Miroslav Cuk

I was ready for the end of the No Joker experience at that point.

Two nights later, the back-to-back started in Washington.

Big Val returned to the lineup after missing 11 games and made an immediate impact from the jump.

Eight points and four rebounds in seven minutes warmed my old shivering heart.

Jamal Murray was laboring in the first half, scoring just five points until the big break, but Peyton Watson carried the load, making shots from all around the court, including from the free-throw line.

Jamal started playing great in the third, Payton continued his great play, the Nuggets out-rebounded one of the worst rebounding teams in the league, Aaron and Jonas scored in double digits, and all of that was enough even with a bench that scored just 14 points.

Tim Hardaway struggled with his shot for the second game in a row, but the Wizards were bad enough not to capitalize.

on that.

Finally, last night, in freezing cold Milwaukee, the Nuggets completed their back-to-back Eastern Conference blitz trip.

The good guys decided to rest Jamal Murray, Peyton Watson, and Jonas Valanciunas, so Julian Strother, Zeke Nagy, and Spencer Jones joined Pickett and Aaron Gordon in the starting lineup.

It was obvious from the dump that the zombie Nuggets wanted this win more than the Bucks.

Aaron Gordon got injured late in the second quarter after playing well.

He apparently re-injured his right hamstring.

And that didn't stop the Nuggets since Trotter caught fire and Tim Hardaway finally started hitting shots after two and a half games long shooting slump.

They were up 23 points with 10 minutes to go and then almost completely collapsed.

So much so that Jalen Pickett had two free throws up just 1.4 seconds to go.

Hit only one, but fortunately, the most detached from reality NBA player, Al Kuzma, got the last shot and he took it a second too early.

9-5 without Joker.

Okay, I have a great panel for you today.

First, an avid film enthusiast, always ready to share his bold takes against the mainstream of the movie aficionados, an audio and video producer, and the co-host of the delightful NBA podcast called What's in the Game?