It's Playoff Time for our Denver Nuggets

The playoffs arrive and we map Denver’s clearest path back to a championship, starting with the Timberwolves rematch that still feels personal. We weigh Minnesota’s athletic pressure against Jokic-led skill, then zoom out to bracket picks, awards narratives, and our Game 1 calls. 
• Nuggets’ regular-season finish and why the 12-game streak matters 
• Wolves matchup history and how physicality changes Denver’s rhythm 
• Key swing factor of athleticism plus injuries to important defenders 
• Why Jokic’s form and Murray’s mindset raise Denver’s ceiling 
• Depth and role players making this roster different than two years ago 
• First-round and second-round bracket predictions across West and East 
• MVP frustration and how media narratives shape voting 
• Game 1 predictions and a quick correction from last week’s call 
• How to Be a Better Fan by following Miroslav Chuk’s Nuggets journey 
All you gotta do is hit that link in the episode description that says send a text or a voicemail

Transcript

Playoffs Arrive In Denver

Brian 0:03

Alright everyone, welcome back to Fandom from Afar. We made it. It is playoff time. By the time you're hearing this, the Nuggets play today. That's exciting. We ended up at 54 and 28 after all the ups and downs. A lot of downs. We ended up with quite a good record, three seed in the West, and just to top it off, they finished the season on a nice little 12-game winning streak. So really can't complain with how the season went overall. Obviously, if you've been listening to this podcast, you know there was a lot of stress and anxiety throughout the season, but it ended in a good place. The Nuggets seem to be almost healthy, and I like the way the playoffs kind of shook out and their path to a championship, and we'll go over that today. So let's let's get right into it. It is the Nuggets versus the Minnesota Timberwolves. Because of course it is. It looked like the Nuggets were gonna be playing the Rockets, which would have been, I think, a somewhat easy series, but because the Nuggets kept winning, even though they sat their starters in the last two games, perhaps to try to lose, but maybe not, just to get some rest, we ended up playing the Timberwolves. And if you remember, that is a rematch from two years ago. It was quite an interesting series where the Nuggets were favored. There was a lot of blowouts in that series, but a lot of frustration on the Nuggets side that ended with them blowing a 20-point lead in game seven at home, one of the more devastating losses of the of the Jokic era. And I mentioned the frustration. The Timberwolves were just so physical with the Nuggets, it really got under the Nugget's skin. Jamal Murray in particular, if if you remember, that was the series where in game two he threw the ice pack on the floor. He really looked like he was mentally out of it that series. And we'll go over it. That's just kind of what the wolves do to the Nuggets, so it's going to be tough. The Wolves just kind of have I don't want to say they have the Nuggets number because the Nuggets do play well against them as well. But for some reason, the Nuggets just seem to light up when they play the Nuggets. There's been reports lately that the Nuggets, or sorry, the uh Timberwolves are injured, mainly Ant, who is their best player, and then Julius Randle. But I guarantee you they're going to play extremely well against the Nuggets. There's been reports that some of the depth pieces for the Wolves, Nas Reed, and then Julius Randle, who I think is their second best player, there's been reports how poorly they've been shooting the second half of the season. I guarantee they're going to be on fire against the Nuggets. There's just something about the Wolves when they see the Nuggets on the other side that they almost get like a Super Mario mushroom and they become bigger, stronger, faster. They just become such a better basketball team because their confidence is just as high as it could be against the Nuggets for some reason. It's just one of those things. It's really unfortunate how this kind of worked out. I do think this is going to be a good series, but I really think the Wolves or the Nuggets could beat either one of the Lakers or the Rockets. So you kind of wish it would have worked out where the two better teams could have played the lesser teams in the first round and then perhaps matched up in the second round. I think that would have been more fun. But obviously, this is how it is, and hopefully the Nuggets can take care of business. One of the major, really, I think one of the major factors in this series is going to be athleticism. I mentioned the Nuggets are somewhat healthy. Two of the guys that are injured are Peyton Watson and Spencer Jones. They are two of our best defenders. They're two of our better athletes, and I think that's going to play a factor in this because the Wolves just have like 10 guys that are better athletes than the Nuggets' best players. And like I said, they swarm around. They just love getting on the Nuggets' skin. And I think it could make life difficult for Jokic, Murray, Cam Johnson. Like it's it's going to be a tough series. But where the Wolves have athleticism, the Nuggets, I think, do have the advantage in overall skill whenever you have Jokic. That that definitely does help. Best player in the world, he's playing at the top of his game. I really think that the timing of not only the 12-game win streak, but also this week off before the playoffs, I think he is ready to go. All the reports out of Denver saying that Jokic is focused, he is excited about the playoffs, and I think part of that is because Jamal is actually healthy and excited and in a good mental state. And so the fact that those two guys alone are ready to go gives me hope. Now add on top of that that Aaron Gordon is healthy and playing the best ball of his career, and then Cam Johnson has settled in nicely, where it just seems like he is hitting every three-pointer