Denver, CO

Nuggets notebook: Downplaying the big game, Denver gets starting five back

Published

2 years ago

April 10, 2024

Nuggets notebook: Downplaying the big game, Denver gets starting five back

Nuggets coach Michael Malone downplayed Denver’s biggest game of the season hours before Wednesday’s tipoff against the Timberwolves.

Minnesota and Denver started the night with matching 55-24 records atop the Western Conference with three games to go, making for a much-hyped matchup. A Denver loss Wednesday would leave little room for error in the race for the one seed, while a win would put Denver atop the conference with games against the Spurs and Grizzlies remaining. A 3-0 finish would have Denver finish the regular season with the conference’s best record. That didn’t appear to impact Malone’s stance.

“I probably don’t look at it the same as anybody in this room. I know this is a huge game for your perspective, and I understand that, but (with) three games to go, (we’re) obviously trying to close out the season playing well,” Malone said pregame.

“The one seed would be great. I’ve said it for the last month and a half, we’d gladly take the one seed, but much more important for me is making sure our players are healthy and available come playoff time.”

Malone looked at last year, when the Lakers made the Western Conference Finals as the seven seed and the Heat made the Finals as the Eastern Conference’s eight seed, to make his point. Denver’s coach said the Western Conference is even deeper and stronger this season, which diminishes the importance of seeding.

“There is no easy out in the West. This is going to be an unbelievable playoffs,” Malone said. “

“There’s so many teams that could come out of the west this year. That speaks to the quality of depth and the parity in the Western Conference.”

Minnesota coach Chris Finch similarly prioritized his team’s performance down the stretch over the number next to his team’s name at the start of the playoffs.

“It’s great for the league at this point in the season to have two teams tied, being able to play a game like this. The bulk of their roster is available. It’s kind of fun. For our guys, the focus down the stretch has been continuing to play the best basketball we can, and we’ve been doing that for the most part,” Finch said.

Starting strong

The Nuggets got their starting five back together for the first time since March 21.

Jamal Murray, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon and Nikola Jokic started against the Timberwolves after going 6-3 in the nine games Denver was without one or more of the typical starters. Murray missed seven of those games with knee, shin and ankle injuries, while Gordon missed the last two with what the team called a foot sprain.

Murray was active for the second night of a back-to-back after playing 27 minutes Tuesday in Utah.

Minnesota missed Karl-Anthony Towns, who’s nearing a return after suffering a torn meniscus.

Silver talks Jontay Porter situation

Michael Porter Jr. enjoyed having his younger brother back in the NBA this season, but that may not be the case for long.

Speaking Wednesday afternoon, NBA commissioner Adam Silver addressed Jontay Porter’s ongoing suspension following irregularities involving his prop bets.

“I have an enormous range of discipline available to me,” Silver said in an ESPN report after the league’s annual board of governors meetings. “But it’s a cardinal sin, what he’s accused of in the NBA, and the ultimate, extreme option I have is to ban him from the game.”

Michael Porter Jr. previously expressed doubt his brother would do anything to jeopardize his second shot at an NBA career.

“I’ve known my brother my whole life. I know what type of dude he is, and I know he’s excited to play basketball and I highly doubt he would do anything to put that in jeopardy,” the Nuggets forward said after the March 27 game against Phoenix.

Former Nugget needs a kidney

Nate Robinson’s search for a kidney is getting dire.

“I know that I don’t have long if I can’t get a kidney,” Robinson said in an interview with Mail Sport. “I know I’m not going to have long to live. So I just want to make the best of it as much as I can.”

Robinson started his 11-year career with the Knicks and spent parts of the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons with the Nuggets before his NBA career ended in 2016. In 2022, Robinson announced he was dealing with renal kidney failure.

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Denver, CO

Broncos offensive line is the engine that drives offense

Published

12 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Broncos offensive line is the engine that drives offense

I’ve been covering the Denver Broncos for his entire career and I remember writing up some pretty harsh criticism of his play early on — especially in regards to holding penalties. I recall at one point he was committing holding penalties at a record-breaking rate. He was so far above the rest of the field that he’d break charts if anyone tried to chart it. The best part of that saga is that he never let the outside noise (from me and many others) get to him. He worked on his craft and he got better. And then got even better to the point where it is pretty clear that he is one of the best left tackles in all of football. He is going to go down as one of the best tackles in franchise history too when its all said and done. It’s a great comeback story.

All that said, he wasn’t the only one of the Broncos players on that offensive line to make an impact with guard Quinn Meinerz also being named a PFF All-Pro player. The whole offensive line has been dominant in nearly every category and is the main engine that has driven the offenses successes this season.

4) Denver Broncos
Team OLi Grade: 83.0
Best-Ranked OL: Garett Bolles, 89.0 (7th overall, 3rd position)
Worst-Ranked OL: Alex Palczewski, 63.5 (159th overall, 61st position)

And one more to complete the picture comes from Sharp Football Analysis who has the Broncos ranked fifth-overall in their NFL Offensive Line Stats:

There is so much evidence that shows the trenches on both side of the ball is what has brought the success of the 2025 Broncos. It’s an area that Sean Payton has said in the past is always an area of focus. He knows you don’t win consistently if your team is being dominated in the trenches.

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Denver, CO

Here’s how the NFL typically handles the top seeded team’s Divisional Round schedule

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Here’s how the NFL typically handles the top seeded team’s Divisional Round schedule

As the number one seed in the AFC, the Denver Broncos could end up playing on either Saturday or Sunday. It all comes down to which teams win during Wild Card weekend.

Head Coach Sean Payton was asked about the potential Divisional Round schedule and he said nothing is finalized. However, the NFL has been known to follow a certain schedule that could end up with the Broncos playing on Saturday if either the Buffalo Bills or Los Angeles Chargers win on Sunday and they’d play the following Sunday only if they had to wait until Monday for the outcome of the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers game.

The other thing with that extra week off is about preparation. One of the better questions the media asked of Payton on Friday was whether or not they do more advanced scouting on potential opponents they have not yet played this season.

“Look, there are four options,” Payton said. “One is in the division. We’ve played one two years in a row—or it feels like that with Houston. Buffalo. We’ll break down kind of all four and then look at… We’ll have personnel reports on the four… You do have enough time to look at third down, look at personnel packages, study situational football. I think that’s pretty common when you look at playoff history. A lot of times, you end up with a division team sometimes in the first round. I know that’s happened a number of times over the years with me. It’s hard to gauge how these other games are going to go not having spent much time looking at New England. [We’ve] seen Jacksonville. It’s one of those where you just watch them. You’re working while you watch them. You’re working on each plan, and then you go from there.”

I came away feeling like Payton and the Broncos know two of their potential opponents fairly well. The other two will get some high level review, but nothing super deep as there just isn’t enough time. That is saved for this coming week when the opponent is finalized.

Payton and his staff have some great experience coaching in the playoffs, so this young Broncos team should be well-prepared for their football game.

Frankly, I like the idea of the Broncos getting their game out of the way early. Give Payton and his staff an extra day to begin the prep work needed for the AFC Championship game provided they come out with a win in the Divisional Round.

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Denver, CO

Denver weather: Snow tails off Friday, but morning commute could be slick

Published

2 days ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Denver weather: Snow tails off Friday, but morning commute could be slick

The waves of snow that fell across Denver Thursday were expected to diminish Friday morning, but the roads could be slick for commuters, a weather forecaster said. The National Weather Service in Boulder said to expect a 40% chance of snow across Denver on Friday with a high temperature reaching about 34 degrees. That’s about […]

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