Pickaxe and Roll

Ryan Blackburn breaks down the Denver Nuggets 114-103 over the Minnesota Timberwolves as Nikola Jokić dominates his individual matchup over Karl-Anthony Towns. The Nuggets started JaVale McGee tonight and also played him against Towns, and the Nuggets had success with their Twin Tower look. Aaron Gordon was good again. Facu Campazzo and Austin Rivers were solid. Even Vlatko Cancar and Markus Howard got involved with 29 points off the bench. Ryan breaks it all down, as well as the important playoff scenarios remaining with every seeding in the Western Conference still up in the air.

Ryan Blackburn gives an update for tonight's games involving the Blazers, Mavericks, and Lakers before transitioning into awards season. Ryan shares his All-NBA teams, All-Defense, and All-Rookie teams in each segment, going into detail on the most deserving players at each position. Is Jokić a unanimous first team center? Will Facundo Campazzo make an All-Rookie team? Where does Michael Porter Jr. fit in? Ryan discusses it all.

Ryan Blackburn breaks down the Denver Nuggets 117-112 road win over the Charlotte Hornets, ensuring that the Nuggets will be a Top 4 seed in the Western Conference playoffs this year. Michael Porter Jr. and Nikola Jokić each had 30 points, while Aaron Gordon had a nice bounce back performance. Ryan discusses the starters, the return of Monte Morris to a desperate bench unit, and how the playoff picture continues to shift with wins and losses at the top and bottom.

Ryan Blackburn breaks down the Denver Nuggets loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night in the first segment, focusing in on Nikola Jokić slowing down in the clutch and Michael Porter Jr. in the learning process against physical defense. Then, Ryan updates Nuggets fans on the playoff picture, including magic numbers, playoff matchups, and the precious few opportunities the Nuggets will have to rest Jokić, Porter, and others down the stretch. Finally, he breaks down the guard rotation, what happens when (if) everyone gets healthy for the playoffs, and then some last minute Monday Positivity.

Ryan Blackburn breaks down the Denver Nuggets 127-120 loss to the Utah Jazz, captained by 48 points from Bojan Bogdanovic, a career-high. The Nuggets had no answers for Utah's drive-and-kick offense, and it appeared that missing four important guards really took a toll on Denver's perimeter defense. Shocker. Ryan breaks down Denver's most concerning issues before transitioning into standings discussion five games before the playoffs begin.

Ryan Blackburn breaks down the Denver Nuggets 113-97 win over the New York Knicks that was over by the end of the first quarter. Nikola Jokić drops 24 points in the first quarter compared to just 12 points for the Knicks, dominating on both ends of the floor in ways only he can. Ryan also discusses great performances from Facundo Campazzo and Austin Rivers, a solid game for Michael Porter Jr., and a disturbing one for Aaron Gordon. Finally, Ryan answers more mailbag questions, including whether Denver should simply rest up for the playoffs at this point.

Ryan Blackburn breaks down how the injury to PJ Dozier and how it will likely affect the Denver Nuggets overall the next few games. What will Denver's rotations look like? How many minutes will Nikola Jokić and Michael Porter Jr. have to play? Will Bol Bol or Zeke Nnaji get an opportunity? Then, Ryan ranks impending playoff matchups against the other Top seven West teams from most favorable to least favorable. Finally, Ryan answers some mailbag questions in the final segment.

Ryan Blackburn breaks down a brutal 93-89 Denver Nuggets loss to the Los Angeles Lakers to break Denver's five-game winning streak. Denver's offense struggled to get going, and PJ Dozier suffered a right hip injury of unknown severity to make matters worse. Denver defended well but couldn't score, and Ryan breaks down why, where Denver goes from here, and offers a standings discussion.

Ryan Blackburn breaks down the Denver Nuggets 110-104 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, a telling game that showcased Denver's strengths in an important way. Nikola Jokić was unstoppable, Michael Porter Jr. was incredible, and the defense on Kawhi Leonard and Paul George sealed the deal. Ryan discussed Denver's two star players, what led to LA's struggles, credited PJ Dozier, and talked about the psychological effect of climbing the standings away from the Los Angeles Lakers.

Ryan Blackburn brings on Robert Flom, Managing Editor of 213Hoops.com, to discuss the ins and outs of the Los Angeles Clippers. How is this group different from last year? What are the concerns? What are the expectations? They talk about the West playoff race, the seeding shenanigans, and the most desirable matchups. Finally, they preview the game between the Clippers and Denver Nuggets on Saturday night, including whether Kawhi Leonard will suit up.