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Family on 3 – The rare bond of these Denver Nuggets – DNVR Sports

Published

2 years ago

April 12, 2024

Family on 3 – The rare bond of these Denver Nuggets – DNVR Sports

The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life.
– Richard Bach

There’s a moment in most people’s young adulthood in which you’re deeply trying to establish your YOU. Your uniqueness, what makes you one of one. Those first forays into new territory can also come with a rejection of what got you there, as they did with me. I remember several years of feeling as if I had a closer bond with friends than family, as I’d PICKED those friends. I’d had no say in whatever shape my family had taken, I’d simply gotten stuck with what I’d gotten, even if that getting was very good.

A few decades later, I’m simply grateful for every last bit of what I was “stuck” with.

Moreover, I was glad for all I’d stuck myself with, as well. I tend more to the Richard Bach line of thought up top when it comes to family, and am so blessed that there are also a few people in my life external to my family tree that are still as much “kin” as anyone I share DNA with. How much luckier am I to have both. That concept, family. It’s one of the things that has stuck with me about the chant these Denver Nuggets wrap most practices and games with. Coach Mike Malone standing in the midst of his team, shouting:

“Family on three! One, two three…” “FAMILY”

Now, some of those teams chants are surely more enthusiastic than others, just like how so many people feel day over day about their family. But for the Nuggets, these aren’t just words. Family not only runs across the top of Denver basketball literally, but is one of the core tenets of the organization holistically. In the abstract, it sounds hokey, and maybe over the top. It’s a multi-billion dollar business, and tough decisions sometimes have to be made. There also have certainly been guys who have come and gone who have decidedly NOT felt a part of the family here, even during these idyllic days (koff, Bones Hyland). On the whole, the description is so apt, it’s clear this team has clearly internalized the concept, is living it, and that is a part of what makes them so utterly rare.

On Wednesday night, when the Nuggets were distancing themselves from the Minnesota Timberwolves in the fourth quarter, two of the vaunted five starters stayed seated on the bench, with second year stars Peyton Watson and Christian Braun playing so impressively as to warrant staying in the game. What made that even more impressive was the two players they were supplanting for that moment, Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. AG and KCP are the most-valued pieces in the defensive chain the Nuggets run their crunchtime D upon, and yet there they sat…

Well, maybe “sat” isn’t the right word…

There they celebrated. There they joined the rest of their team in the barbaric yawp that was P-Wat and CB feeling themselves.

You know who would not celebrate those plays as Gordon and Caldwell-Pope did? Selfish guys. Guys who are thinking about how they look or worrying about whether a DNP in the fourth quarter might reflect on their standing. Guys who aren’t a part of the family. A guy who’s shooting for First Team Defense like KCP could sure feel a certain sort of a way about the two kids playing out the string and also grabbing the defensive player of the game chains. Instead, Kenny was as thrilled as the rest.

The same feelings went a few games prior, when backup point guard Reggie Jackson had spent a few games in a bit of a slump, and was finally breaking out of that shell in a spectacular way, and in a needed fourth quarter run. The guy who told Malone to leave him in? Jamal Murray, who ceded his spot that night to let Reggie cook. When Jackson scored seven straight points to put the Nuggets out of reach at games end, Murray was one of the first to greet him off the floor, overjoyed and celebrating as much as if he’d been the one to sling those arrows.

Heck, even rarely used center Jay Huff is a part of this Nuggets family, loved to the as much as any of the rest. When the Nuggets had banked a recent game to the point of bringing the far end of the bench in, Huff came into the game. In his short time, Jay had a block and then a pair of offensive plays – a finger roll layup and a dunk – that brought the starters back to their feet and cheering. Hell, Moach was actually the first one running out. On a less cohesive team, those starters are discussing plans in their relative cliques as the nobodys salt the game with absolutely no one still watching. In Denver, it’s an event. Because here we celebrate the success of our family.