now. It's really got to give Nuggets confidence that the the Wolves may have our number the last time we played. The Wolves may have the advantage in athleticism, but this Nuggets team is so different from two years ago. Just the depth alone, the fact that we have Tim Hardaway Jr., Bruce Brown, Big Val. Like, there's not just the starting five and then a bunch of scrubs. It is a fully rounded team and quietly confident of what we're going to do, especially because we have the home court advantage. So hopefully we can get the series off to a good start with games one and two. I'm going to say the Nuggets are going to win in six. I want to be brave and say five, but as we discussed in the last episode, Nug Life does not allow for the Nuggets to have anything easy. So it will be a six-game series. I think each game is going to be stressful. I think Anthony Edwards is going to make about a million three-pointers, and I think we're going to come out on top. So that's the Nuggets series. We'll obviously talk in far more detail about each game, but I predict the Nuggets will win in six, and let's just quickly go over some of the other series and maybe some predictions for those as well. But just so you know, we will be doing episodes far more often than we did during the regular season, just because obviously the playoff games mean so much more, so there'll be a little bit more chance to break down each game and really hopefully a long playoff run. So here's my prediction for how the playoff bracket will play out. The Thunder, they have, I think, what is an easy matchup against the Suns. I think they will sweep and advance to the next round with a 4-0 series win. As I mentioned, the Rockets and the Lakers is not really that great of a series. Luca and Austin Reeves are out for the Lakers. I don't think the Rockets are really that good. So in the Battle of Mediocrity, the Rockets are going to win 4-1. I mentioned the Nuggets are going to beat the Wolves 4-2. And then in the last Western Conference matchup, the Spurs are playing the Trailblazers, which I think is going to be a sneaky good series. I like that the Blazers actually have a couple big guys to throw at Wemby. I'm really interested to see how because the Spurs are so young, how they handle the playoff pressure. But I think the Spurs are too good and they will advance 4-2. In the East, Pistons over the Magic. The Magic had an amazing play-in game on Friday night, and that is how everyone thought they were going to look all season, but they had just a terrible season. And so I don't really know what to think. I think I'm going to go with what the Magic were like for the entirety of the season. I think the Pistons will beat them 4-1. I'm sorry to all my Magic fans out there. Cavs and Raptors. I for some reason I think the Cavs are really good. And I just think they're going to handle the Raptors quite easily in a 4-1 series. I don't know. I could be totally wrong on this. The Raptors do have some good players, but for some reason, I just think I think the Cavs maybe are going to make a run this year. Knicks and Hawks. This is going to be, I think, one of the more fun series of the first round. I think the Knicks are really good, but ever since the Hawks got rid of Trey Young, they are playing really, really well. And so I think this is going to go seven. I think the Knicks are going to win four to three in a exciting game seven. Celtics and 76ers. The 76ers are just kind of cursed. They have talent, but it seems like they can't ever put it together. I think Celtics are going to roll 4-1 for the Celtics. Alright, so that brings us to the second round in the West. Thunder versus Rockets. Once the Thunder sweep the Suns, I think they are very much the type of team that wants to like kind of show everybody how dominant they are. And so I think the Thunder will have a little bit of an edge. And by that I mean they're going to sweep the Rockets. And Thunder Spurs. Oh, I'm sorry, Nugget Spurs. I do think that this will be a fantastic series. If you watched the game where the Thunder or the Nuggets and the Spurs actually played all their starters, it was the game of the year. It was so exciting. I loved watching the two teams battle, and if we get to see that for seven games, that will be any basketball fan's dream. I do think the Nuggets, with their playoff experience, will come out on top. But it will be a game seven. It'll come down to the end. I just think it'll be an amazing series. In the East, it's going to be Cavs over Pistons. Like I said, I think I think the Cavs have something this year. Although they do have James Harden. So really, how far can they go? But I do think Cavs will beat the Pistons in seven. And then I also think the Celtics over the Knicks in seven. So I think this second round is shaping up to be quite exciting. Maybe, maybe not so much in the first round, but I really do like the matchups in the second round. So just to review, that's going to be Nuggets versus Thunder in the Western Conference Finals with the Celtics and the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals. We we saw it last year, Nuggets and Thunder, they match up really well. It's going to be interesting. If the Nuggets have to go through a tough series with the Wolves and then a battle with the Spurs and the Thunder have swept their way to the finals, is it is it going to matter that the Nuggets are exhausted? Is it going to matter that the Thunder might be rusty? I think either way, it's going to be an amazing series. I think it'll go seven again, and this time I think the Nugg will get past the Thunder. In the East, James Harden is going to James Harden. The Celtics are just too good. They were supposed to have an off year, but they have just played amazing basketball and they're going to the finals. I think they'll win in six. So that sets up a Nuggers Celtics finals, which really it should have been one of many, but for some reason the Nuggets and the Celtics have both been amazing the