Denver, CO
Grading the Week: Ex-Nuggets champ Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s got a point: Is No. 1 seed in NBA Playoffs worth it anymore?
Conventional wisdom says he who controls the No. 1 seed in the NBA’s salty Western Conference controls his postseason destiny, right?
Since 1990, a span of 35 NBA Finals, the Wild West has been repped by the top seed 18 different times — most recently in 2023, when a certain Denver team with a pretty good center from Serbia wound up winning the whole thing.
On the other hand, the kids up in the Grading The Week offices are still having a hard time shaking the postseason memories from this past spring out of our collective noggins. And that goes double for May 2019, when it felt as if CJ McCollum, then with Portland, turned up at Ball Arena and couldn’t miss.
We also can’t help wondering if Kentavious Caldwell-Pope might be onto something.
In case you missed it, the former Nuggets guard appeared on Draymond Green’s podcast this past Wednesday and made no bones about why the defending NBA champs spent so much time looking as if they were sleepwalking against the Lakers and Timberwolves: They were, in fact, pooped.
“I feel like that’s where we spent most of our energy and time, trying to get that first-place (seeding),” KCP, who recently signed a free-agent deal with the Orlando Magic, told Green. “We get to the playoffs, we had no gas. We felt like the Lakers should’ve beat us, we (were) down every game.”
Nuggets pushing too hard for a 1 seed — C.
Now coach Michael Malone almost immediately admitted that he’d pushed the pedal to the metal and rode his stars in April to clinch the top seed, and home court, throughout the Western Conference bracket.
In Malone’s defense, as we noted, the No. 1 seed in the West has reached the NBA Finals since 1990 more than the other seven seeds combined. Plus, the atmosphere and altitude at Ball Arena are traditionally a challenge for opposing teams’ collective lungs and eardrums. The Sixth Man at 5,280 feet rarely fails.
Although “rarely” doesn’t mean “never.” And the last decade of postseason play has started to knock conventional wisdom squarely on its backside.
The bottom-line argument for owning a home-court advantage is being able to play that card in Game 7, to settle a nasty series within friendly confines. Yet since the start of the 2016-17 season, we’ve had 21 non-pandemic Game 7s in the NBA Playoffs. The home teams are 9-12 in those win-or-go-fishing showdowns.
And since the start of the 2021-22 campaign, there’ve been 12 postseason Game 7s. The home team’s gone 4-8. Over the last decade, the Nuggets are 1-2 all-time as Game 7 hosts at Ball Arena/Pepsi Center. It’s enough to make you wonder if fresh legs, come mid-May, are a better arrow to have in your quiver than familiar fiefdoms.
Leaner Javonte Williams — A-minus.
Full disclosure: Team GTW has always had a soft spot for the Broncos’ big No. 33. So hats off to Williams for admitting recently that he’s gotten a little less big and has fewer, you know, soft spots around the belly.
While Williams credits his coach with the suggestion he slim down to his current fighting weight of 221 pounds, we’ll bet you a Snickers bar, given what we’ve learned of Sean Payton’s (cough) subtlety (cough) when it comes to criticism, that even a little constructive fat-shaming didn’t feel great. But if it gives Broncos Country more runs like the one Williams famously pulled off against Baltimore — we counted four Ravens missed tackles, and at least three defenders carried — in October 2021, we’ll all raise a toast (of water) to no snacks after 7 p.m.
Takis — F.
Mind you, the GTW crew is also pretty sure Williams’ agent groaned when his client cited the specific snack brand — Takis — that helped contribute to the running back’s weight gain. Pro athlete rule No. 712: Never throw a company that might hand you a sweet endorsement deal under the nearest bus, even if said company peddles junk food. Points to Javonte for speaking truths, though, especially if it means more snaps for him and more Habanero Fury Kettlez — this is a real Takis chip, we swear — for the rest of us.
Originally Published:
Denver, CO
Game Thread: Denver Nuggets vs Sacramento Kings. December 11th, 2025. – Denver Stiffs
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Denver, CO
Things To Do In And Around Denver This Weekend – 12/11-12/14 – 303 Magazine
Where: Fight Club – 1959 16th St Mall Denver
Cost: Price varies
The Lowdown:
Guests have the option of $39 bottomless flatbreads, which includes the price of their oche reservation for Social Darts®. The bottomless flatbread menu features Smoked Salmon Flatbread, Four Cheese Flatbread, Breakfast Flatbread, or Garden Vegetable Flatbread. Guests can also order off the á la carte menu, which includes a fresh-cut fruit plate, breakfast sliders,, avocado toast, and Flight Club’s famous churros.
Denver, CO
Louisiana child rape suspect arrested in Denver
DENVER (KKTV) – A man out of Louisiana suspected of child rape is now in custody in Colorado.
The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force said they arrested 43-year-old James Connolly Tuesday morning in Denver.
The U.S. Marshals Service said Connolly was wanted by West Baton Rouge Parish deputies for first-degree rape of a child under 13 years old.
According to the U.S. Marshals, a full-scale investigation into the allegation was launched, and probable cause was found to file charges.
After an arrest warrant was issued on August 12, they said Connolly was likely aware of the warrant and had fled the state.
On Monday, officials reportedly received information that he could be in Denver. The next day, the U.S. Marshals Service said the Colorado Violent Offender Task Force found Connolly working maintenance for a company near I-270 and York Street in Denver under the name “Alli” with a changed physical appearance.
Officials said Connolly was then positively identified and taken into custody.
“The success of this arrest represents a culmination of extensive cooperative investigative efforts between the U.S. Marshals in Baton Rouge, U.S. Marshals Colorado Violent Offender Task Force – Denver, West Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Englewood Police Department, and Colorado Department of Corrections,” the U.S. Marshals Service said in a release.
He’s currently in the Adams County Jail pending extradition back to Louisiana.
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