Denver, CO

Nikola Jokic on Game 5 slam dunk amid 40-point performance: “I’m a freak of nature”

Published

2 months ago

May 15, 2024

Nikola Jokic on Game 5 slam dunk amid 40-point performance: “I’m a freak of nature”

All in a day’s work, Nikola Jokic dodged questions about his aggression against Rudy Gobert, exhibited gentle embarrassment at being called a genius by his coworkers, then referred to himself as a freak of nature with a complete poker face.

That was at the podium. On the court, he passed behind his back to perimeter shooters, behind his back to the baseline dunkers, over the top of five defenders for Hail Mary touchdowns. He shot 8 for 9 against a four-time Defensive Player of the Year, made ambidextrous hook shots and step-back 3s and spinning driving and-ones and thunderous two-handed slams. All in a day’s work.

“There aren’t enough words,” Aaron Gordon said. “He was amazing tonight. That was ridiculous.”

“It felt like he had 50,” Jamal Murray said after Denver’s Game 4 win, 112-97, over the Timberwolves. “Whenever he gets going like that, you kind of let him dictate the way the game’s gonna go.”

The actual total was 40. And 13 assists. It was the 10th time in Jokic’s career that he has scored that many points without a teammate going for 20. In each of the three playoff games when that phenomenon occurred before Tuesday, the Nuggets lost. Jokic wouldn’t let them lose this one.

So he was entitled to at least one cocky postgame quote, even if its true subtext was self-deprecating.

“I had an open lane,” Jokic said of his first-quarter dunk. “And you know, I’m a freak of nature. Why not show my athleticism?”

By Jokic standards, the driving finish was emphatic. Rarely, if ever, does the Serbian center cock the ball back over his head before throwing down a dunk — except when warming up, as teammate Kentavious Caldwell-Pope pointed out. When Gordon was asked to share which of Jokic’s improbable shots was his personal favorite, the choice was easy. “When he goes through the lane and he tomahawks it,” Gordon said, grinning, “that’s my favorite.”

It was the second game in a row Jokic has manufactured a highlight that way, following his one-handed jam over Anthony Edwards in Minnesota. This one established the volume of Ball Arena and the tone of a fiercely competitive swing game in the series. Denver has now clawed back from down 2-0 to lead 3-2, thanks in large part to Jokic’s scoring mindset.

His post-ups against Gobert were the main event of the highlight reel. Jokic pivoted in both directions to drop Gobert in a blender early. He play-faked at all the right moments and pulled the trigger without a fake precisely when Gobert was on his heels. He ducked underneath the rim for a reverse hook and leaned away from the rim when he needed one more centimeter of space. He used the glass. Or sometimes he didn’t. He customized his release angle based on space. He heightened the parabola of his arc.

For as much artistry as Jokic is said to incorporate to the game of basketball, his shot-making in Game 5 felt more like the work of a mathematician.

“His IQ is off the charts,” coach Michael Malone said. “He probably belongs to Mensa. He probably doesn’t even know what Mensa is. I’ll quiz guys throughout the series, about play calls, about personnel tendencies, about game plan, and Nikola, he is ahead of everybody. He just knows everything.”

Presented with Malone’s IQ compliment and Gordon’s recent anointment of genius status, Jokic placed his head in his hands. “Funny,” he said meekly.

But that’s the juxtaposition that defines Jokic: His puzzle-solving brain is his superpower, yet the only obstacle between him and consistent 15-for-22 games is the “22” part — some mental barricade. Call it shooter’s block. His mind even betrayed him in Game 2 of this series, when he attempted only 13 field goals in 39 minutes of a blowout loss. He was too determined to pass for his own good.

“Sometimes he’s a little too passive,” Gordon said. “So we appreciate it when he shoots more.”

Jokic’s ownership of the Gobert matchup is increasingly apparent. It dates back years, to the 2020 bubble when the Nuggets overcame a 3-1 first-round deficit to Gobert’s Jazz. Now they’re are on the verge of snatching another series from him, and Jokic’s relentless pursuit of a one-on-one bucket is a major reason why.

When Karl-Anthony Towns guards Jokic, Gobert is lurking on the back line, a physical roadblock to supplement any mental ones. But Denver has improved throughout the series at finding ways to switch Towns or the second Minnesota big off of Jokic, then spacing the original defender to the opposite side of the floor. Jokic’s eyes light up.

He’ll never admit that.

“Some of the shots were really tough,” he said of the 8-for-9 clip against Gobert. “Some of the shots were shots I think I can make. He’s a good defender. Always makes you do a little bit more. And sometimes you need to make a tough shot.”

That, Jokic did. Gobert played some of his most impenetrable defense in the post and on the perimeter. It was helpless. And the newly anointed three-time MVP saved his best for last — an off-the-dribble, step-back 3-pointer in Gobert’s face and over his contest at the shot clock buzzer. It landed Jokic at 40, extended the lead to 13 and extinguished Minnesota’s last remaining comeback ambitions.

“When he gets it going,” Murray said, “and he’s throwing up that stupid one-legged, one-armed behind-the-backboard (shot), I’m just going back on defense.”

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Denver, CO

BREAKING: Russell Westbrook’s Contract Details With Denver Nuggets Revealed

Published

3 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Press Room

BREAKING: Russell Westbrook’s Contract Details With Denver Nuggets Revealed

After being traded from the LA Clippers to the Utah Jazz, nine-time NBA All-Star Russell Westbrook was waived by Utah and will sign with the Denver Nuggets as a free agent. In a report from The Athletic’s Shams Charania, it was revealed that Westbrook is joining the Nuggets on a two-year contract worth $6.8M that includes a player option for the second season.