That feeling of family extends beyond the players having that uncommon bond, and their rejoicing in each other’s games. That feeling extends to Malone’s deep and concerted efforts to let a badly injured Jamal Murray know that the team would stick with him a couple years back. That extends to Gordon traveling halfway across the globe to hang with Nikola Jokic in his hometown. That extends to Jokic breaking his usual media silence to lift up the podcast of teammate Michael Porter, Jr., who himself has sacrificed ego in abundance for the greater good. To Caldwell-Pope and Murray both proclaiming in recent postgame interviews that they are Nuggets for life. To Malone telling the press he has “two daughters and 18 boys”. To a team that seems to have found harmony from top to bottom, this Denver Nuggets family has bought in.

It’s family. It is celebration, it’s true. Rejoicing and all the good stuff. But it is sacrifice as well. Hardship and frustrations and tears and blood and sweat and cohesion in moments that would test a lesser bond. It’s utter familiarity. It’s a subtraction of self for that greater good, and with that a bond that is so much harder to break than a “buddy”. What these Denver Nggets have already done together will be something that connects them for the rest of their lives. That they keep coming back to it every day willing to give of themselves, build those bonds even deeper and keep the larger goals in mind is something that only a family – of blood or bond – can do.

We are family. Get up everybody and sing!
-Sister Sledge

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Denver, CO

Keeler: Broncos, Sean Payton reuniting with Justin Simmons would be surprise. Denver becoming AFC West’s next dynasty would not be.

Published

9 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Keeler: Broncos, Sean Payton reuniting with Justin Simmons would be surprise. Denver becoming AFC West’s next dynasty would not be.

The Grinch has more room for nostalgia in his heart than one Patrick Sean Payton.

Before we get to the good stuff, just know that what applies to Von Miller and Payton absolutely applies to Justin Simmons, too. Even though the Broncos now have a starting safety slot wide open while a former Pro Bowl safety in Simmons is local and looking for a gig, the locker room in Dove Valley might not be big enough for the both of them. Although stranger things have happened, and it’s almost Christmas.

Speaking of presents, the Chiefs finally returned the AFC West throne to the store, receipt and all, after hogging that thing for 3,270 days. Eight years, 11 months, and 14 days, officially.

A child born on New Year’s Day 2017, the actual start of the Kansas City Chiefs’ AFC West dynasty, would be halfway through third grade as of Monday. At last, Heaven help us, we can clearly see the end, a light at the end of long, red tunnel of darkness.

The Chiefs were mathematically eliminated from the postseason this past Sunday. Kansas City is slated to be $43.8 million over the cap in 2026. Travis Kelce just turned 36. Chris Jones will be 32 next summer. Mahomes will be 31 next September, and his left knee just went kablooey in a home loss to the Chargers. Legends live forever in our hearts, but every anterior cruciate ligament comes with an expiration date.

The second-hardest thing in the NFL is to win a championship. The hardest is to pull it off multiple times. It never ceases to amuse me how the most popular sports league in America, land of me-first, is simultaneously a screaming bastion of socialism and enforced parity. The good of all before the one.

Bad teams get the best draft picks. A salary cap that prevents elite teams from hoarding all the elite players, so long as those elite players want to get paid. And they do.

All that being said, the Broncos (12-2) aren’t just poised to win a division title this fall. They’re in a really good position to follow in the Chiefs’ cleats and go on a little dynastic run of their own. And we’ll give you five reasons why:

1. The Chiefs’ best players are getting old

Even if Kelce, who can become an unrestricted free agent next year, elects to return, the Chiefs’ books are looking fairly lopsided. Per Spotrac, Kansas City will have 44.9% of its cap space for 2026 taken up by four players who will be 31 years or older: Jones ($44.85 million), K Harrison Butker ($7.3 million), LB Drue Tranquill ($7.5 million) and Mahomes ($78.2 million).

The Broncos’ 31-and-older club, depending on what becomes of linebacker Alex Singleton, is slated to take up 24.9% of next year’s cap.

