Nuggets 1-0, Revenge Tour has Started!

We ride the full Game 1 emotional swing, from early panic to a clutch finish that puts Denver up 1-0. We break down what actually changed after the first quarter, then lay out what we loved, what worries us, and what we think Game 2 is about to look like.

• first-quarter physicality and the fear of a repeat of last year 
• Aaron Gordon foul trouble and why his role matters 
• second-quarter spark from Bruce Brown plus key moments from Spencer Jones and Cam Johnson 
• third-quarter defensive shift and how Denver takes control 
• late-game answers from Jokic and Murray, including perfect free throws 
• five things we like, led by Jamal’s aggression and Denver’s response to contact 
• five things we worry about, including Jokic’s early passivity, Gordon taking hits, and cold three-point shooting 
• Anthony Edwards not looking like himself and why that matters for the series 
• Rudy Gobert’s strong game and the matchup questions it raises 
• voicemails from my kids and predictions for who shines in Game 2 
• other playoff results around the league and why OKC looks like the key hurdle

If you want to be like Evelyn and Bennett and send in a voicemail or a text, all you have to do is hit the link in the description that says send me a fan mail. 
On a serious note, I I will say again, follow Miroslav Chuk on Twitter. That's C-H-U-K. 
If you have someone in your life that loves basketball or especially the Nuggets, please tell a friend. Let's go on this journey together.

Transcript

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Welcome And Game One Setup

Brian 0:04

All right everyone. Welcome back to Fandom from Afar. We are one game into the playoffs and we're one and oh. You can't ask for much more than that. Takes 16 wins to win a championship, and we are one game closer. So let's kind of review the game really quick. Uh if you weren't with me last year, I'm not gonna necessarily do a play-by-play breakdown. There's lots of great podcasts out there that do that. I'm just gonna kind of give you some overall overviews of how I was feeling during the game, what I'm seeing, how I'm feeling for this upcoming game, and we'll we'll go over a few of the other games from around the league as well. So it should be a good episode. Let's uh let's just talk about

First Quarter Panic And Foul Trouble

Brian 0:46

game one. It was the definition of a roller coaster. Man, ups and downs all the way through. The first quarter was not ideal. The Timberwolves came out, they were much more physical, they were moving around faster, just they were playing better and they got out to a big lead. It was it truthfully, I was scared. It it was like, oh my goodness, it's gonna be 2024 all over again. If you remember back then, Minnesota just seemed to swarm Denver. It seemed like they had six players on the court. Jamal Murray in particular did not handle it well, but they just were better athletes and really stole the series from Denver, and the first quarter looked a lot like that. So it was it was a bit scary. The Nuggets did look rusty, like obviously they've had a week off, but that's really no excuse because Minnesota did as well. But Minnesota came out playing hard. Unfortunately, Aaron Gordon got three fouls in that first quarter, which kind of changed the game completely. We've talked about this forever, how important AG is to the team, and the fact that he got three fouls in the first quarter meant that he really couldn't play hardly at all in the second, and that obviously changes the Nuggets quite a bit. To balance it out a little bit, Julius Randle did get two fouls in the first as well. The referees obviously thought that all the fans watching this game were there to see them blow their whistle. After one, Nuggets were down by ten.

Second Quarter Turnaround Sparks

Brian 2:15

In the second quarter, things turned around and it was beautiful. The Nuggets started playing a little bit better, and I really think the spark was Bruce Brown. He came in with energy, he had this awesome offensive rebound with an and one putback, and he did he he screamed at the crowd like he does. Like Brucey B is just so fantastic. He is a perfect fit for the Nuggets, and we love him. We love him so much. Spencer Jones had a big moment there. He hit a big three and he got fouled on a three-pointer, so he was able to hit a couple of free throws. So five points from Spencer Jones while AG is in foul trouble. That is a huge bonus. And Cam Johnson was aggressive. He was hitting shots, he was taking it to the rim. He broke full court pressure, which was something that Michael Porter Jr. could not do last year, and so that was one of the reasons why we made the trade. And so I loved what I saw from Cam Johnson. So it it was the non-stars that really kind of had their moments in this second quarter, and it really helped spark the turnaround. And somehow we were tied at halftime. Now, going into the third, you really don't know what to expect.

Closing Time And Clutch Execution

Brian 3:32

It could have been anything. But the Nuggets came out. I don't know what Adleman said to them at halftime, but they were playing defense. AG was able to play, so our offense looked really nice. Jamal, he had a solid game all around. We'll talk about him more later. Third quarter was just a nice solid quarter, and the Nuggets were up by 12 afterwards. We kind of let our foot off the gas a little bit in the fourth. The Wolves got back into it. I think they got it to as close as two points, but the Nuggets were able to pull away. Jokic kind of turned it on when he was needed at the end. Jamal, he shot 16 free throws and didn't miss a single one. That was huge. And so it seemed like every time Minnesota got close, the Nuggets had the answer. They're clutch again, and they were able to get the win. So Nuggets are up 1-0. We love it. Life is