past five years, and they just haven't met in the finals yet. So this year it happens, and the Nuggets win in six. You know I went over the scenarios in last episode, and I really think the Nuggets have it this year. Their potential is here and ready to shine. The Nuggets will be champions once again. I did want to go over just some of the awards really quick. I I've kind of talked about how SGA deserves the MVP. I'm I'm fine with that. That's it's really different than the previous years when I felt like the media was kind of making up reasons to give the MVP to Joel Embiid or Shay. Shea's been amazing this year. The thing that bothered me is that Jokic was just kind of tossed to the side, and really, if any other player would have put up the numbers that he put up, they would have for sure been MVP. Even if Jokic would have been putting up these numbers and he hadn't won previous MVPs, if he would have been the new story, that's what would have mattered. It's just become so obvious that the story is what matters more so than maybe who deserves the MVP. So one example of that is the rookie of the year battle has actually been pretty interesting between Cooper Flag and Khan Kanipple. And I just keep hearing people say, like, oh, Khan has been amazing this year, Cooper has had a great year, but I just don't want to look back in five years and say that I didn't vote for Cooper Flag because I think he's going to be an all-time great. And just that thought process bothers me. And it should just be who deserves it this year. This happened quite a bit when Jokic had won two MVPs, and obviously he was going for the third and deserved it, but people were saying the same thing. They would say, I just can't see myself voting for Jokic because Byrd won three MVPs, and I don't see Jokic as going to be historically great like Bird. And now looking back on it, those same people are like, Man, I really messed up. I should have voted for Jokic for MVP because he's established himself as the all-time great. They're just so worried about what the narrative will be five, ten years from now, instead of just who deserves it that year. And it gets annoying, but Jokic has won three MVPs. How how can I complain? It's it is what it is. I think it's going to be really interesting next year because Shay will be the back-to-back winner now. And now what is the narrative going to be? Like, can they give him three in a row? Truthfully, I think the media's already decided that Wimby will be the MVP next year. They really want him to be kind of this generational great all-time player, and I think they really wanted to find a way to give it to him this year. It couldn't quite happen, but I think it it would take a miracle, I think, for him not to win it next year. But if Jokic makes a run through the playoffs like I think he's going to and wins finals MVP, will people say, oh wow, Jokic has averaged a triple-double the last two years? He led the league in rebounds and assists last year. We didn't give him MVP those years. He just won finals MVP. Maybe we need to give him his fourth MVP. He's he's earned the all-time great status. Maybe it's his time again. Who knows? We can dream. Let's talk about some predictions. We're gonna narrow down our predictions. Most of the time we do somewhat broad predictions, but since we're gonna be doing episodes more often, we're gonna specifically focus on game one coming up on Saturday. And of course, Jokic is gonna have a monster game. I think he's gonna put up some ridiculous numbers in the series. I think Nuggets will win game one. None neither one of those is up really going out on a limb. But I think the the big prediction I'm making is that Jamal, AG, and Cam will all have huge moments in this game. It's gonna become apparent that the Nuggets are a well-rounded championship team. I think Jamal will have at least 30 points, and the Nuggets will win game one easily. Now, let's talk about what I was wrong in the last episode. I made a prediction on that Spurs Nuggets game. Like I said, it turned out to be one of the most fantastic games of the year, but my prediction was that Jamal was going to have a huge game and lead us to victory. That did not happen. He he he definitely didn't have a bad game, but I think he got it kind of clamped up by Steph Castle and and the Spurs defenders, and so you know, I'll take the win, but prediction definitely wrong. And you know, I like to finish up every episode with How to Be a Better Fan. This one I'm quite excited about. I think everyone listening to this episode should follow my friend Miroslav Chuk, that is C H U K on Twitter. He was nice enough to have me on his podcast last summer, and he is a huge Nuggets fan from Serbia. And yesterday he took off for his annual trip to Denver. He's gonna be watching the Nugg in person at Ball Arena, and he is hilarious, and he's just like a fun follow to talk about basketball with specifically nuggets, but he's a great guy. You guys should all follow him on his journey to Denver to watch the Nuggets. Alright, well, that is it, everyone. We are here, the playoffs are arriving, and it's gonna be fun for Denver sports in general. The Nuggets play Saturday, the Avalanche play Sunday, back to the Nuggets on Monday, and then the Avalanche on Tuesday. So what a fun couple days we got ahead of us. Thank you so much for listening. I mentioned it last episode, but I want to mention it again. My podcast host has a fun new tool that is available in my episode description. It allows you to leave a voicemail, and I would love it if you are listening to this and can do that for me. I I think it'd be fun to hear what you thought about game one, what we need to do differently, or what was your favorite part, and hopefully I can include that in the future episodes. So all you gotta do is hit that link in the episode description that says send a text or a voicemail, and it'll allow you to record right there on your phone. All right. Well, thanks for listening, everyone. Go nuts,