2. The Chargers’ best players are already old

The Bolts have 33.3% of their active roster cap tied up in 17 players who are at least 29 years old. And at least 10 of those guys are scheduled to hit the open market after this season.

QB Justin Herbert is better with one good hand than most NFL signal-callers are with two. He’s just 27. Although working with Jim Harbaugh has been known to age people prematurely.

3. The Broncos’ best players are … not

The Broncos went into Week 1, per PhillyVoice.com, with the eighth fewest number of players among NFL rosters who were aged 29 or older (10).

Bo Nix, the QB1 who keeps rising to the moment, is 25 and on a rookie contract through 2027 (for now).

Also signed through ’27, per Spotrac.com (deep breath): CB Pat Surtain II, RT Mike McGlinchey, DL Zach Allen, WR Courtland Sutton, LT Garett Bolles, OLB Jonathon Cooper, OLB Nik Bonitto, S Talanoa Hufanga, DB Jahdae Barron, DL D.J. Jones, LB Dre Greenlaw, G Quinn Meinerz, DL Malcolm Roach, C Luke Wattenberg, OLB Jonah Elliss, RB RJ Harvey, CB Kris Abrams-Draine, K Wil Lutz and P Jeremy Crawshaw. Oh, and WRs Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant.

Pretty good core, that. Especially when you consider that only five of those guys are 30 years or older — and one of those five happens to be Lutz.

4. GM George Paton has the drafting part down

And he always did. Nine of Denver’s 11 starters are former Broncos draft picks or former collegiate free agents. As are five of the 11 guys who usually start for Vance Joseph’s defense. The more expensive Nix’s contract becomes, the more important hitting on rookies immediately is going to get.

5. Sean Payton has done this before

Yes, Sunshine Sean loves the screen game more than Homer Simpson loves Duff Beer. Yes, he holds fools and journalists in equal disdain. But the man also won seven division titles in New Orleans, including four straight (2017-2020) after his 2012 suspension. From 2018-2022, talk about the Broncos largely focused on the franchise’s sagging floor. Now it’s about the ceiling. Whether you like him personally or not, there’s no denying the degree to which Payton flipped the script.

Tom Brady was 42 when he signed with Tampa Bay and 45 when he retired for the second time. Rob Gronkowski hung ’em up for the USAA life at age 33. Savor the now. When a window opens, you don’t walk through it. You sprint like there’s a raging, snorting Nederland moose in hot pursuit.

In the NFL, age is a running clock. As any Broncomaniac can tell you, there’s one defensive coordinator worse than Belichick, a mastermind not even Mahomes, Brees, Elway or Manning could lick: Father Time. For the first time in a decade, he’s finally on the Broncos’ side.

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What drivers will face traveling into mountains near Denver on I-70 amid Floyd Hill bridge building

Published

21 hours ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

What drivers will face traveling into mountains near Denver on I-70 amid Floyd Hill bridge building

Drivers heading west from metro Denver into the mountains on Interstate 70 on Monday and Tuesday face overnight closures, and 20-minute stops through Thursday at the base of Floyd Hill, the latest traffic disruptions for bridge building as part of the Colorado Department of Transportation’s $800 million reconstruction of I-70 through Clear Creek Canyon.

The nighttime closures this week, scheduled from 9 p.m. until 5 a.m., are planned around the I-70/U.S. 6 interchange at exit 244 and include on- and off-ramps.

Drivers also should expect to wait at 20-minute stops multiple times per day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on I-70 starting Monday, and continuing through Thursday, according to a CDOT notice.

But officials said there would be no planned traffic disruptions during the holidays from Dec. 20 to Jan. 5.

CDOT contractors will be blasting rock in the canyon above eastbound and westbound I-70 between the Veterans Memorial Tunnels and the Homestead Road interchange near Idaho Springs. And drivers may face intermittent traffic stops along the Central City Parkway, County Road 314, U.S. 6, and U.S. 40, CDOT officials said.

