The Drive

Hour 1 of The Drive kicks off with Zach and Phil cross talking with Dover. The guys react to the Nuggets crushing game 7 loss over the weekend. Was Alex Caruso the biggest x-factor in the series? How can the Nuggets find their own Alex Caruso type of player? At what point did the guys know the Nuggets had lost the game? Zach and Phil share who their most disappointing player was in yesterday’s game seven. Is there a wrong narrative out there that Jamal Murray had a “good” playoffs? Why did Murray not rise in a game 7 like we have seen him rise in critical moments before? What more could Jokic have done? Did Aaron Gordon separate himself as a Denver legend after playing through a grade 2 hamstring strain on Sunday? How much credit does Christian Braun deserve for going from a question mark coming into the season to being the second best Nugget in Sunday’s game?

In hour 2 of The Drive, Zach and Phil debate how close the Nuggets team is to competing for a championship. Is the Nuggets “core four” worth keeping together if it hampers the Nuggets ability to overhaul the rest of the roster? What would the trade market look like for a player like Jamal Murray or Michael Porter Jr.? DenverSports.com’s Will Petersen joins the show to discuss if David Adelman is the right guy to be the next Nuggets head coach, if the Nuggets need MPJ’s shooting, and what Jokic and Murray had to say about the Nuggets ability to win a championship with this core. Today’s “Three Count” features Michael Malone joining ESPN’s coverage of the WCF between the Thunder and Timberwolves and who we are rooting for in the western and eastern conference finals. What matchup would the NBA be rooting for to meet in the Finals? The guys look through the Broncos schedule and decide who the toughest number one receivers will be for Pat Surtain to matchup with.

In hour 3 of The Drive, Zach and Phil reflect on the Nuggets season now that they are officially eliminated. Zach details all the odd events the Nuggets endured throughout this season. We hear from Nikola Jokic and his comments after game seven yesterday. What were his thoughts on why the Nuggets were not able to get past the Thunder? How frustrated is Jokic with how this season went? Did Aaron Gordon separate himself as a Denver legend after playing through a grade 2 hamstring strain on Sunday? We hear from Jamal Murray and his praise of Gordon’s toughness playing through injury. Who was the most disappointing player for the Nuggets in game 7? Why did Murray not rise in a game 7 like we have seen him rise in critical moments before? Zach shares about Murray’s lack of professionalism when it comes to basketball and his body.

In hour 4 of The Drive, Zach and Phil debate how close the Nuggets team is to competing for a championship. Is the Nuggets “core four” worth keeping together if it hampers the Nuggets ability to overhaul the rest of the roster? What trade pieces do the Nuggets have and what value would you get in return for a guy like Jamal Murray or Michael Porter Jr.? Will David Adelman be the next head coach of the Nuggets? Zach shares why he would have a problem if the Nuggets hired internally for their open general manager and head coach positions. Could the Nuggets “run it back” with their roster for another year? Zach and Phil reflect on the Nuggets season now that they are officially eliminated. Zach details all the odd events the Nuggets endured throughout this season. We wrap up the show with reacting to the two different answers from Murray and Jokic on if the core of the Nuggets can win another championship.

Hour 1 of The Drive kicks off with Zach and Phil reacting to the Nuggets huge win in game 6 last night. Now that the Nuggets have pushed the series to a game 7, was game 5 truly a “must win”? Why do the Nuggets need to pushed into a corner to play their best basketball? Are we seeing the 2023 version of Jamal Murray? How important was the final minutes of the first half for the Nuggets? Will last night be known as “the Jamal Murray flu game” or “the Julian Strawther game”? Was Murray overplaying his “sickness”? Zach explains how impressed he was with Strawther’s game to come out of nowhere and be a huge reason as to why the Nuggets won. Has Christian Braun proved himself to be an all time winner? How concerned should we be about Aaron Gordon’s injury as we head into game 7?