Westbrook will join the Nuggets as a much needed rotation guard after Denver lost both Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Reggie Jackson this summer. Capable of a lot more of what Denver needs than what Jackson was able to do last season, Westbrook should help the Nuggets in several different ways.

Former NBA MVP Russell Westbrook is signing a two-year, $6.8 million contract with the Denver Nuggets, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Deal has a player option for 2025-26 season. pic.twitter.com/nZeK3ZZsvT
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 26, 2024

Westbrook appeared in 68 games for the Clippers last season, only missing time due to a fractured left hand that cost him three weeks. Averaging 11.1 PPG, 5.0 APG, and 4.5 APG in just 22.5 minutes per game, Westbrook became the only qualifying player in NBA history to reach those averages in less than 23 minutes per game.

Also one of the NBA’s best on-ball guard defenders last season, Westbrook was often tasked with defending the other team’s best player when on the court. This is a responsibility he will almost certainly see more of next season with the Nuggets losing Caldwell-Pope to the Orlando Magic in free agency.

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Denver, CO

Denver brewery returns from the dead with new owners

Published

10 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Press Room

Denver brewery returns from the dead with new owners

Despite being hobby homebrewers and longtime craft beer enthusiasts, Aaron Uhl and Dan Colbourne had never visited Renegade Brewing Co. in Denver before this spring.

For months prior, the two Coloradans had been prospecting locations to open a new brewery. When they heard about Renegade’s plans to close, they decided it was time to pop in for a pint.

The vibe and sense of community in the taproom won them over almost immediately and by July, they had inked a deal with the previous owner to purchase the spot at 925 W 9th Ave., along with the brewery’s recipes, equipment, website and other intellectual property.

“What Aaron and I were looking for was something that had a taproom-centric setup, but did not have distribution. We do not want distribution,” Colbourne said. “As we talked about opening organically, we felt it made much more sense with an established presence, an established clientele, and something that had a brand with history that we could take and build on.”

Renegade Brewing Co., originally founded in 2011, tentatively plans to reopen on Aug. 17 under the same name and new ownership. Uhl has brewed professionally in Colorado since 2018, most recently as the proprietor of Uhl’s Brewing Co., which operated in Boulder from 2020 to 2023. Colbourne currently works as a CFO with a background in business acquisitions.

At first, Renegade’s taps will serve guest beers from popular breweries along the Front Range, including some of Uhl’s previous collaborators like River North Brewery, WestFax Brewing Co. and Goldspot Brewing Co. The owners plan to replace the Renegade brewhouse with a new, 10-barrel brewing system and ditch many of the onsite fermentation vessels so they can expand the taproom’s footprint. While that is in the works, Uhl hopes to create original beers with some of the aforementioned partners to serve at Renegade.

By this fall, drinkers can expect to find house-made beverages, Colbourne said, including some of Renegade’s original staples. The lineup may also include some non-alcoholic options, he added.

Uhl encourages longtime patrons to stop by and let him know which old Renegade recipes they’d like to see on the new menu. “We’re going to let the community pick their top three beers for the core lineup,” he said.

“The idea is we want to take three months to offer beers across a wide spectrum to see what consumer is looking for,” Colbourne added.

Beer drinkers will see Uhl’s signature styles on the menu as it evolves. Uhl estimates he brewed 275 unique beers during the three years that Uhl Brewing Co. was open, but his specialties are barrel-aged beers, strong ales and dank IPAs. He also spent a stint in Brussels last year where he learned to blend lambics from the pros.

“Our new tagline is ‘styles be damned, nothing is sacred,’” Uhl said.

Both Uhl and Colbourne said there are many details of the new operation that will be worked out in the coming months, and they hope local customers will help shape the brewery’s evolution.

“One thing we noticed when we went there is Renegade is really a neighborhood get-together,” Colbourne said. “That sense of community is something we want to rebuild and leverage.”

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Denver, CO

Broncos have reportedly signed Courtland Sutton to a restructured deal

Published

18 hours ago

July 26, 2024

Press Room

Broncos have reportedly signed Courtland Sutton to a restructured deal

According to a report from Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Denver Broncos and wide receiver Courtland Sutton have worked out a deal to restructure his contract. The restructured deal will include a base salary of $13 million, with a potential for $1.5 million more in incentives.

This comes just two days after head coach Sean Payton assured the media and fans that Sutton would be at training camp saying, “He’ll be here like we talked about and ready to go.”

These negotiations have been in the works for a while and it seemed like things were progressing in a positive manner.

“It’s obviously something that is, has been conversed about and my team and I have been in contact with the guys upstairs that handle all of that stuff,” Sutton said in June. “We were kind of going back and forth trying to figure out the best way to kind of find a middle ground for the situation and we are at a stalemate in a sense, but I have confidence and faith that the right thing will be done.”

That middle ground was found this week with this restructured deal. If he has a big season, Sutton will be able to earn north of $15 million this season which would be a decent haul. He has not had a 1,000 yard season since 2019, but saw his best catch percentage and touchdown season yet last year when he hauled in 59 catches for 772 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The targets definitely need to increase in 2024 for him to return to that 2019 form and maybe with a new quarterback that is something that could happen.