What Happened to the Denver Nuggets? with Adam Mares | Slam N' Jam
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What are the top stories in the NBA this week?
Welcome to the Saturday Slammin' Jam here on the Athletic NBA Daily. I'm your host, Andrew Schleck. Today on the show, we are talking about the NBA Cup, our favorite things, and Adam Maras of DNVR is going to join us to discuss the Denver Nuggets and play a little trivia before we get to any of that. Alex, please tell me, what were the top stories this week?
How did the NBA Cup elimination round unfold?
Well, Andrew, our top story this week was the NBA Cup elimination round. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the field of eight was whittled down to four. Oklahoma City and Houston in the west, Milwaukee and Atlanta, the Hawks in the east. Houston made it to the Final Four by playing a very entertaining, very disgusting game against the Golden State Warriors, which they won 91-90. If you like the idea of combining the vibes of a game from 2003 with the three-point attempt rate of a game from 2024... This was the game for you. The two teams combined to go 18 of 65 or 28% from three. Houston, the team that won the game, shot 22% from three. Now, when was the last time the Rockets shot that poorly from three and one? Well, guess what? Not that long ago.
One month ago, the Rockets won both games of a back-to-back while shooting under 22% from three in both games. Now, while most NBA fans seem to enjoy the energy and competitiveness of the cup games, there were some who reacted to the final four teams by expressing concern about the ratings for the upcoming games, given that none of the big markets made it to Vegas. Imagine spending your time thinking about the television ratings of a company that just signed a $76 billion media deal. We do this every year and every time. regardless of the ratings they keep playing the games have they ever stopped playing the games because of the ratings no so who gives it as a fan of basketball television ratings have never once affected affected any aspect of my life i look at the numbers i nod to myself as interesting and then i immediately forget them because the game is on a game like grizzly celtics last saturday night just a week ago
I expressed doubt about the Grizzlies' contender status. You did. Given their cake schedule, lack of signature wins. And within 24 hours of uttering those words, the Grizzlies had beaten the defending champs on the road, 127 to 121. Ja Morant had 32, nine and nine in the game, while Triple J put up 27 and nine with four blocks. The Grizzlies have won three in a row and are third in the West at 17 and eight. And per last week's promise, I said that if the Grizzlies beat the Celtics, I would shut up about them. So I salute them and I will now shut my mouth. And another team I should have shut up about is the Washington Wizards. Because last week... I was out here daydreaming about the Wizards achieving a 29-game losing streak, beating the Pistons. And again, within 24 hours, the Wizards had broken their 16-game losing streak by beating Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets. And not only did they beat the Nuggets, they did it on a night when Jokic scored a career-high 56 points.
Jordan Poole scored 39 in the game, which included going 9 of 20 from 3. He's now shooting a career high 41% from 3 this season, while also averaging a career high in assists. The Wizards' impressive win leads to the obvious question. Are the Wizards dark horses for the second worst record in the NBA? Possibly. Speaking of the second worst record in the NBA, the New Orleans Pelicans season from hell continues to unearth new horrors with the team now sitting at five and twenty one last in the West. Did you do you remember that this team started the season two and oh, because I didn't. The new bad news this week was that just as the Pels were starting to get some of their guys back, Brandon Ingram suffered a serious ankle sprain on Sunday. He's now sidelined indefinitely. Zion remains out with a hamstring injury. If there's a glimmer of hope, or at least normalcy, the Pels were competitive in a two-point loss to the Kings on Thursday, and they rolled out a very normal-looking starting lineup, which was nice. CJ, Trey Murphy, Herb Jones, DeJounte Murray, and Yves Missy.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What are the top stories in the NBA this week?
0:11–0:37
2
How did the NBA Cup elimination round unfold?
0:37–6:44
3
What struggles are the Denver Nuggets facing this season?
6:44–7:13
4
Are the Nuggets still championship contenders?
7:13–9:31
5
Who are the key young players for the Nuggets?
9:31–16:33
6
What are the potential trade destinations for Jimmy Butler?
16:33–32:14
7
What standout performances have occurred this week in the NBA?
32:14–38:17
8
How are fans reacting to officiating in recent games?
38:17–1:03:40