The Drive

Hour 1 of The Drive kicks off with Zach and Phil reacting to the Nuggets surprising game 1 victory in Oklahoma City. Did last night prove the Thunder have not built up enough “playoff scares” yet? Will the Nuggets experience and championship meddle be enough to get them past the best team in the NBA? How did an interim coach in David Adelman out-coach the 2024 NBA coach of the year? Where does Aaron Gordon belong on the list of all-time Denver sports role players? Zach and Phil detail all the great things Gordon brings to this team time and time again whether its scoring, defense or anything in between. Are things about to get awkward in the Nuggets and Thunder series if SGA wins the MVP but Jokic looks like the greatest player in the world? Is this most invested we have seen Jokic in an NBA season and team?

In hour 2 of The Drive, Zach and Phil react to the Avalanche’s top brass’ press conference today in Joe Sakic and Chris MacFarland. What was the tone of the Avs today as they addressed the media. How do the guys feel about the Avs letting go of special teams coach after how poor the Avs were on the power play? Will the Avalanche be a force next season with more continuity on the roster? Are we taking a championship window for granted? How involved was Joe Sakic in the Mikko Rantanen trade? We hear the answer directly from Sakic. What questions do the guys still have about the Broncos now that the draft and most of free agency is over? Will this be the Broncos best defense since their Super Bowl winning defense?

In hour 3 of The Drive, Zach and Phil discuss Michael Porter Jr.’s performance in game 1 last night. What should Adelman do if MPJ proves to be unplayable again? Is Porter Jr. still struggling with his injured shoulder? Is David Adelman making a case that he should be the next head coach of the Nuggets? We hear from Adelman and his thoughts after last night’s thrilling Nuggets win. How much credit does Adelman deserve for the Nuggets postseason success? Zach and Phil detail all the great things Gordon brings to this team time and time again whether its scoring, defense or anything in between. Will Aarron Gordon’s improved shooting from three and the free throw line improve his impact on games as his athleticism diminishes? We hear from multiple Nuggets and their praise of Gordon. Are things about to get awkward in the Nuggets and Thunder series if SGA wins the MVP but Jokic looks like the greatest player in the world?

In hour 4 of The Drive, Zach and Phil react to the Avalanche post season press conference today. What do the guys make of the Avs moving on from their power play coach? Is it concerning that Cale Makar was healthy and performed the way he did? DenverSports.com’s Will Petersen joins the show to discuss how involved Joe Sakic was with the Mikko Rantanen trade. Would the Avalanche have done anything different this season? Phil explains why he likes the Avs choosing to run the team back with Coach Bednar at the helm. Will the team be able to build on this season and with more team chemistry have a better playoff run? We wrap up the show with a rant on how bad the NHL playoff format is and recounting how miraculous the Nuggets win was last night.

Hour 1 of The Drive kicks off with Zach and Phil cross talking with Cecil. The guys recap the Avalanche crushing loss in game 7 over the weekend. What happened to Cale Makar this series? Was Saturday night the worst loss in Denver sports history? Did Mikko Rantanen have the best revenge game in sports history? Did the Stars prove to be the tougher team in the series? Are the Avs players not getting enough of the blame instead of the coach and general manager? Zach shares his experience from game 7 in Ball Arena for the Nuggets game and how the Clippers were able to stuff the arena with their fans. Were the Nuggets the mentally tougher team over the Clippers, especially James Harden? The guys give Russell Westbrook his flowers for a phenomenal first round series. Would the Nuggets still have beat the Clippers if it wasn’t for Westbrook and can he continue this success vs the Thunder?

In hour 2 of The Drive, Zach and Phil take a deep dive into the Avalanche and their first-round playoff loss. How should we feel about the Avalanche going forward? DenverSports.com’s Will Petersen joins the show to defend himself and his point of view on wanting Chris MacFarland fired. How much did Joe Sakic have a hand in the Mikko Rantanen trade? How has the Mikko Rantanen trade aged now that he was the player to eliminate the Avalanche? We react to the heated debate between Will and Zach from the previous segment. What are the guys looking for in tomorrow’s Avalanche press conference? Is there still a chance coach, Jared Bednar gets fired? Did Chris MacFarland still construct a championship level roster for the Avs this season?

In hour 3 of The Drive, Zach and Phil preview the Nuggets and Thunder second round series. Have the Thunder accumulated enough lessons from playoff losses to finally take the step to the conference finals? Are basketball panelists and Vegas odds underestimating the Nuggets in this series? Will the Nuggets role players continue to shine like they did in game 7 vs the Clippers? Just how good is the Thunder’s number one ranked defense? Was Saturday night the worst loss in Denver sports history? Zach shares all the historic things that went wrong for the Avs to lose to the Stars. Did the way the Nuggets defeated the Clippers give the guys hope with a tougher test in the Thunder awaiting? The guys give Russell Westbrook his flowers for a phenomenal first round series. Will the Thunder’s rest come into account after the Nuggets just got done with a heavy weight 7-game series?

In hour 4 of The Drive, Zach shares his experience from game 7 in Ball Arena for the Nuggets game and how the Clippers were able to stuff the arena with their fans. Did Mikko Rantanen have the best revenge game in sports history? Was part of Rantanen’s big game, puck luck? What happened for Cale Makar to disappear in this series? Was this the perfect situation for the Avalanche to beat the Stars and they still couldn’t do it? Where do the Avs go from here? Could Jared Bednar still be fired? DenverSports.com’s Jake Shapiro joins the show to discuss where the Nuggets have an advantage over the Thunder, who will be the Nuggets second best player in this series, and how will Russell Westbrook follow up his impressive first round. We wrap up the show with Zach and Phil’s predictions for the Nuggets in tonight’s game and the series.

Hour 1 of The Drive kicks off with Zach and Will Petersen previewing this massive weekend in Denver sports. Which series has been more entertaining between the Nuggets and Avalanche? How much will last night’s loss cost the Nuggets? After a great game from Michael Porter Jr. in game 5, what happened to him in game 6? If MPJ and Russell Westbrook are both struggling, what lineup will the Nuggets close with? While the Avalanche needed to win last night, Zach points out why how they did it was so important. Did the puck luck finally turn in the Avs favor? Did the Avs prove they can be a team that comes from behind and win a game the hard way? How important will tomorrow’s games be for both Jared Bednar and David Adelman? Could Adelman go from interim coach to the next head coach of the Nuggets with a win in game 7? If the Avalanche go home in the first round again, will owner Josh Kroenke move on from Bednar?

In hour 2 of The Drive, Zach and Will debate which Denver team has more demons to overcome in game 7 tomorrow? Will the Avalanche be able to finally win a game 7 with this main group of players? Will Dallas and Pete Debor continue their success in game 7’s? Zach shares the results of his twitter poll with which team Denver fans feel more confident in. We hear from Avs coach Jared Bednar and his thoughts ahead of game 7. Which player will be the biggest x-factor between both series? Today’s “Three Count” features overlapping game 7’s for Denver sports fans, the Rockies winning 2 games in a row, and Bo Nix attending yet another Denver sports game in the Avs game last night. 9News Broncos insider, Mike Klis joins the show to discuss if Audric Estime’s role on the team had an impact on which running back the Broncos chose in the draft, an update on the health of Dre Greenlaw, and a potential international game for the Broncos.