Five Likes And Five Worries

Brian 4:22

good. But let's go over a few little details. Maybe let's do five things I liked and five things that I am worried about. Let's start out with something I like. Jamal being aggressive. Jamal Murray, like I said, he was overwhelmed last time we played Minnesota in the playoffs. It was kind of scary, even to the point where I really thought the Nuggets needed to trade Jamal just because he could not. If he played like that in the playoffs, he could not be our number two. And that's even saying that after he's shown what he can do in 2023 winning a championship. But Jamal Murray in game one looked aggressive, and I think it kind of surprised the Wolves. Jamal Murray was not overwhelmed. He kept driving to the basket, he kept getting fouled. He was fine in the open guys. Jamal Murray played a great game, and I loved it. Let's balance that out with something I'm worried about. Jokic was not aggressive. So as fun as it was to watch Jamal be aggressive, Jokic was kind of uh I think the best way to phrase it was Adam Mars on D and VR said Jokic was feeling the game out. He likes to kind of do this early in the series and kind of test the waters a little bit, see how they're going to play him on defense, see what works, what doesn't work. And it ends up looking like Jokic is in slow motion. It ends up looking like he's not trying. But we know he's a basketball genius. He is the basketball computer that will download all this information and dominate eventually, if needed. Something else I liked, Aaron Gordon. Aaron Gordon's just the man. He got in foul trouble. Second half, he played so well. He was guarding anyone we needed him to. When McDaniels pushed Jokic for no reason, Aaron Gordon was the first one to get in McDaniels' face. He is Mr. Nugget for a reason because he is the ultimate teammate. He is the ultimate glue guy. He hit a big three-pointer. Aaron Gordon is definitely on the things I liked. Something that worries me. Aaron Gordon getting beat up. He had a couple plays where he just took a hard screen or someone came and pushed him in the back on a rebound and he stayed down on the ground for just a few seconds. And it's it's like seeing the season flash before your eyes. If Aaron Gordon gets seriously hurt, the Nuggets are in trouble. So didn't like him staying on the ground a couple times and already getting beat up in the very first game of the playoffs. Another thing I like, the Nuggets response to the physicality. Like I said, the Timberwolves came out extremely aggressive in the first quarter. I think they kind of expected the Nuggets to react like they did two years ago. And the Nuggets had a much better response this year. There were zero ice packs thrown on the floor, so already that's a good sign. But every player didn't seem like they were overwhelmed by the physicality. Every player didn't seem like they were scared of the physicality. It just maybe it took them a little bit off guard, or maybe they weren't ready for it. So the first quarter was rough, but the second, third, and fourth quarter, the Nuggets responded and responded in a big way. I I think it's safe to say the Nuggets thoroughly outplayed Minnesota in the in the second through fourth quarters, and I think they responded that physicality so well that I think game two I think we'll see more of the same, at least I'm hoping. Another thing I'm worried about, the Nuggets shot one for 17 from three-pointer three-point land in the second half. That is how the French say not good. And ideally that's not going to happen again, but the Nuggets have proven to be pretty streaky throughout the year, and so it's possible that happens again, but because they have other ways of scoring, it's not just all three-pointers. They were still able to outscore Minnesota in the second half. Another thing I liked is Christian Brown hitting two three-pointers. He didn't shoot fantastic or have huge numbers, but even if he can hit a few of those three-pointers, it will help tremendously because then the defense can't collapse four guys on Jokic or Murray like Oklahoma City did last year when we had zero shooting. So if Christian can keep hitting those corner threes, that will go a long way. Something that worries me, truthfully, I I put Anthony Edwards' knee here, and it's not that I want him to be healthy and kill us, but he just didn't look like Anthony Edwards. And Anthony Edwards is fun to watch. And although I don't want him to score 50 against us, I also don't want Minnesota to have an excuse of why we beat them. I want them to be full health and I want them to have their full team so we can beat them fair and square. Last thing that I'll put, I liked, I just like that the wolves are getting frustrated already. Like I said, Jaden McDaniels has had his little issue where he just like pushed Jokic in the back. Julius Randall seemed like he was getting pretty freaked out and trying to like flop and get a call at the end of the game. And I think the way the Nuggets reacted to the physicality, I think surprised the Wolves a little bit and they were freaking out a little bit. So I like that. And last thing I'm worried about is Rudy Gobert played really well. He and Jokic have matched up quite often. First when Rudy was with Utah and now with Minnesota. And I think this might have been the best game that Rudy has played. And so if we see more of that, then that definitely has me worried. So that's the five things that I like and five things I'm worried about.

Listener Voicemails And Big Questions

Brian 10:02

I want to try something new this episode. I asked y'all to send in voicemails, and my top two fans came through. They delivered. I got two awesome voicemails from my two biggest fans. So let's listen to the first one right now.

SPEAKER_01 10:18

Who is going to have the best game tomorrow?

