Denver, CO
Preview: Denver Nuggets face struggling Phoenix Suns – Denver Stiffs
The Denver Nuggets, and every other team in the NBA, are in the thick of the stretch run. For the Nuggets that means trying to secure the two seed in the West. For their opponents, the Phoenix Suns, that means hanging on by a thread just hoping at a chance for the play-in. Phoenix has taken over as the most disappointing team in the NBA this season. A roster loaded with “superstars,” all its really been is a roster loaded with a bloated payroll and poor team chemistry. Kevin Durant looks to be on his way out and Bradley Beal might be the worst contract in the entire NBA. All of this happens while Devin Booker is in his prime. To say Phoenix is a mess right now would be a massive understatement.
The Essentials
Who: Denver Nuggets (40-22) vs Phoenix Suns (29-33)
When: 7PM MST
Where: The Can. Denver, CO
How to watch/listen: Due to popular demand, we are reiterating that we do not support piracy…except the romanticized 17th century type. Altitude TV, Altitude+, ESPN, Altitude Radio 92.5FM. Show up in a tweed blazer with thick glasses and a corn cob pipe and tell security you are the Suns newest team therapist.
Rival blog: Bright Side of the Sun
The Matchup
| Position | Nuggets | Suns | Advantage |
| PG | Jamal Murray | Devin Booker | Suns |
| SG | Russell Westbrook | Bradley Beal | Even |
| SF | Christian Braun | Kevin Durant | Suns |
| PF | Michael Porter Jr. | Bol Bol | Nuggets |
| C | Nikola Jokic | Nick Richards | Nuggets |
| Bench | Jalen Pickett, Peyton Watson, Zeke Nnaji, Rotation Player X | Royce O’Neale, Mason Plumlee, Tyus Jones, Grayson Allen, Colin Gillespie | Even |
Injury report: Zeke Nnaji – probable (ankle), Nikola Jokic – questionable (ankle), Aaron Gordon – questionable (ankle), Julian Strawther – out (knee), DaRon Holmes II – out (achilles), PJ Hall – out (G-League); Bradley Beal – questionable (calf), Monte Morris – out (back), Cody Martin – out (hernia), Jalen Bridges – out (G-League).
The Three Things
The thing to watch for: Bench Scoring
The Nuggets have dealt with nagging injuries all season and seem to always be missing at least one piece of their rotation. Right now that person is their best shooter off the bench, Julian Strawther, who is out for at least a month. Compounding that issue is Aaron Gordon’s latest lower body injury, a left ankle sprain, which kept him out of Denver’s last couple games. When AG is out, Michael Malone has inserted Russell Westbrook into the starting lineup lately. Westbrook is the best scorer on Denver’s bench when they are fully healthy. With him starting and Strawther sitting it leaves the Nuggets with a bench of Jalen Pickett, Peyton Watson, Zeke Nnaji and a 4th situational player who is not a scorer. Against the Sacramento Kings it was Nnaji providing points off the bench but it would be foolish to expect any of these guys to give you consistent offensive production. Malone is going to have to coach his ass off in the bench minutes with getting the right lineup combinations and getting those combinations into good sets to create easy buckets.
The thing to remember: Phoenix ain’t quite out of it yet
It’s easy to look at the Suns, say they are done and chalk this game up as a win. Listen, things aren’t going well and no one is denying that but this team is still extremely talented. They also definitely have not given up. Look no further than the Suns last game when they played the Los Angeles Clippers and rallied back from twenty-three points down in the second half to secure a victory. They also remain just two games back in the loss column from the final play-in spot. Who knows what happens if they get-in. Thanks to the Durant trade, Phoenix has no 1st round pick this year so there’s no motivation for tanking at any level of the organization and everyone should be all in on getting a chance at a title run no matter how improbable it is. Denver has to approach this game like they are playing a very talented team who is more desperate than anyone.
The thing to bet: Jamal Murray over 23.5 points (+100)
Not exactly sure who Phoenix is planning on defending Murray with. They’ll likely rotate Grayson Allen or Royce O’neal onto him when those guys check in but Phoenix’s current starting unit is bereft of guard defenders (plus, Allen & O’Neal are solid but not lockdown defenders). Murray put up thirty points on Phoenix a month ago and has topped 23 points in two of the three contests this season. At even money I like this bet quite a bit.
Denver, CO
Cheapest gas prices in Denver hit less than $2 Sunday ahead of Thanksgiving weekend
Where to find the cheapest gas prices in Denver
DENVER (KDVR) — Gas prices in Denver are trending down just in time for the busy Thanksgiving travel weekend, with one station in the city even hitting less than $2 on Sunday, according to GasBuddy.
Just in the last week, gas prices in Denver have fallen 14.5 cents per gallon, hitting a $2.47 per gallon average Monday morning, Gadbuddy reported. That number is lower than the national average of $3.03 per gallon, and it is even nearly 30 cents lower than Denver’s average prices a year ago.
This is the lowest average gas price for this day, Nov. 24, in Denver since 2020, according to GasBuddy, and omitting the 2020 dip caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the last time Denver saw this or a lower average price on Nov. 24 was in 2017.
Monday’s $2.47 average price per gallon is also the lowest average so far this year.
Here’s where the cheapest gas prices were in Denver on Sunday and Monday:
- Shell, 7273 E. Evans Ave. – $1.94
- Sinclair, 2101 S. Holly St. – $2.03
- QuikTrip, 6477 E. Evans Ave. – $2.03
- Murphy Express, 4990 E. Evans Ave. – $2.03
- Conoco/7-Eleven, 7080 Tower Rd. – $2.05
The Shell station on Evans Avenue was also the lowest gas price in the state at the time, GasBuddy reported. the most expensive gas price in the city at the time was $1.35 higher at $3.29 per gallon.
