And were back!

Jonah Donaghy- 1/26/2017

                 It has been awhile since I wrote anything about the sports here in Denver, even though I did promise to get some out sooner, I just never felt inspirited after possibly the most disappointing Broncos Season in a while, and a seemingly similar season for the Nuggets and the Avalanche as the last few disappointing ones which has devastated the both teams Fan bases. Fortunately, I was wrong, at least about the Nuggets, who have come into their own within a highly competitive Western Conference headed by the Surging Warriors who sit at a comfortable 38-7. This is mostly because of a blossoming sophomore within Nikola Jokic, who has single handedly changed the franchises fortunes and brought this team something it hasn’t had in a while, a Superstar. He is a medium sized Center who lacks superior athleticism, but has a knack for making the right play nearly every time he has the ball. Whether this big guy is passing it to a cutting Guard or Forward, posting up a for an easy layup or jump shot, or backing out to the three-point line and shooting above anyone who can guard him. He has over 148 assists just this season, making him one of the most dynamic centers in the league. It’s not all Jokic though, this whole team has a new feel to it, no longer do you get a sense of rebuild mode, the engines are running as currently they sit above the Trailblazers at 8^th in the Western Conference, putting them in contention of the Playoffs, if they started today. 

With a good mix of veterans and young guys, giving them an upper hand on most teams. Being able to out run the Older teams using young guards Mudiay, Harris, Murray, and Barton, while also being able to slow the tempo and control the game against younger less experienced teams. Of course the nuggets still have a lot to work on if they want to make any real run in the Playoffs, but maybe as the trade deadline approaches we will get to see how serious this franchise is at doing such a task. Of course as a personal fan to nearly every player on this team except maybe a few, who I still respect highly, I don’t want to see anyone leave unless it’s for someone who will tip the scales even further paired up with Jokic. And sense it’s being discussed I might as well throw out what I believe could help the nuggets out quite a lot, a trade for someone who is simply a pure shooter, and could just bring fans back into the Pepsi Center, Paul George. He has been linked to a few trade rumors, though they could simply be that, though it makes sense after reportedly being unhappy with the current conditions with the Pacers. Nuggets have plenty to offer the Pacers, young skilled players, money, draft picks, you name it. This would also give George the opportunity to regain his NBA Superstar status alongside Jokic, and though it would take a lot of pieces for the pacers to give up their only Star, the Nuggets could still make a major playoff run, with one of the deepest rosters in the league and a George/Jokic combo which any Nuggets/ fan would be excited to watch.

Okay, it’s always fun to play General Manager of a team you don’t actually run, but enough of that for now. It is time to get back with how the nuggets are looking now, which has impressed not just the fans, but the League. Though I haven’t been able to personally see the games in person, I have watched every game I can, and it seems like finally after a year and a half of really poor crowd numbers the nuggets finally have a chance to regain the fan base they once had under George Karl. Though I have mainly given credit for the recent step up to Jokic, it’s been a team effort and for the first time we are getting a glimpse of our very bright future. Course the Trade Deadline could change all of this in the blink of an eye, but if the team stayed together until the end of the season I believe they would have a good chance to make the playoffs, maybe not making it very deep, but the drought would finally be over and it would be a jumpstart to refilling the Pepsi Center. Not to mention we would be doing this on a supposed rebuilding season, were still growing immensely every minute our young guys are on the court. They do show signs nearly every night of their youth, but as the season progresses these mistakes are becoming fewer and farther between. Give it another season and we’ll have real aspiration of the Finals, not just the Playoffs, and isn’t that the whole point anyway to make it to the finals, not just the playoffs. Playoffs! (In a Jim Mora voice) Before we even get to that point, the Nuggets need to find a way to fix their biggest problem, empty seats!

There is one thing that the nuggets need to work on if they want to rebuild their support, they need to build a superstar. Sounds hard, but it wouldn’t be for the Nuggets, they already have two or three players who can take on a star role, Gallinari is a Star in Europe, and Jokic is starting to get recognition internationally, along with Jamal who has every skillset needed to become a star just hasn’t had much success on the court yet as it is only his rookie season. Now from that list I would choose Jokic to build around, he is just too good and is having the on-court success now. Here comes the hard part though, and the Nuggets aren’t that great at this so they will probably have to come up with a lot of ways they could possibly do this, and in the end play pin the tail on the donkey to decide which is best, always trust fate if you have no idea. It was Easy for the nuggets to build around Carmelo, they already had Iverson and “Melo” was a sure Superstar coming out of High school and College. But this is different, nobody knows about Jokic yet and they will have to do a lot to build up his name. First, they need to get out to the kids! Children love Basketball, from the high flying dunks, Heart Pounding game winners, and mostly the extremely massive men who play. Enter in Jokic a 6,11 Center, with Point Guard skills, kids will be climbing all over him, begging their parents to take them to a game to watch one of the best in the game today. Kids are a start, but unfortunately they have limitations, for one most parent don’t allow their children to get out on school nights, so they need to keep up the promotions to draw in some of the young people living in Denver, especially one with beer, Coloradans love Beer! Many people on Colorado spend their nights at bars/taverns socializing over some drinks, and out with as many breweries exist in Denver alone, it’s hard to see why you even choose the same beer twice. The nuggets need to take advantage of this, having nights with specials on beers, making it more worth going and seeing a nuggets game while they drink, rather than just going to their local bar down the street. Course you don’t want to have the main attraction be beer, but this is Colorado and the nuggets need to fill their seats badly! Not to mention bringing in more people to the games, even if it’s not for the game itself it will benefit them in the future as these newcomers will have a chance to watch the Nuggets and hopefully want to come again.

I know it sounds wrong saying that more people are interested in beer then the Nuggets, but the first step to growing is accepting the facts.  Of course the Nuggets don’t need to do anything, just as they did with Carmelo they could just let “The Jokers” popularity grow and the nuggets along with it. This team has every opportunity in the world to get back to the old days, back when Pepsi Center was Sold Out nearly every night.