Pickaxe and Roll

Ryan Blackburn shares his thoughts on several teams around the league that are either impressing or underwhelming in preseason so far. Then, he discusses the Nuggets and what to watch for in the upcoming trip to Oklahoma City to face the Thunder twice. Does Will Barton look healthy? Do the starters dominate? What does the bench unit look like? Finally, Ryan shares his thoughts on the Ben Simmons and Kyrie Irving situations that are overshadowing what should be a fun NBA season.

Ryan Blackburn shares his major takeaways on the Denver Nuggets' third preseason game, an overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, before discussing the rotation once again. Bones Hyland has been a revelation in training camp and preseason. Will he be in the rotation on opening night? Who does he replace? Does Bol Bol get an opportunity? Ryan answers those questions and more.

Ryan Blackburn breaks down the second Denver Nuggets preseason game, a 118-116 loss to the Golden State Warriors. Nikola Jokić returned to action and looked like he hadn't missed a beat. Aaron Gordon and PJ Dozier continue to impress. Bones Hyland put together another strong performance as well. Ryan discusses all of the details from the game, from the Joker to the starters to the bench to the reserves.

Ryan Blackburn breaks down the Denver Nuggets 103-102 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in the preseason opener. Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon looked impressive, and P.J. Dozier was an all-around impact guy. The most intrigue occurred with the bench lineup though, led by young standouts Bones Hyland and Bol Bol. Ryan discusses all of the details of Denver's first preseason game and where the Nuggets go from here.

Ryan Blackburn introduces Asher Levy (@AshManzini) and Peter Leensvaart (@PetePizza27) as the newest members of the Denver Stiffs writing staff. They discuss what's to come at Stiffs this year along with some words on the future of sports media. Then, they get into the first preseason game of the year against the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night and who they're most excited to watch.

Ryan Blackburn is joined by Jena Garcia, social media director for Denver Stiffs, to discuss the first few days of Denver Nuggets training camp. Then, they share their favorite Nuggets superlatives for the 2021-22 Nuggets season. From which player will score 40 first, to the opponent they are most excited to see, to the Nugget with the best hair, Ryan and Jena cover the very most important topics they possibly can.

Ryan Blackburn is joined by Gordon Gross, senior writer for Denver Stiffs, to discuss Monday's media day events in full. They begin with the timely max extension of Michael Porter Jr., signed one day before the start of training camp, covering what this means for Porter, for Denver's financial situation, and the goals of the organization.
Then, they circle back to media day, from Michael Malone and Tim Connelly sharing their expectations to Jamal Murray speaking to the media while recovering from knee surgery. Ryan and Gordon share their thoughts on the news and quotes, their feelings on Bones Hyland, Zeke Nnaji, and Bol Bol, and then wrap up with a message about the COVID-19 vaccine.

Ryan Blackburn attempts to calm the masses of Denver Nuggets fans worrying about whether the team may decide to trade Michael Porter Jr. or even Jamal Murray for Ben Simmons. It's not going happen. Stop trying to make the trade happen.
Then, Ryan previews the final day of Media Week and what he wants to hear from Michael Malone, Tim Connelly, and perhaps Jamal Murray himself, alone with the rest of the Nuggets who have yet to speak to the media.

Ryan Blackburn shares his thoughts on the third day of player interviews for media week that included Aaron Gordon, Will Barton, Jeff Green, Austin Rivers, and Michael Porter Jr. in a stacked session. Gordon was chill, Barton was excited, Green was professional, Rivers was insightful, and Porter showed readiness to take the leap. Then, Ryan discusses the ESPN player rankings that are filtering out and what they had to say about the Nuggets and Nikola Jokić.

Ryan Blackburn shares his thoughts on the first interviews from Media Week with the Denver Nuggets. The three players that spoke today - Vlatko Čančar, Monte Morris, and Bones Hyland - all had interesting things to say. Ryan shares his insights before discussing the bench in-depth, including a bold prediction for Bones Hyland this season.