Brian 10:22

Alright. He is a man of few words, but I like the question. He he wants to know who's who's gonna play the best game this year. And my answer to that is Jamal Murray. I just think Jamal is ready for revenge for how 2024 went. Like I said, I was questioning him, the fan base was questioning him, I'm sure the team was questioning him a little bit, and I think that's why he came into this season so motivated to show the world what he can do. And he obviously earned his all-star game bid, and I think he's gonna get all all NBA as well. And I think he saw what he could do in game one, and he wants more of that. In fact, I think he's going to even top it in game two. We'll go over that in our predictions later. But I think Jamal Murray is going to be the star player in game two. Alright. And now for the second voicemail, let's listen to that now.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

Okay, so at dinner tonight I was went at a friend's house and they had the Nuggets game on, and they were going around asking everybody, hey, who's better? Michael Jordan or LeBron James, and I knew the real answer, their secret, their choice was Nicole Jokic.

Brian 11:40

I love it. That's a a proud dad moment for me right there. If you guys couldn't tell already, the two voicemails were from my kids. You may recognize their voices from episode 50 when we talk about what it's like to be a child of a fanatic. And so I appreciate them sending in those voicemails. And Evelyn telling that story is just so fun. I love it so much because Jokic could be the correct answer when it's all said and done. Evelyn also sent in a text message. So she went above and beyond the Call of Duty, and she asked, Who is going to be the toughest or most important opponent in this void in this playoff? Now, if you want to be like Evelyn and Bennett and send in a voicemail or a text, all you have to do is hit the link in the description that says send me a fan mail. I would love to hear what you guys think about any of these games, so please feel free to hit that link at any time. And Evelyn, to answer your question, I thought it was a really interesting one because I like the phrasing of most important opponent. And I think really the answer to the toughest or the most important is the same, and that's the Oklahoma City Thunder. The reason for that being they are the defending champion, they are the best team again this year, and I just think it would be so wonderful to go through the toughest path to beat the best team, to beat the defending champion, and kind of set the nuggets up for a historical run. Because if we beat the Timberwolves, then the Spurs, then the Thunder, and then whoever comes out of the East, that is one of the most difficult paths that you can imagine, and it would be historic. So I love the question. I think it's the Thunder, and I hope we get to see that matchup.

League Check In And Upsets

Brian 13:32

Speaking of the Thunder, let's quickly check in with the other games around the league. As we guessed, the Thunder killed the Suns. I don't think the Thunder are losing a game in round one, and probably not in round two either. So they are cruising. The biggest upset was by far the Magic beating the Pistons. That is the eighth seed, defeating the number one seed. And obviously, I have a bunch of Magic fans in my life. They did not have a good season, but they played really well against Charlotte to earn that eighth seed. And then on game one, they looked pretty amazing again. So it'd be a pretty incredible story if they all of a sudden turned it around and played like we thought they were going to play all year. The rest of the games were pretty much as expected. All the top teams did win. Everyone's looking good. No major injuries yet. I would say the other little surprise was the Lakers beating the Rockets. For some reason, Kevin Durant did not play, and so it's kind of a battle of the benches in that series. So we'll see who wins the battle of mediocrity. Let's

Game Two Predictions And Corrections

Brian 14:34

see. Let's do some predictions for game two. I kind of teased this earlier, but my prediction for game two is that Jamal Murray is going to have one of the games that you will remember in when you look back on his career. I think he's going to have over 40 points, over five three-pointers. I think the nuggets are going to roll, and it will be largely because of Jamal Murray tonight. Mainly the reasons being Anthony Edwards does not look like himself. They don't have Nikhil Alexander Walker anymore. I think Jamal is going to go for it. He wants to turn the narrative around and he wants to get in these guys' head that he is here to dominate. Now, with those predictions, I have to go over what I got wrong in game one. I predicted Jokic would have a monster game just because Jokic always has a monster game. Now he played okay. Like his numbers ended up looking good, like they would be a career game for most NBA players, but they just they were not what we expected out of Jokic. And so I'm gonna have to call that a wrong prediction. I thought Jokic was gonna come out and just have one of the best games of his career. So hopefully I am not wrong about Jamal.

How To Be A Better Fan

Brian 15:51

We always like to finish up each episode with how to be a better fan. Truthfully, I'm gonna ask y'all to just pray that I can stay awake for this game. It is probably not gonna start until about 10.45 Eastern time, and that is late for an old man like me. So I am hopefully gonna be able to stay awake and then wake up for work in the morning. On a serious note, I I will say again, follow Miroslav Chuk on Twitter. That's C-H-U-K. Again, he is such a fun follow. He's a huge Nuggets fan. And if you didn't see it, he actually got to go into the press conference after game one, and he asked Nicole Jokic a question in Serbian. And Jokic always kind of lights up when he gets to hear his home language, and so that was fun to see Miroslav get to do that. So follow Miroslav, you'll you you won't regret it. Alright, that is it for now. Game two is almost here. If you have someone in your life that loves basketball or especially the Nuggets, please tell a friend. Let's go on this journey together. Go Nuggets.