Duvalier Johnson

A very deep team, and we will talk about the ramifications of being healthy and deep again and that rotation as we get a look at some potential playoff previews or playoff rotation previews, I should say.

Absolutely.

From David Adelman.

First, my Red Hawk roofing big takeaway.

I am hopeful.

having resigned myself to Denver just not being a great four-quarter defensive team.

In fact, in many ways, being a very poor one this season, I have adjusted my hope.

to this possibility that much like in 2023, they can become a team that has an elite offense and they play timely defense.

Maybe it's a quarter at a time.

Maybe it's a much better half than the first half.

Obviously we would prefer it's a full four quarter effort, but I don't know how many of those are gonna get.

i do know that in 2023 it was a group that didn't like the world on defensively they didn't like the world on fire but they were so potent offensively that if they could just pick a quarter or find their spots a lot of times it was in the clutch for that group and just tighten up that would be what they need to separate yep

In the last couple of games, that's sort of how it's happened.

Toronto, the fourth quarter, Denver plays the defense you're looking to see from a hopeful contender.

And I thought we saw that in the second half after a lot of points for Portland in the first half.

So I'm hopeful we're transitioning to that kind of identity of just play it enough in timely stretches and trust your offense to carry you through.

Pull on that thread and talk about what we saw from the rotation tonight because, look, this is the full team again.

So let's start with just that point, Dev.

What did you think of the decision to go small tonight against a team that had centers in both lineups and the fact that he's been doing that a lot lately?

No, it's worked lately.