Pickaxe and Roll

Ryan Blackburn and Kyle Theige, site manager of Canis Hoopus, discuss the growth of the Minnesota Timberwolves to become a playoff caliber team in the Western Conference. From Karl-Anthony Towns, to Anthony Edwards, to head coach Chris Finch, these T'Wolves are not the T'Wolves of years past. Ryan and Kyle breaking down the T'Wolves and the Denver Nuggets, the importance of playoff seeding this year, and Friday's matchup between the two teams being the biggest game of the year.

Ryan Blackburn recaps the Denver Nuggets 125-118 win over the Indiana Pacers with a special emphasis on blowing another big first half lead. Nikola Jokić saved the day with his dominance, and Bones Hyland gave him a major assist down the stretch, but the entire team still has major work to do. Ryan discusses what went wrong with both the starting and bench units and why the Nuggets are failing their playoff checklist despite winning games to close the regular season.

Ryan Blackburn and Jena Garcia, social media director of Denver Stiffs, break down the Denver Nuggets 113-109 win over the Charlotte Hornets. They discuss Nikola Jokić's big game, Aaron Gordon's aggressive start, Will Barton's up and down play, and a bad performance from the bench. Then, they discuss what's next for the Nuggets, including Friday's matchup against Minnesota, Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr., Nikola Jokić's MVP chances, and more.

Ryan Blackburn discusses the Denver Nuggets seeding and playoff scenarios as the playoff race begins to take shape. With the Golden State Warriors in free fall and the Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves battling to stay out of the play-in, the middle of the West playoff field as a chance to get really weird. Ryan details all of the scenarios, what the Nuggets have to do to avoid the chaos, and predicts what will happen now and in the playoffs.

Ryan Blackburn recaps the Denver Nuggets 113-107 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder as Nikola Jokić puts together a masterful performance with 35 points on 13-of-15 from the field. Will Barton and Aaron Gordon put their own stamps on the game, while Monte Morris had the key sequence to close the deal. Ryan discusses the starters, an uninspiring bench performance, and another Jokić appreciation segment as he continues to excel.

Ryan Blackburn recaps the Denver Nuggets 140-130 loss to the Phoenix Suns as Devin Booker goes off for 49 points and 10 assists, leading the Suns across the finish line in Denver. Nikola Jokić shot the ball efficiently but had eight turnovers, and the Nuggets, while they played well, had several key mishaps that allowed the game to slip away. Ryan discusses the starters, the bench, and whether Denver can reach Phoenix's class even if they get healthy.

Ryan Blackburn shares his thoughts on the Denver Nuggets extending head coach Michael Malone through the 2024-25 season. Malone has earned the opportunity to coach the healthy Nuggets, and the organization gave him a two-year extension to reinforce that. Then, Ryan reacts to games around the NBA on Wednesday night before discussing Denver's biggest priorities before the end of the regular season.

Ryan Blackburn recaps the Denver Nuggets 127-115 win over the Los Angeles Clippers as Nikola Jokić makes an MVP statement on national TV, leading both teams in every statistical category. The starters stepped up around Jokić and hit big shots down the stretch, and Bones Hyland once again showed that he's a big game player. Ryan discusses the starters, the bench, and how this win impacts the race with Minnesota for a top 6 seed.

Ryan Blackburn recaps the Denver Nuggets obliteration at the hands of the Boston Celtics that saw the entire starting unit benched at halftime. Nikola Jokić had a poor shooting game and was in bad positions defensively all night. Aaron Gordon and Will Barton had opportunities to step up and couldn't. The bench was bad, just not as bad as the starters. Ryan discusses it all, as well as Denver dropping to the 7th seed and the play-in tournament with 10 games left to go.

Ryan Blackburn recaps the Denver Nuggets 119-116 overtime loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers as the Nuggets let a game they led late in both regulation and overtime slip away with mistakes and poor execution. Nikola Jokić was great, and Bones Hyland had another strong performance, but it wasn't enough. Ryan discusses the bench unit, the appalling starting unit, and shares extended thoughts on fair and unfair criticisms of Will Barton.