CDOT contractors are building a temporary framework to support their upcoming construction of a concrete bridge on I-70. When it’s done, the bridge will carry westbound drivers through a new route that CDOT officials say will be safer and improve traffic flows through the canyon, which long has loomed as a bottleneck.

The rebuilt highway, with an added westbound express toll lane, eventually will carry drivers through a widened canyon on viaducts 115 feet above Clear Creek. This safer route, designed to improve visibility for drivers, is expected to allow speeds of 55 miles per hour in areas now marked 45 mph.

Depending on the weather this week, disruptive construction work may shift to Wednesday and Thursday, CDOT officials said.

The I-70 Floyd Hill Project involves about eight miles of I-70 in the mountainous area between Evergreen and the eastern edge of Idaho Springs. CDOT officials have promised that, as part of the project, they’ll improve the Clear Creek Greenway trail and ensure safer routes for wildlife.

Construction began in July 2023. The project is expected to conclude in 2029.

Drivers learn more by calling CDOT at 720-994-2368 or by texting floydhill to 21000 and signing up for text alerts. CDOT officials also said information about weather, road conditions, and travel impacts is available at COtrip.org.

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Where do Packers stand in NFC playoff picture after loss in Denver?

Published

1 day ago

December 15, 2025

Press Room

Where do Packers stand in NFC playoff picture after loss in Denver?

The Green Bay Packers (9-4-1) dropped from first to second in the NFC North and from the second seed to the seventh seed in the NFC after losing to the Denver Broncos on Sunday.

Significant injuries suffered against the Broncos will mean lasting implications are felt past Sunday. The Packers are also now a long shot to catch the Los Angeles Rams for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, and it’ll take a win next Saturday night in Chicago to retake control in the NFC North.

But the Packers are still in a good spot in terms of making the postseason field, especially after the Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys all lost on Sunday.

NFC playoff picture after Week 15

Los Angeles Rams (11-3, 6-3 vs. NFC)
Chicago Bears (10-4, 6-3 vs. NFC)
Philadelphia Eagles (9-5, 7-3 vs. NFC)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7-7, 5-5 vs. NFC)
Seattle Seahawks (11-3, 6-3 vs. NFC)
San Francisco 49ers (10-4, 8-2 vs. NFC)
Green Bay Packers (9-4-1, 7-2-1 vs. NFC)

Others: Lions (8-6), Panthers (7-7), Cowboys (6-7-1)

According to The Athletic’s NFL playoff simulator, the Packers have a 92 percent chance of making the postseason with three weeks to go. They become all but guaranteed of a playoff spot if they can beat the Bears in Chicago in Week 16. In fact, just one win over the final three weeks could be enough for the Packers to get in.

The NFC North winner looks like a coinflip. The Athletic’s model gives the Packers a 48 percent chance of winning the division right now, and it would go up to 82 percent with a win over the Bears on Saturday. Chicago took down the Cleveland Browns with ease in bitter cold temps at Soldier Field on Sunday.

The Athletic’s model also gives the Packers a 98 percent chance of being the No. 2 seed if Matt LaFleur’s team can win out. That will be much easier said than done without Micah Parsons (and potentially Christian Watson) down the stretch.

Two very possibilities for the Packers: Win the NFC North and host the Bears in the NFC Wild Card Round, or get in as the No. 7 seed and go to Chicago to play the Bears in the NFC Wild Card Round. A third round of the rivalry is increasingly possible in January.

Packers remaining games

Nothing easy here. The Bears, Ravens and Vikings all won Sunday. The Bears and Ravens won comfortably; the Vikings upset the Cowboys — who desperately needed to win — in Dallas. The Bears and Ravens are both playing to win division titles. The Vikings are a dangerously talented spoiler team, and winning at U.S. Bank Stadium is never easy. The Athletic’s model gives the Packers roughly a 40 percent chance of making the postseason even with an 0-3 finish. The Lions are the biggest threat to pass the Packers in the event they finish 0-3.

It appears the Packers can clinch a playoff spot next week with a win over the Bears and a Steelers win over the Lions.

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