Neighboring areas and the state as a whole are also seeing lower average gas prices.
Fort Collins’s average was $2.59 per gallon, down 7.3 cents from the week before; Colorado Springs had a 14.7-cent drop to an average of $2.49 per gallon; and Colorado as a whole had a 12.8-cent drop to $2.71 per gallon.
Denver, CO
Denver Public Schools swears in new board members, delays officer elections amid questions of transparency
Denver Public Schools officially has a new school board, but not a new board president or vice president, despite attempts to vote on leadership on Friday.
Four newly elected board members took the oath of office: DJ Torres, Monica Hunter, Amy Klein Molk, who won the at-large seat, and returning member Xóchitl Gaytán. The ceremony met the state’s 10-day requirement following election certification.
“We have a lot of staff gone for the holidays, and we also have board members traveling,” Gaytan said. “We were able to bring our new incoming colleagues together for this ceremony.”
But for some community members, the concern wasn’t the swearing-in; it was the plan to elect new officers. Under state law, school boards have 15 days after certification to select officers, which aligns with the already scheduled Dec. 2 meeting.
“There’s a lack of transparency from the top down in our world right now,” said Rosemary Rodriguez with EDUCATE Denver, a civic coalition for DPS students. “It’s really important that our trusted institutions, like our school system, be as transparent as possible.”
Torres said his focus is on rebuilding trust.
“Given the community feedback, and given that some of us are new to the role, if people feel we’re not being transparent enough, I felt confident saying: let’s pause,” he said.
A few board members were unable to attend because of the holiday. The board ultimately decided to hold the officer elections on Dec. 2, allowing the full board and community members to participate.
The district says this is one of the most diverse school boards in DPS history.
It includes leaders from Black, Latine, LGBTQ+, immigrant, and multilingual communities, reflecting the lived experiences of the students and families the district serves, the district said in a press release.
Denver, CO
Rodney Rogers, the ‘Durham Bull’ who was drafted by the Denver Nuggets, dies at 54
By AARON BEARD
Former Wake Forest star and 12-year NBA player Rodney Rogers has died. He was 54.
The school announced Saturday that Rogers had died on Friday. Rogers — the No. 9 overall NBA draft pick in 1993 — had been paralyzed from the shoulders down since a dirt bike accident in November 2008. Rogers died of natural causes linked to his spinal cord injury, according to a statement from the National Basketball Players Association on behalf of Rogers’ family.
“The last 17 years have been both challenging and profoundly blessed,” the NBPA statement said. “Through every moment, Rodney remained a light — positive, motivated, and full of the quiet strength that inspired everyone around him.”
Rogers was the Atlantic Coast Conference rookie of the year in 1991 and player of the year in 1993 whose No. 54 jersey was retired by the Demon Deacons. The burly 6-foot-7 forward with powerful athleticism earned the “Durham Bull” nickname during his prep career, then went on to score nearly 9,500 points in the NBA while being named league sixth man of the year in 2000.
Rogers’ injury led to the establishment of a foundation bearing his name, with Rogers encouraging people with spinal cord injuries while promoting resilience and personal growth in the face of those challenges. The school honored him with its Distinguished Alumni Award in 2022 along with an honorary degree.
“Rodney is the strongest person I have ever met — physically and mentally — and his resilience was evident in the fight he showed every single day,” program great and former teammate Randolph Childress said in a statement released by the school. “I’ve said this before and I still mean it today: he was the best athlete ever to walk onto Wake Forest’s campus. He meant so much to so many people, and I feel profoundly blessed to have been with him yesterday.”
Rogers played three years at Wake Forest, averaging 21.2 points in the 1992-93 season that saw Wake Forest reach the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16, before entering the NBA draft as a junior. He started his NBA career with the Denver Nuggets and went on to play with the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics, New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets and Philadelphia 76ers.
“It’s easy to focus on his extraordinary talent, but what stood out to everyone who knew him was that he was every bit as remarkable as a human being,” said Dave Odom, Rogers’ coach at Wake Forest. “He loved his teammates, he loved his family, he loved Wake Forest and he loved the game of basketball. He loved playing for Wake Forest.
“Every time we visited him, I walked away reminding myself never to complain — because he never did. He faced life exactly as it came and made the very best of every moment. He was a joy to watch as a basketball player, but he was an even greater man. He shared his strength, his spirit and his life with everyone around him.”
According to the NBPA statement, Rogers is survived by wife, Faye; daughters Roddreka and Rydiah; sons Rodney II and Devonte; his mother, Estelle Spencer; and Eric Hipilito, embraced as a son by Rogers.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
-
Business1 week ago
Fire survivors can use this new portal to rebuild faster and save money
-
World7 days agoFrance and Germany support simplification push for digital rules
-
News1 week agoCourt documents shed light on Indiana shooting that sparked stand-your-ground debate
-
World1 week agoSinclair Snaps Up 8% Stake in Scripps in Advance of Potential Merger
-
World1 week agoCalls for answers grow over Canada’s interrogation of Israel critic
-
Science3 days agoWashington state resident dies of new H5N5 form of bird flu
-
World1 week ago2% of Russian global oil supply affected following Ukrainian attack
-
Politics1 week agoDuckworth fires staffer who claimed to be attorney for detained illegal immigrant with criminal history