In hour 2 of The Drive, Zach and Phil go week by week of the Broncos schedule and determine where Bo Nix stacks up against the opposing quarterbacks. What version of Anthony Richardson will we see in week 2? Is Bo Nix ready to be compared to the top QB’s in the league like Joe Burrow? Is Jalen Hurts more of a product of a great team around him than a great QB himself? Has Nix already surpassed Dak Prescott and CJ Stroud? Is there even a debate between Bo Nix and Patrick Mahomes? Are Nix and Jordan Love on the same tier in the NFL? 9News Broncos insider Mike Klis joins the show to discuss how the Broncos are feeling after seeing their schedule this season, if the first two games of the season are “must win” games, and what the internal expectations are for the Broncos. Will the Broncos be able to have similar regular season results without the NFC south on the schedule?

In hour 3 of The Drive, Zach, Phil and the guys compete in our weekly trivia competition vs the morning show. Can we take advantage of the morning show’s 2-2 performance to win this week? How important is a healthy Aaron Gordon for the Nuggets in game 7? How will the Nuggets handle their first true road game 7 in the Jokic era? Is it time Zach to finally take a victory lap for his take on Russell Westbrook? Were we wrong to assume Calvin Booth was wrong, after we saw Christian Braun and Julian Strawther show up and save the Nuggets season? Has David Adelman locked up the Nuggets head coaching job going forward or does he still need to get past the Thunder? If the Nuggets can pull off a win on Sunday in Oklahoma City, would this be the most impressive series in the Jokic era?

In hour 4 of The Drive, Zach and Phil go week by week of the Broncos schedule and determine where Bo Nix stacks up against the opposing quarterbacks. Will Anthony Richardson be the starting QB for the Colts or does Daniel Jones have a chance to win that competition? Is Bo Nix ready to be compared to the top QB’s in the league like Joe Burrow? Has Nix already passed old veteran quarterbacks like Russell Wilson and Dak Prescott? Will Bo surpass Jayden Daniels, who won the rookie of the year award over him last season? The guys give Julian Strawther his flowers after an unexpected performance last night. We wrap up the show with Zach and Phil’s predictions for Sunday’s game seven. Who do the guys trust more between each team’s number option, Jamal Murray or Jalen Williams? Will Russell Westbrook or Michael Porter Jr. be more reliable?

Hour 1 of The Drive kicks off with Zach and Phil cross talking with Dover. The guys preview tonight’s game 6 for the Nuggets and Thunder. What can the Nuggets do to score more in transition? Will we get a Jamal Murray “flu game” like Michael Jordan’s from the 90’s? We react to the Broncos schedule being released. What do the guys make of the Broncos late bye week in week 12? How will the Broncos perform in their two short weeks playing on Thursday night twice this season? What does the Broncos 4 prime time games say about how the league views the Broncos? How will Jamal Murray play tonight with reports that he is sick? Zach shares a stat about how Aaron Gordon’s point total directly translates to wins and loses in the playoffs. Could Jokic be awarded the NBA MVP trophy tonight? Zach shares his tin foil theory as to why SGA has not received his presumed MVP yet.

In hour 2 of The Drive, Zach and Phil go week by week and examine the Broncos schedule. Are the first two weeks must win games for the Broncos? How tough of a stretch will the Broncos weeks 3 through 5 be, at the Chargers, hosting the Bengals and at the Eagles? With this schedule could the Broncos win the AFC west for the first time in a long time? What will be the most difficult non-divisional home and road games this season? What will be the easiest non-divisional home and road games? Today’s “Three Count” includes the guys thoughts on NFL team’s schedule releases, the NFL having the most international games in history, and the PGA Championship offering free concessions at their tournament this weekend. We react to TNT Inside the NBA’s crew about the Nuggets and Thunder. How do we feel about Charles Barkley stating the Thunder will win the title and they have no holes on their team? Do the Thunder need to win game 7 to avoid the pressure packed situation of a game 7? Should the Thunder be worried about a win or go home vs Jokic?