booth was the right move, even if it was shocking at the time to come three games before the season was over. I wish they would have done it earlier, just to see how this team has grown in a short period of time, just to have that weight lifted off their shoulder because it was obviously a toxic environment. But they are growing. They seem to be getting better and figuring out how to become a better team every game and I'm hoping they can keep it going. But if OKC does kind of turn this around and win the series, I think this core has shown that they have value. They have what it takes to win a championship. We just need to add some depth pieces around them so that they won't be so exhausted at the end of the regular season or they can play a few more players during the playoffs so they can have more energy towards the end of the game. But man, what they have now is fun to watch and you never know, we have a chance to pull off one of the biggest upsets that we've seen recently. One of the biggest upsets that we've seen recently.
Speaker 1:So let's finish this off with a few predictions. I finished the Clippers series pretty much dead on with my predictions, so might as well double down and see if I can do it again. So predictions for game four Like I said, that's on Sunday. It's a quick turnaround, but again, okc is fighting for their life. So I think OKC is actually going to win that game four in Denver.
Speaker 1:Go back to OKC for game five. I think OKC is going to win that one as well. So it will be three to two. Okc heading back to Denver for game six. Nuggets will take game six. I think home court will be a big advantage.
Speaker 1:Like I said, nuggets will be fighting for their life at that point and so of course it will go to game seven. The Nuggets have played more seven game series than anyone and we will continue that path. The DNVR guys joke that we're just going to go seven games every single series and win the championship and have a first ever 16 and 12 playoff record. So if that happens I won't mind it a bit, but Nuggets will win in game seven. Nuggets advanced the Western Conference finals and who knows what's going to happen after that, because if we can beat OKC, we can beat anybody. So I am so happy right now. This team shows their heart. They are fun to watch and you can't ask for anything more as a Nuggets fan. All right, everybody, enjoy the next couple games. We will be back soon to update how the series has gone. Thank you for listening.
